Best degree programs for Rail Car Repairers, ranked by enrollment
1 college programs and 53 schools train Rail Car Repairers. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $67,530 median wage, 21,350 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
1 college programs at 53 schools train rail car repairers, graduating 859 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Heavy Equipment Maintenance Technology/Technician. The job pays a median of $67,530 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About rail car repairers
Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul railroad rolling stock, mine cars, or mass transit rail cars.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
1 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 47.0302 | 859 | 100.0% | 53 | $51,920 | $9,786 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What rail car repairers earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tennesseemoderate | $60,090 | 320 | 0.70× | 3 | 158 |
| Californiamoderate | $68,370 | 700 | 0.28× | 4 | 116 |
| Wisconsin | $58,870 | 220 | 0.54× | 7 | 96 |
| North Carolinalimited | $47,880 | 350 | 0.51× | 2 | 87 |
| Georgia | $64,230 | 980 | 1.46× | 7 | 83 |
| Texaslimited | $59,330 | 2,690 | 1.39× | 2 | 51 |
| Pennsylvaniamoderate | $62,350 | 970 | 1.16× | 3 | 44 |
| Michiganlimited | $64,370 | 370 | 0.61× | 2 | 41 |
| Minnesotalimited | $77,800 | 170 | 0.41× | 2 | 30 |
| Floridalimited | $62,260 | 410 | 0.30× | 2 | 23 |
| Nebraskalimited | — | 1,130 | 8.07× | 2 | 19 |
| Arizonalimited | $81,230 | 170 | 0.37× | 1 | 14 |
| New Jerseylimited | $78,750 | 410 | 0.70× | 1 | 14 |
| West Virginialimited | $50,800 | 100 | 1.06× | 2 | 14 |
| Illinoislimited | $84,570 | 1,850 | 2.21× | 2 | 13 |
| Mainelimited | $60,090 | 70 | 0.74× | 2 | 12 |
| Utahlimited | $83,980 | 100 | 0.41× | 2 | 10 |
| Mississippilimited | $47,480 | 320 | 2.01× | 1 | 8 |
| Oregonlimited | $87,470 | 230 | 0.85× | 1 | 8 |
| Idaholimited | $85,420 | 110 | 0.98× | 1 | 6 |
| Ohiolimited | $53,480 | 690 | 0.91× | 2 | 5 |
| Nevadalimited | $48,100 | 50 | 0.25× | 1 | 1 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- 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.
- Test units for operability before and after repairs.
- Adjust repaired or replaced units as needed to ensure proper operation.
- Repair, fabricate, and install steel or wood fittings, using blueprints, shop sketches, and instruction manuals.
Skills
- Critical Thinking3.3
- Speaking3.0
- Active Listening3.0
- Writing2.9
- Monitoring2.9
- Reading Comprehension2.9
- Active Learning2.8
- Learning Strategies2.6
Knowledge areas
- Mechanical4.5
- Production and Processing3.4
- Design3.3
- Administration and Management3.2
- Building and Construction3.2
- Engineering and Technology3.2
Abilities
- Manual Dexterity3.9
- Arm-Hand Steadiness3.9
- Control Precision3.9
- Multilimb Coordination3.8
- Finger Dexterity3.6
- Near Vision3.6
Core activities
- Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials4.2
- Getting Information4.0
- Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment3.9
- Handling and Moving Objects3.9
- Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings3.8
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems3.8
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Rail Car Repairer
Job zone 2 of 5 · SVP Below 6.0- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Long-term on-the-job training
Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 1 majors mapped to Rail Car Repairers1 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 47.0302Heavy Equipment Maintenance Technology/Technician
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become a Rail Car Repairer?+
High school diploma or equivalent is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Heavy Equipment Maintenance Technology/Technician, which awarded 859 degrees in 2024-25, 100.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Rail Car Repairer?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 1 programs to this occupation. The largest are Heavy/Industrial Equipment Maintenance Technologies/Technicians. Together they graduate about 859 people a year.
How much do rail car repairers earn?+
The median is $67,530 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $46,800 at the 10th percentile to $95,100 at the 90th. 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 rail car repairers growing?+
BLS projects a +2.8% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 1,500 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
53 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 1 programs 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 rail car repairers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Rail Car Welder, Rail Car Mechanic, Rail Car Repairer, Rail Car Repairman among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 49-3043.
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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