Pros
You make life long friends out here but also enemies. Most are fun to work with and make the job bearable. The pay is good and the retirement can't be beat. But don't let the railroad fool you into thinking they make that happen. That's your Union at work for you. You also get to see and do things here you never would have had the opportunity to before. Pay could be better compared to other railroads but overall not bad. The experience you gain is great as well.
Cons
Too many to list but I'll try! 1. Management does not really care for you. Only what they can do to make themselves look good. Most of the management are straight out of college with no experience in railroading however expect you to respect their authority and like to think they know how the railroad operates when in truth they are clueless. 2. They are out to fire you. Why would that be you may ask? Let me outline it for you. The government pays them subsidies for hiring the American worker. They then train you and make you believe you have just started a wonderful career and that you will be here for a very long time. Neglecting to tell you that most likely you will be furloughed the first day you are done with your training. You could be furloughed up to a full year and all the while CSX has made money off the government while you sit around hoping to get called again. They pretty much bank on the fact that you most likely will not return. This however helps them look good to the public and their shareholders for all PR purposes to look like they are helping the Economy and hiring people. It makes it look like they are doing so much business that they have to hire new people. The management is actually told to write people up. That they have written the rule books so that there is no way that the employee can ever be 100 percent rule compliant. 3. Your family life will be non existent. The divorce rate on the railroad is through the roof. Since joining the railroad it has been a struggle just to keep my marriage afloat. My son hates me and my daughter cries all the time because I'm never Home! I've missed two thanksgivings and one Christmas so far. I've missed my anniversary 4 times and all of my sons ball games. This company does nothing to help you on this matter and could care less. Again you are nothing but a number. The only reason people stay here is for the retirement. The railroad is nothing like what it use to be. It's only about the dollar. Corporate greed at its finest with CSX. This year, we have been told that due to Hurricane Isaac we will not be getting our yearly bonus, however Mr. Micheal Ward, the company CEO got his bonus of over 9 million dollars. Way to care about your employees Mr. Ward. Again There are entirely too many to list here but i can assure you that the cons FAR outweigh the pros You have to ask yourself whats important in you life and if you are ready to sacrifice all that for a bunch of empty promises. I'm only still here because the job market in this area is horrible and this is whats paying the bills