Career
Transit and railroad police
Keep trains, stations and passengers safe.
$90,230
Median pay
+3.2%
Job growth, 2025–35
300
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
- Prepare reports documenting investigation activities and results.
- Monitor transit areas and conduct security checks to protect railroad properties, patrons, and employees.
- Apprehend or remove trespassers or thieves from railroad property or coordinate with law enforcement agencies in apprehensions and removals.
- Direct security activities at derailments, fires, floods, or strikes involving railroad property.
- Patrol railroad yards, cars, stations, or other facilities to protect company property or shipments and to maintain order.
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?
“Prepare reports documenting investigation activities and results.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Active Listening, Speaking, Critical Thinking, Complex Problem Solving.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
No degree beyond high school, though moderate-term on-the-job training is typical, for a median of $90,230 a year and 300 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Criminal JusticeSee the degree →
- Security and Loss Prevention ServicesCIP 43.0109
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers$76,210 · +3.5%
- Security Guards$38,020 · +0.9%
- First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives$106,040 · +3.3%
- First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers$55,940 · +3.7%
- Detectives and Criminal Investigators$93,790 · +0.2%
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.