A Train Operator or Conductor

[ENYQueen34]

Ok for some of you who do not know I always wanted to be able to operate trains for the NYC Subway. I went on http://www.nyc.gov/dcas yesterday and read the requirements of Becoming an operator. What I want to know is what is the minimum and maximum age to become a Train Operator? Also how often do they have the test? Another thing, what job do you think would fit a girl best until the Train Operator exam came back around? Please respond, thank you.

[metsfan]

In the future please don't capitalize every word, and try to use punctuation. I had to fix your post to make it readable.

There are many (NYCT) folks on here so you should get an answer quickly as long as you attempt to communicate clearly.

 

- A

[Y2Julio]

There are many folks on here so you should get an answer quickly as long as you attempt to communicate clearly.

 

- A

While I'm not an MTA employee yet, I think I can easily answer this. There is no age requirement to become a train operator but it does have other requirements. At the time of application you must have a High School diploma or a GED diploma. You must also have either 5 years full time paid work experience (doesn't have to be 5 years consecutive, with the same employer or transit related) or have 4 years of college credits and one year full time paid work experience (doesn't have to be with the same employer or transit relate transit related). You can pretty much do any job you want with the MTA as long as you meet the requirements for the position you're applying for. The exams are giving about every 5 years. The next Conductor exam will be in 2013 and the next Train Operator should be around 2014.

 

Anyways You need a High School Diploma age to be t/o is 23 Yrs old at least to be a Train Operator

Wrong! I'm 22 and I meet the requirements to become a Train Operator.

[LexAveExp5]

While I'm not an MTA employee yet, I think I can easily answer this. There is no age requirement to become a train operator but it does have other requirements. At the time of application you must have a High School diploma or a GED diploma. You must also have either 5 years full time paid work experience (doesn't have to be 5 years consecutive, with the same employer or transit related) or have 4 years of college credits and one year full time paid work experience (doesn't have to be with the same employer or transit relate transit related). You can pretty much do any job you want with the MTA as long as you meet the requirements for the position you're applying for. The exams are giving about every 5 years. The next Conductor exam will be in 2013 and the next Train Operator should be around 2014.

 

 

Wrong! I'm 22 and I meet the requirements to become a Train Operator.

 

ok, i didnt wanna say anything before so as to limit the competition for the exam. but since the applying period is over, i can spill my guts. this is the 3rd or 4th time someone has said "You must also have either 5 years full time paid work experience...or have 4 years of college credits and one year full time paid work experience". those are NOT the only combinations of experience/college credits you can have to meet the 5 year requirement. right there in the Notice of Examination it clearly states "College education may be substituted for experience on the following basis: One year of acceptable experience will be credited for each 30 credits completed at an accredited college, up to a maximum of four years." Meaning, if you only have 30 credits you have to have 4 yrs work exp. if you only have 60 credits you have to have 3 yrs work exp. if you only have 90 credits you have to have 2 yrs work exp. if you have 120 credits (the maximum you will be allowed to substitute) you have to have at least 1 yr of full time, paid, satisfactory work experience

 

a lot of you guys have really knocked this "basic reading comprehension test" as if its the easiest thing in the world if you graduated high school. but its gonna be sentences like the one i quoted from the NOE that are gonna cause you to get a 92, 94, 96 and NOT get the job. i read in an article that in 2000 when they first made the T/O exam open competitive, 26,000 people took the test...and the economy was good! and nobody knew it was open competitive! so imagine now, 9 yrs later with the world economy crumbling before our eyes, how many people, especially with college degrees are gonna take that test and score 100. not to mention the veterans who can possibly score 110. brush up on the reading comprehension. main idea can usually be found in the first and/or last sentence of the paragraph. all that stuff we slept through in middle school. i bought a book, so should you

[Y2Julio]

ok, i didnt wanna say anything before so as to limit the competition for the exam. but since the applying period is over, i can spill my guts. this is the 3rd or 4th time someone has said "You must also have either 5 years full time paid work experience...or have 4 years of college credits and one year full time paid work experience". those are NOT the only combinations of experience/college credits you can have to meet the 5 year requirement. right there in the Notice of Examination it clearly states "College education may be substituted for experience on the following basis: One year of acceptable experience will be credited for each 30 credits completed at an accredited college, up to a maximum of four years." Meaning, if you only have 30 credits you have to have 4 yrs work exp. if you only have 60 credits you have to have 3 yrs work exp. if you only have 90 credits you have to have 2 yrs work exp. if you have 120 credits (the maximum you will be allowed to substitute) you have to have at least 1 yr of full time, paid, satisfactory work experience

 

a lot of you guys have really knocked this "basic reading comprehension test" as if its the easiest thing in the world if you graduated high school. but its gonna be sentences like the one i quoted from the NOE that are gonna cause you to get a 92, 94, 96 and NOT get the job. i read in an article that in 2000 when they first made the T/O exam open competitive, 26,000 people took the test...and the economy was good! and nobody knew it was open competitive! so imagine now, 9 yrs later with the world economy crumbling before our eyes, how many people, especially with college degrees are gonna take that test and score 100. not to mention the veterans who can possibly score 110. brush up on the reading comprehension. main idea can usually be found in the first and/or last sentence of the paragraph. all that stuff we slept through in middle school. i bought a book, so should you

After answering the same questions, things get repetitive in replying. Excuse me for making a slight error but if you are trying to pin me with poor reading comprehension it should be the people that are asking questions that are answered by the Notice of Examination. This won't be my first civil service exam. I took the C/R back in December and only got one question wrong on the exam. I think I know what to expect. You buy the book if you want, I'll choose to save my 20 bucks.

