Career
Rail car repairers
Repair rail cars.
$67,530
Median pay
+2.6%
Job growth, 2025–35
1,600
Openings a year
High school diploma or equivalent
Typical education
None required
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Record conditions of cars, and repair and maintenance work performed or to be performed.
- Inspect components such as bearings, seals, gaskets, wheels, and coupler assemblies to determine if repairs are needed.
- Repair or replace defective or worn parts such as bearings, pistons, and gears, using hand tools, torque wrenches, power tools, and welding equipment.
- Inspect the interior and exterior of rail cars coming into rail yards to identify defects and to determine the extent of wear and damage.
- Remove locomotives, car mechanical units, or other components, using pneumatic hoists and jacks, pinch bars, hand tools, and cutting torches.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on objects & tools, then information & systems?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Record conditions of cars, and repair and maintenance work performed or to be performed.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Repairing, Troubleshooting, Equipment Maintenance, Operations Monitoring.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
No degree beyond high school, though long-term on-the-job training is typical, for a median of $67,530 a year and 1,600 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Heavy Equipment Maintenance Technology/TechnicianCIP 47.0302
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists$61,770 · +3.6%
- Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics$50,620 · +5.0%
- Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines$65,510 · +6.7%
- Engine and Other Machine Assemblers$53,710 · -17.0%
- Maintenance Workers, Machinery$60,850 · -1.9%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.