Exam 6601 Conductor 6601 Hiring Process

[drenyce311]

Correction. Filings for both exams are in September and December. The exam will be administered sometime between January and March.

[+Young+]

Just like the rumor with the Next conductor exam in September going to require, two years of customer service experience.

 

That's really interesting you say that because on page seven of http://web.mta.info/nyct/hr/pdf/career_brochure.pdf, for the Conductor, all it says is "A high school diploma or its equivalent is required." This says nothing about two years of customer service experience.

[SubwayGuy]

Well i could take both of them. Theres nothing wrong with at least trying. I could work on conductor, and if i get called for Train Operator, ill definitely shoot for that. Only time will tell i guess

 

No. You are ineligible for Train Operator and this could land you in a hot mess if you do it. They do not always immediately disqualify applicants, sometimes they get caught after the fact. If this happens during the probationary period, the employee will be removed from their title.

 

Example:

-You are called first and hired as a conductor. You are perfectly eligible for conductor, so there's no problem.

-While still a probationary conductor, you are called for Train Operator. Since you did not complete probation as a Conductor, you will not have permanently established yourself in that title which means you can never go back to it.

-While working as a Train Operator, it is discovered that your experience is insufficient and you are ineligible for the title. You will be removed from the title immediately. Unfortunately, in this example, since you will have forfeited the Conductor title you were eligible for, you will go back to unemployment and will have to beg to be reinstated on the Conductor's list (which will only get you placed in the next unfilled class, assuming they are still hiring Conductors when this happens). Even if you are able to get the Conductor job back, you will have lost any seniority you had in the title, must go back to the bottom, and go through schoolcar again. It will also mean an end to your "continuous term of employment" which means when you are let go your pension will be cashed out (since you won't have been vested at that point), and upon reinstatement later, you will have to go down to NYCERS and buy that service time back, or else your pension will be permanently reduced as a result.

 

Never ever lie, fib, or manipulate these applications. They can check. Full time or part time work is ONLY valid to be included if it is legitimate (paid) AND you paid federal and state taxes on the earnings (no under the table stuff) - since they WILL check with SSA and the IRS plus NY State Tax & Finance. Nonjobs such as babysitting for a neighbor who paid you in cash and the 2 of you never reported it, don't count. Volunteer service never counts.

 

College only counts if you have the credits necessary. You can max out work experience through college at 4 years by having 120 credits. They will not give you credit for 4 years with fewer credits, even if you are mid-degree and will finish. The cutoff date is the end of the filing period.

 

You don't even want to bother taking the Train Operator test to "see your score" if you are not eligible since best case scenario, they determine you are ineligible and your score says NOT ELIGIBLE. Worst case is the scenario above, where they don't catch it till you're already working here and you lose the job.

 

I say this as strictly as I do because I have seen people screw themselves out of this job by fibbing, misrepresenting, misinterpreting what is being asked, or even making errors in their application and it has cost them the job. Don't be one of them.

Edited August 2, 2015 by SubwayGuy

[LexAveExp5]

Well, they might not give you a score if you're not eligible but you can still check your answers when they post the answer key a few weeks after the exam

[SubwayGuy]

Well, they might not give you a score if you're not eligible but you can still check your answers when they post the answer key a few weeks after the exam

 

The test is very basic. It's frankly not worth the cost of filing just to get a hypothetical score and not have the exam graded.

 

And if the exam is erroneously graded, I stand by what I wrote earlier...

 

No. You are ineligible for Train Operator and this could land you in a hot mess if you do it. They do not always immediately disqualify applicants, sometimes they get caught after the fact. If this happens during the probationary period, the employee will be removed from their title.

He has perfectly legit qualifications to file for Conductor, and is nowhere close for Train Operator so as to even bother trying (such as if he'd actually have a valid reason for appealing if denied...he doesn't since he has the equivalent of <2 years work experience and they require 5). Instead of worrying about the Train Operator exam at all, he should focus all his energy on the Conductor exam, which is very similar anyway in terms of difficulty, and try to get the best score possible in that exam to guarantee himself entry into Transit. That way, he will be eligible for the next Train Operator test as a promotional, with no doubts as to eligibility that could land him in unemployment if not discovered initially.

 

Again: A permanent employee (probationary) who accepts appointment to a new title forfeits their right to return to the original title. Given the closeness of the exam filing periods, and the similarity in scores between the two tests since they largely test the same skills, there is a real chance he will end up in this situation if his exam actually gets graded. If it doesn't, then he's just throwing his money away. If he wants to see how he'll do on a test, take the Conductor test!!!

