Company poor, but job itself..5 stars - Train Crew (Conductor)/Locomotive Engineer Union Pacific Employee Review

2.0
27 Apr 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Pay is pretty good when the work is there. The retirement is some of the best around if you make it that far.

Cons

Most managers are useless. They bring them in from college with experience with the railroad industry. Employees are treated as a number. Company regularly disregards the union contracts. I've relised in the first year that going above and beyond to help will either go unnoticed or get you fired. MOP's are the rule police. If you blink funny your liable to be put on a discipline level. Manager promotions seem to be based on ftx failures not actually how well you do your job. You won't leave a coaching without some kind of ftx coaching no matter if you broke the rules of not.

Explore other reviews about Union Pacific

5.0
20 Apr 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great flexibility and opportunity to move around within the company

Cons

You travel a good amount for the role depending on your work location.

3.0
6 Jul 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good benefits Work about every other day Pay has potential to be good

Cons

New hires do 100% of the work for 80% of the pay and won’t get fully compensated for the first 4 years. They are also expected to know every transportation job on site rather than focusing on one area like guys who have been here longer so 20% less pay but required to know more, do more, have to wear orange hats for a full year allowing management to easily identify them on camera or in person so they can watch them more closely hoping to catch them breaking a rule. So less pay but a more stressful work place requiring you to know more and get singled out hoping to catch them in a mistake. There is absolutely zero work life balance. Coming from a place where I had 20 plus years and able to hold a decent amount of PTO to getting a single day of paid vacation the first year and trying to balance a family life while also trying to provide for them is impossible. You sacrifice seeing your children grow up, play sports, go on vacations with them so you can provide for them. By the time you have enough years in to take a vacation with them they are grown and you missed the most important years of their lives. I know this as a child of a railroader and now as a parent who’s children barely get to see him.

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