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Subway and Streetcar Operators
Operate subway or elevated suburban trains with no separate locomotive, or electric-powered streetcar, to transport passengers. May handle fares.
Also Known As:
Combined Rail Operator
Light Rail Operator
Light Rail Train Operator
Light Rail Vehicle Operator (LRV Operator)
Rail Operator
Rapid Transit Operator (RTO)
Streetcar Operator
Train Operator
Transit Operator
Trolley Operator
Wages
Annual wages for Subway and Streetcar Operators in United States
Job Outlook
Average
New job opportunities are likely in the future
United States
2033 Projected Employment
16,000
4% Change From 2023
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Monitor lights indicating obstructions or other trains ahead and watch for car and truck traffic at crossings to stay alert to potential hazards.
- Regulate vehicle speed and the time spent at each stop to maintain schedules.
- Operate controls to open and close transit vehicle doors.
- Direct emergency evacuation procedures.
- Attend meetings on driver and passenger safety to learn ways in which job performance might be affected.
- Drive and control rail-guided public transportation, such as subways, elevated trains, and electric-powered streetcars, trams, or trolleys, to transport passengers.
- Report delays, mechanical problems, and emergencies to supervisors or dispatchers, using radios.
- Complete reports, including shift summaries and incident or accident reports.
- Report delays, mechanical problems, and emergencies to supervisors or dispatchers, using radios.
- Complete reports, including shift summaries and incident or accident reports.
- Monitor lights indicating obstructions or other trains ahead and watch for car and truck traffic at crossings to stay alert to potential hazards.
- Monitor lights indicating obstructions or other trains ahead and watch for car and truck traffic at crossings to stay alert to potential hazards.
- Make announcements to passengers, such as notifications of upcoming stops or schedule delays.
- Greet passengers, provide information, and answer questions concerning fares, schedules, transfers, and routings.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")