Edited August 3, 2015 by SubwayGuy

[Bronx Bound D]

 

The test is very basic. It's frankly not worth the cost of filing just to get a hypothetical score and not have the exam graded.

 

And if the exam is erroneously graded, I stand by what I wrote earlier...

 

He has perfectly legit qualifications to file for Conductor, and is nowhere close for Train Operator so as to even bother trying (such as if he'd actually have a valid reason for appealing if denied...he doesn't since he has the equivalent of <2 years work experience and they require 5). Instead of worrying about the Train Operator exam at all, he should focus all his energy on the Conductor exam, which is very similar anyway in terms of difficulty, and try to get the best score possible in that exam to guarantee himself entry into Transit. That way, he will be eligible for the next Train Operator test as a promotional, with no doubts as to eligibility that could land him in unemployment if not discovered initially.

 

Again: A permanent employee (probationary) who accepts appointment to a new title forfeits their right to return to the original title. Given the closeness of the exam filing periods, and the similarity in scores between the two tests since they largely test the same skills, there is a real chance he will end up in this situation if his exam actually gets graded. If it doesn't, then he's just throwing his money away. If he wants to see how he'll do on a test, take the Conductor test!!!

Well, like i said before in my previous posts, im kind of new to this whole civil service stuff, so im taking everything you guys say into consideration. The only reason why i said i would like to take both is because someone mentioned to me before that it would take a year or so to start going through the list for train operator. So by the time they start calling people for that position, i should have my year of experience and 120 supposed credits by than. @Subwayguy

[Snowblock]

That's really interesting you say that because on page seven of http://web.mta.info/nyct/hr/pdf/career_brochure.pdf, for the Conductor, all it says is "A high school diploma or its equivalent is required." This says nothing about two years of customer service experience.

That book also has the old salary rates. It needs to be updated.

 

The customer service requirement on the new conductor exam is straight from the mouth of the NYCT schoolcar director. Read the application carefully when it gets posted. There are also much stricter requirements on the new station agent application than there have been in the past.

[Snowblock]

Well, like i said before in my previous posts, im kind of new to this whole civil service stuff, so im taking everything you guys say into consideration. The only reason why i said i would like to take both is because someone mentioned to me before that it would take a year or so to start going through the list for train operator. So by the time they start calling people for that position, i should have my year of experience and 120 supposed credits by than. @Subwayguy

You need to be eligible ON THE DAY ON THE EXAM, not on the day you are called. As I stated above, they are changing around the eligibility requirements for OC exams so nobody knows for sure what is gonna be on the next application, but they are going to become MORE strict, not less.

[Bronx Bound D]

You need to be eligible ON THE DAY ON THE EXAM, not on the day you are called. As I stated above, they are changing around the eligibility requirements for OC exams so nobody knows for sure what is gonna be on the next application, but they are going to become MORE strict, not less.

So my safe bet is with the conductor?

[+Young+]

So my safe bet is with the conductor?

 

Probably. As mentioned in post # 32, there might be a Customer Service requirement, so we just have to be patient, that's all.

[SubwayGuy]

Well, like i said before in my previous posts, im kind of new to this whole civil service stuff, so im taking everything you guys say into consideration. The only reason why i said i would like to take both is because someone mentioned to me before that it would take a year or so to start going through the list for train operator. So by the time they start calling people for that position, i should have my year of experience and 120 supposed credits by than. @Subwayguy

 

For Train Operator, the cutoff date is the end of the filing period. If you have 6 weeks in college at the end of the filing period, then proceed to get your masters, PHD, a JD MBA, Rhodes scholarship, Fulbright fellowship, and a Nobel Prize between the end of the filing period and the date you are asked to pee in a cup....you will still be denied for being ineligible.

 

The ONLY instance where someone can fill the criteria "by the date of appointment" (ie before they are hired) is a Conductor must have a HS diploma by the date of appointment. Obviously you already have that, so it doesn't apply to you, but it'd be interesting to see if that changes. Some people have started at TA days after their 18th birthday by meeting that criteria and the age requirement to file for civil service exams.