[LexAveExp5]

After answering the same questions, things get repetitive in replying. Excuse me for making a slight error but if you are trying to pin me with poor reading comprehension it should be the people that are asking questions that are answered by the Notice of Examination. This won't be my first civil service exam. I took the C/R back in December and only got one question wrong on the exam. I think I know what to expect. You buy the book if you want, I'll choose to save my 20 bucks.

 

sorry, i just took it personally because i only have 30 credits but i have 4 years work experience. so if i had listened to that advice, i would have never applied

[Y2Julio]

sorry, i just took it personally because i only have 30 credits but i have 4 years work experience. so if i had listened to that advice, i would have never applied

 

Well I can see that you're ready for the exam then I just want to make it clear that we aren't trying to pass false information. If it happens, it's unintentional. Like I said, after getting the same questions over and over, you just start replying automatically without putting much thought into it, which cause things like this to happen

[LexAveExp5]

i know it wasnt on purpose. you're forgiven!

[Zman]

The requirements are nowhere near as stringent for the Conductor title.

[Pelham Bay Dave]

Ok for some of you who do not know I always wanted to be able to operate trains for the NYC Subway. I went on http://www.nyc.gov/dcas yesterday and read the requirements of Becoming an operator. What I want to know is what is the minimum and maximum age to become a Train Operator? Also how often do they have the test? Another thing, what job do you think would fit a girl best until the Train Operator exam came back around? Please respond, thank you.

 

Most of the questions were answered but just to answer you about other Jobs can take C/R which will come out before the next T/O exam. You learn the job and T/O responsibitys first before moving up. Also all you will Need for C/R is a HS Diploma while T/O you also need 5 years work experance which is not required for the Conductors job. We have a alot of great women Train Operators so don't let anyone tell you its just a mans job.

[ENYQueen34]

i look forward to becoming a T/O and i think i will be a conductor also cause i like that job also but thanks Pelham Bay Dave You Were a Big Help

 

[Pelham Bay Dave]

Good luck Enyqueen If you go the Conductors Route after one year your quilified for the Promotional Train Operator Exam.

[LexAveExp5]

Good luck Enyqueen If you go the Conductors Route after one year your quilified for the Promotional Train Operator Exam.

 

which basically means all you'll have to score is a 70 to be guaranteed a spot as a T/O while the rest of us have to score 97, 98, 99, 100

[Jah]

which basically means all you'll have to score is a 70 to be guaranteed a spot as a T/O while the rest of us have to score 97, 98, 99, 100

 

There's more to it than that. For the promotional you have to have a great disciplinary record, safety record, and have to have over 50% of your total sick days for your career.

 

The sick days is the most important one to the TA.

[Pelham Bay Dave]

Exactly because outsiders have more people to compete with while as a Promotional its a lot less and you have to prove yourself with your work record before getting a promotion so the promotional list moves fast. The O/C list they go by what you tell them an get called but if you lie they got whole year to catch on an fire you.

[Zman]

i look forward to becoming a T/O and i think i will be a conductor also cause i like that job

 

Wow, talk about willing to work OPTO.

[Y2Julio]

Wow, talk about willing to work OPTO.

 

I think she meant that she will go for the conductor position individually not OPTO B)

[MotormanMike]

Good luck with your pursuit of becoming a Train Operator or Conductor down here. You're in good shape because you're 15 and I assume still in high school so you were ineligible for the open competitive tests they just gave , but should be eligible next time they come around so you're not wasting time. If you want to work down here your focus right now should be to finish high school. A GED is acceptable too , but if you can my advice is to finsh high school. If you like to read , read often too because the reading comprehension is a big part of the test and typically on ALL civil service titles be it TA or other merely passing or even scoring a 90 or so is not usually going to get you hired , or if it does you'll wait forever. I scored a 98.something (69 of 70 right) and it took me 3+ years to get called. The TA hires off the promotional list before going to the open competitive list.

 

I don't know about conductor , but for T/O you need a HS Diploma or GED plus a combination of 5 years of full time work and/or college experience. 30 credits is typically a full year of college since for example in CUNY a semester (there are 2 a year) you can usually take a max of 15-18 cedits. After HS start working or go to college as soon as possible and don't wait.

 

A little advice , take whatever tests they give to get in , cleaner , conductor , whatever. Then once you're in you can take promotional exams and you can still take the open competitives as well. I had conductors in my school car class that were hired off the promotional list.

 

I had a friend who got called for conductor at the same time I got called for TO. He decided not to take it and wait for the T/O job. (he took both tests , I only took T/O) ... it's been two years I'm down here and they never called him for T/O and he's not down here yet.

 

Hope I helped you out. Good luck.

 

Oh , PS , there are NO minimum or maximum ages. Just meet the requirements as soon as possible and you're good.

[Pelham Bay Dave]

When I took the Conductors exam I was 16 Years old then got called at 18 Years old a few months out of HS. All you need it that HS Diploma at time of appointment for Conductor.

[SubwayGuy]

Yup, wish I'da known that back in 03 or whenever it last was.., heck I might even already be down there with you guys

[Y2Julio]

Yup, wish I'da known that back in 03 or whenever it last was.., heck I might even already be down there with you guys

Same. I believe it was back in 2004.