Interested in conductor role

[adskidids]

Hello all,

I am completely disillusioned with corporate office jobs and looking for an escape, and working on the railways really appeals to me. I've always enjoyed travelling by train (when they aren't rammed) and being on my feet more and interacting with the public sounds more interesting than spreadsheets. So i've started exploring conductor roles.
Basically I had a few questions (some of which have been asked many times in the past but I don't know if things have changed, sorry!).

1) My ideal station would be Sheffield but there's no vacancies there currently and I wasn't sure if they were likely to be quite rare, with most vacancies in places like Leeds and Manchester. Is it likely to be a long wait?
2) I've done some research on base salary, commission, sunday working etc. and just wondered, after all those, what roughly would be the average conductors total full year salary?
3) With all the talk of conductorless trains etc. how secure is this line of work going to be?

Thanks!

 

[Komma]

Most TOCs want you to live between 45 minutes or an hour from your home depot. Not sure about depots up your way as I am based down south. At my depot guards wages go from between 35,000 and 45,000, depending on how many Sundays/rest days you do. I have been a guard 10 years and have heard every other day that my role will disappear and here I am still as a guard.
Nothing in life is guaranteed and the job could go one day, but while it is here it is a great job and if you can cope with shift work, go for it.

 

[skyhigh]

1) My ideal station would be Sheffield but there's no vacancies there currently and I wasn't sure if they were likely to be quite rare, with most vacancies in places like Leeds and Manchester. Is it likely to be a long wait?

Northern has a pretty big depot at Sheffield so vacancies come up fairly regularly. I don't think they closed that long ago though so might be a bit of a wait until they come back up again. I think EMR also have a depot at Sheffield but not 100% sure on that.

 

[CFRAIL]

Hello all,

I am completely disillusioned with corporate office jobs and looking for an escape, and working on the railways really appeals to me. I've always enjoyed travelling by train (when they aren't rammed) and being on my feet more and interacting with the public sounds more interesting than spreadsheets. So i've started exploring conductor roles.
Basically I had a few questions (some of which have been asked many times in the past but I don't know if things have changed, sorry!).

1) My ideal station would be Sheffield but there's no vacancies there currently and I wasn't sure if they were likely to be quite rare, with most vacancies in places like Leeds and Manchester. Is it likely to be a long wait?
2) I've done some research on base salary, commission, sunday working etc. and just wondered, after all those, what roughly would be the average conductors total full year salary?
3) With all the talk of conductorless trains etc. how secure is this line of work going to be?

Thanks!

Total package will ultimately vary, at my TOC you're looking at circa 35k base plus Sundays and then any commission on top of that is likely to be between £500-£1500

 

[WF4HA5HE]

Hello all,

I am completely disillusioned with corporate office jobs and looking for an escape, and working on the railways really appeals to me. I've always enjoyed travelling by train (when they aren't rammed) and being on my feet more and interacting with the public sounds more interesting than spreadsheets. So i've started exploring conductor roles.
Basically I had a few questions (some of which have been asked many times in the past but I don't know if things have changed, sorry!).

1) My ideal station would be Sheffield but there's no vacancies there currently and I wasn't sure if they were likely to be quite rare, with most vacancies in places like Leeds and Manchester. Is it likely to be a long wait?
2) I've done some research on base salary, commission, sunday working etc. and just wondered, after all those, what roughly would be the average conductors total full year salary?
3) With all the talk of conductorless trains etc. how secure is this line of work going to be?

Thanks!

Northern have recently had a vacancy for Sheffield Conductor around a month ago but I see Sheffield coming up every couple of months. Alot of TOCS will recruit into talent pools basically meaning once you've passed the interview your kept on a list until a training course becomes avaliable so they recruit fairly often to keep the pool/list filled. Sheffield is a decent size aswell so has alot of staff signing on there and definitely one of the bigger depots in the region alongside Leeds and Manchester

 

[adskidids]

Great news about Sheffield, thanks guys. I don't drive so needing to be within x-minutes of commutable distance of your home depot rules pretty much everywhere out (without moving house for a job I don't even have), but Sheffield station is a 10 minute walk from my front door which is perfect.

 

[WF4HA5HE]

Great news about Sheffield, thanks guys. I don't drive so needing to be within x-minutes of commutable distance of your home depot rules pretty much everywhere out (without moving house for a job I don't even have), but Sheffield station is a 10 minute walk from my front door which is perfect.

I don't drive either and I have a conductor interview coming up with Northern and stated on my application I dont drive. I live further then a 10 minutes walk but within a 45 minutes commute so im sure you'll be fine.

 

[warwickshire]

Northern has a pretty big depot at Sheffield so vacancies come up fairly regularly. I don't think they closed that long ago though so might be a bit of a wait until they come back up again. I think EMR also have a depot at Sheffield but not 100% sure on that.

Also Transpennie Express have a guards Depot at Sheffield as well.

 

[adskidids]

Thanks for the help everyone.
I put job alerts on all the above TOC's job sites and one has come up at Sheffield for a Northern conductor, except it's an apprenticeship and takes a year. That's a bit too long for me, but I thought there were sometimes vacancies posted for faster routes in with 3 months training then on to full pay? Is that right or have I got mixed up, is it always going to be 12 months+ until fully qualified and paid?

 

[CFRAIL]

Thanks for the help everyone.
I put job alerts on all the above TOC's job sites and one has come up at Sheffield for a Northern conductor, except it's an apprenticeship and takes a year. That's a bit too long for me, but I thought there were sometimes vacancies posted for faster routes in with 3 months training then on to full pay? Is that right or have I got mixed up, is it always going to be 12 months+ until fully qualified and paid?

I think it varies by TOC, but at my TOC it was trainee rate whilst at training school and out with my instructor at depot. Then an increase once I worked my first solo train and then 12 months from first solo train an increase to full pay.

 

[Jaxscc]

Thanks for the help everyone.
I put job alerts on all the above TOC's job sites and one has come up at Sheffield for a Northern conductor, except it's an apprenticeship and takes a year. That's a bit too long for me, but I thought there were sometimes vacancies posted for faster routes in with 3 months training then on to full pay? Is that right or have I got mixed up, is it always going to be 12 months+ until fully qualified and paid?

Northern Conductor is training wage for first 14 weeks. Then you take your final assessment, if you pass you go onto full wage as you will then be a Qualified Conductor. Next is route learning and the rest of the year is working trains and gaining experience until you become an Experienced Conductor, hence the full year!... it would of explained this in the job advertisement!