 

Your safe play, and your only play really, is the Conductor's exam. I am not trying to discourage you from becoming a Train Operator but based on the info you provided, there is really only one way for you to do it. Become a Conductor first and take the very next promotional exam. Focus all your energy on the Conductor's test since you will need to do very well on it to have a chance of getting hired. Just passing isn't good enough. For some rough figures:

-I believe close to 20,000 people took the last Conductor's Exam

-Of those, about 14,000 passed.

-Of those, they have called just under 4,000. This is a very high number for a typical exam, especially considering the list still has room to run before a new list replaces it. Usually this number is closer to 3000 - 3500.

-Those called all pretty much have scores of 92 or better.

-The list will expire shortly before the list is established from the test you take.

-Anyone who passed the exam but has not been called before the list expires will not be offered the job, and will have to take the test you are taking if they wish to get hired by Transit as a Conductor.

 

So work towards that 100%, get your foot in the door, and get the job. Don't worry about an exam you're ineligible for. When you become a Conductor, the 5 years work experience does not apply for promoting to Train Operator since promotional exams have different criteria, in the case of Train Operator, it only requires that you are appointed in a title that promotes to Train Operator (and Conductor certainly qualifies for that). Also, where a promotional and open competitive list are created at the same time, Transit MUST hire from the promotional list first. The person who passes a promotional test with the lowest possible passing score will still get offered the position before the person with 115% on the open competitive list.

Edited August 4, 2015 by SubwayGuy

[Bronx Bound D]

For Train Operator, the cutoff date is the end of the filing period. If you have 6 weeks in college at the end of the filing period, then proceed to get your masters, PHD, a JD MBA, Rhodes scholarship, Fulbright fellowship, and a Nobel Prize between the end of the filing period and the date you are asked to pee in a cup....you will still be denied for being ineligible.

 

The ONLY instance where someone can fill the criteria "by the date of appointment" (ie before they are hired) is a Conductor must have a HS diploma by the date of appointment. Obviously you already have that, so it doesn't apply to you, but it'd be interesting to see if that changes. Some people have started at TA days after their 18th birthday by meeting that criteria and the age requirement to file for civil service exams.

 

Your safe play, and your only play really, is the Conductor's exam. I am not trying to discourage you from becoming a Train Operator but based on the info you provided, there is really only one way for you to do it. Become a Conductor first and take the very next promotional exam. Focus all your energy on the Conductor's test since you will need to do very well on it to have a chance of getting hired. Just passing isn't good enough. For some rough figures:

-I believe close to 20,000 people took the last Conductor's Exam

-Of those, about 14,000 passed.

-Of those, they have called just under 4,000. This is a very high number for a typical exam, especially considering the list still has room to run before a new list replaces it. Usually this number is closer to 3000 - 3500.

-Those called all pretty much have scores of 92 or better.

-The list will expire shortly before the list is established from the test you take.

-Anyone who passed the exam but has not been called before the list expires will not be offered the job, and will have to take the test you are taking if they wish to get hired by Transit as a Conductor.

 

So work towards that 100%, get your foot in the door, and get the job. Don't worry about an exam you're ineligible for. When you become a Conductor, the 5 years work experience does not apply for promoting to Train Operator since promotional exams have different criteria, in the case of Train Operator, it only requires that you are appointed in a title that promotes to Train Operator (and Conductor certainly qualifies for that). Also, where a promotional and open competitive list are created at the same time, Transit MUST hire from the promotional list first. The person who passes a promotional test with the lowest possible passing score will still get offered the position before the person with 115% on the open competitive list.

Wow. Okay, i think i fully understand the criteria and how things work now. Thanks for all your help. I guess all i have to do is wait for conductor to start filing.

[RFWLover]

Can somebody confirm what the requirements for the upcoming conductor exam are? Will they just be having graduated from HS, or will there be additional requirements?

[+Young+]

Can somebody confirm what the requirements for the upcoming conductor exam are? Will they just be having graduated from HS, or will there be additional requirements?

 

To answer your question, refer to the last Notice of Examination which can be found here. Someone else from this topic said that there might be a Customer Service portion, according to a NYC Transit employee, but we have to wait and see.

 

Also, the official Notice of Examination should be out on September 2nd and can be found on this page. Once it is out, which is less than a week away, your question will be answered.

[+Young+]

So the official Notice of Examination for Conductor is out: http://web.mta.info/nyct/hr/pdf_exams/6601.pdf.

[BreeddekalbL]

So the official Notice of Examination for Conductor is out: http://web.mta.info/nyct/hr/pdf_exams/6601.pdf.

it looks like there is NO customer service requirement unless im missing it?

