Best programs to become a signal and track switch repairer in Minnesota
15 Minnesota schools offer programs that train signal and track switch repairers, graduating 683 people a year. Signal and track switch repairers in Minnesota earn a median of $96,780 across about 80 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
You do not need a college degree to become a signal and track switch repairer. The field of study that leads most directly to this job in Minnesota is Electrician (IPEDS completions). BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education.
Install, inspect, test, maintain, or repair electric gate crossings, signals, signal equipment, track switches, section lines, or intercommunications systems within a railroad.
1 program in Minnesota that leads to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Minnesota (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Minnesota page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 46.0302In Minnesota → | 683 | 100.0% | 15 | $39,766 | $9,500 |
Top 15 schools in Minnesota
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 12 of the 15 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Summit Academy Opportunities Industrialization Center Minneapolis, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 145 | Electrician | — | 64% | $17,453 | — |
| 2 | Dunwoody College of Technology Minneapolis, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 67 | Electrician | $47,888 | 66% | $25,132 | 99% |
| 3 | Anoka Technical College Anoka, MN Public · 1 feeder program | 60 | Electrician | $43,686 | 66% | — | — |
| 4 | Saint Paul College Saint Paul, MN Public · 1 feeder program | 60 | Electrician | $39,770 | 40% | — | — |
| 5 | Dakota County Technical College Rosemount, MN Public · 1 feeder program | 46 | Electrician | $53,566 | 58% | — | — |
| 6 | Minnesota State Community and Technical College Fergus Falls, MN Public · 1 feeder program | 46 | Electrician | $50,776 | 47% | — | — |
| 7 | Ridgewater College Willmar, MN Public · 1 feeder program | 44 | Electrician | $46,852 | 50% | — | — |
| 8 | Riverland Community College Austin, MN Public · 1 feeder program | 42 | Electrician | $47,288 | 52% | — | — |
| 9 | St Cloud Technical and Community College Saint Cloud, MN Public · 1 feeder program | 38 | Electrician | $48,478 | 45% | — | — |
| 10 | Minnesota West Community and Technical College Granite Falls, MN Public · 1 feeder program | 36 | Electrician | $51,507 | 52% | — | — |
| 11 | Northwest Technical College Bemidji, MN Public · 1 feeder program | 30 | Electrician | $43,720 | 50% | — | — |
| 12 | Minnesota North College Hibbing, MN Public · 1 feeder program | 28 | Electrician | $39,258 | 42% | — | — |
| 13 | Lake Superior College Duluth, MN Public · 1 feeder program | 18 | Electrician | — | 42% | — | — |
| 14 | Northland Community and Technical College Thief River Falls, MN Public · 1 feeder program | 15 | Electrician | $41,802 | 56% | — | — |
| 15 | Leech Lake Tribal College Cass Lake, MN Public · 1 feeder program | 8 | Electrician | — | 19% | — | — |
All 15 schools in Minnesota
Every school in Minnesota with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summit Academy Opportunities Industrialization Center | Minneapolis | Private not-for-profit | 145 | 1 |
| Dunwoody College of Technology | Minneapolis | Private not-for-profit | 67 | 1 |
| Anoka Technical College | Anoka | Public | 60 | 1 |
| Saint Paul College | Saint Paul | Public | 60 | 1 |
| Dakota County Technical College | Rosemount | Public | 46 | 1 |
| Minnesota State Community and Technical College | Fergus Falls | Public | 46 | 1 |
| Ridgewater College | Willmar | Public | 44 | 1 |
| Riverland Community College | Austin | Public | 42 | 1 |
| St Cloud Technical and Community College | Saint Cloud | Public | 38 | 1 |
| Minnesota West Community and Technical College | Granite Falls | Public | 36 | 1 |
| Northwest Technical College | Bemidji | Public | 30 | 1 |
| Minnesota North College | Hibbing | Public | 28 | 1 |
| Lake Superior College | Duluth | Public | 18 | 1 |
| Northland Community and Technical College | Thief River Falls | Public | 15 | 1 |
| Leech Lake Tribal College | Cass Lake | Public | 8 | 1 |
Fields of study in Minnesota that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
What signal and track switch repairers earn in Minnesota
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $92,460. Minnesota pays above the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Signal and Track Switch Repairers page.
How to become a signal and track switch repairer
- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Minnesota
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 1 majors mapped to Signal and Track Switch Repairers1 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 46.0302Electrician
Common questions
Answers for people weighing signal and track switch repairers programs in Minnesota.
What degree do you need to become a signal and track switch repairer?+
You do not need a college degree to become a signal and track switch repairer. The field of study that leads most directly to this job in Minnesota is Electrician (IPEDS completions). BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education.
Which college majors lead to becoming a signal and track switch repairer?+
The field of study that leads most directly to this job in Minnesota is Electrician (IPEDS completions). In all, 1 feeder program graduates about 683 people a year in Minnesota (IPEDS completions).
How much do signal and track switch repairers earn in Minnesota?+
The median is $96,780 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 4.7% above the U.S. median of $92,460. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for signal and track switch repairers growing?+
BLS projects a +1.7% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 800 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Minnesota?+
15 institutions in Minnesota reported graduates from at least one of the 1 program that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do signal and track switch repairers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Signalman, Signal Inspector, Signal Maintainer, Train Control Electronic Technician among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 49-9097.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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