[RFWLover]

I just applied online. Filled out all my info, DOB, SS#, high school I went to, etc. Paid my fee and it seems like I'm good to go.

 

One thing I'm a little confused about is showing the MTA that I graduated HS. I have heard that I don't need to do anything right now, and that they will verify that I got my HS diploma if and when I get called off the list. Is this true?

 

Or do I have to mail a special form to the MTA with my educational history? The website doesn't say anything regarding this. 

 

Thanks to anyone who answers!

[161 New York]

I just applied online. Filled out all my info, DOB, SS#, high school I went to, etc. Paid my fee and it seems like I'm good to go.

 

One thing I'm a little confused about is showing the MTA that I graduated HS. I have heard that I don't need to do anything right now, and that they will verify that I got my HS diploma if and when I get called off the list. Is this true?

 

Or do I have to mail a special form to the MTA with my educational history? The website doesn't say anything regarding this. 

 

Thanks to anyone who answers!

 

Most likely when you are called you'll be asked.

 

HOW TO QUALIFY Education Requirement: By the date of appointment, you must have a four-year high school diploma or its educational equivalent, approved by a State’s Department of Education or a recognized accrediting organization. If you do not meet the education requirement by the date of appointment, your application fee will not be refunded and you will not be appointed. 

 

 

By the way I am reading this, if you are 13 or 14 years of age (perhaps even 12 - depending on your birth month and when the current active list expires) you can apply and POSSIBLY have a job ready at graduation. Which would be freaking awesome!

Edited September 3, 2015 by 161passenger

[SubwayGuy]

I just applied online. Filled out all my info, DOB, SS#, high school I went to, etc. Paid my fee and it seems like I'm good to go.

 

One thing I'm a little confused about is showing the MTA that I graduated HS. I have heard that I don't need to do anything right now, and that they will verify that I got my HS diploma if and when I get called off the list. Is this true?

 

Or do I have to mail a special form to the MTA with my educational history? The website doesn't say anything regarding this. 

 

Thanks to anyone who answers!

 

You will be asked to provide it as part of processing your paperwork when you are called down to be considered for hiring.

 

Most likely when you are called you'll be asked.

 

 

By the way I am reading this, if you are 13 or 14 years of age (perhaps even 12 - depending on your birth month and when the current active list expires) you can apply and POSSIBLY have a job ready at graduation. Which would be freaking awesome!

 

If you are not eligible to work in the US, you cannot take the test. I believe the minimum age to take the test would be 16 with working papers, but I'm not sure since DCAS is no longer handling administration. I'm sure if 12-14 year old kids could take the test, more of them (read: more than zero) would, I just don't have the technical explanation at the ready for why they can't.

[+Young+]

You will be asked to provide it as part of processing your paperwork when you are called down to be considered for hiring.

 

Even if you have a college degree (Associates, Bachelors, etc.), they will accept whatever is highest. Therefore, don't go crazy if you're a college graduate and you're looking for your high school diploma.

[train1290]

Just applied for the Conductor exam, I have a question. What is Oral Proficiency Assessment?

[thatdudenixk17]

im taking exam #6601 but does anyone knows when they will start calling people from CR's Promotional exam??

and how long after the test until we get our results?

[SubwayGuy]

Just applied for the Conductor exam, I have a question. What is Oral Proficiency Assessment?

 

It's a new test you will be asked to take at some point after taking the multiple choice exam. This is the first time it is being given for the CR title. Probably consists of assessing the clarity of your speech in some way.

[train1290]

So in other words, It's a pass or fail type of Assessment? Anything I should do to study?

[Xentor]

So in other words, It's a pass or fail type of Assessment? Anything I should do to study?

 

You could brush up on some of your major landmarks, airports and parks. I recall a couple of questions about where the Empire State Building and Statue Of Liberty are located. I did absolutely NOOO studying whatsoever when I took the exam and scored decently. I honestly cant recall much but I think I remember some of the question including a map or diagram. It was fairly easy. As for Oral Proficiency, we didn't have to take that part but like SubwayGuy above said it probably consists of assessing the clarity of your speech. Should be very simple. You'll have to make a lot of announcements (stops, transfers, connections, service changes etc..) So assessing the clarity of your speech is something the TA should have been doing for a while. Just speak as clearly and professional as you can, Oral Proficiency testing should be the easiest part of the test.