Best degree programs for Rail Yard Engineers, Dinkey Operators, and Hostlers, ranked by enrollment
1 college programs and 1 schools train Rail Yard Engineers, Dinkey Operators, and Hostlers. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $60,600 median wage, 3,920 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
1 college programs at 1 schools train rail yard engineers, dinkey operators, and hostlers, graduating 87 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Railroad and Railway Transportation. The job pays a median of $60,600 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About rail yard engineers, dinkey operators, and hostlers
Drive switching or other locomotive or dinkey engines within railroad yard, industrial plant, quarry, construction project, or similar location.
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 49.0208 | 87 | 100.0% | 1 | $42,812 | $7,572 |
Top 1 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johnson County Community College Overland Park, KS Public · 1 feeder programs | 87 | Railroad and Railway Transportation | 31% | — | — |
What rail yard engineers, dinkey operators, and hostlers 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kansaslimited | $56,090 | — | — | 1 | 87 |
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
- Observe and respond to wayside and cab signals, including color light signals, position signals, torpedoes, flags, and hot box detectors.
- Inspect engines before and after use to ensure proper operation.
- Apply and release hand brakes.
- Signal crew members for movement of engines or trains, using lanterns, hand signals, radios, or telephones.
- Confer with conductors and other workers via radiotelephones or computers to exchange switching information.
- Inspect track for defects such as broken rails and switch malfunctions.
- Observe water levels and oil, air, and steam pressure gauges to ensure proper operation of equipment.
- Couple and uncouple air hoses and electrical connections between cars.
Skills
- Monitoring3.6
- Speaking3.5
- Active Listening3.4
- Critical Thinking3.3
- Reading Comprehension3.1
- Active Learning3.0
- Writing2.9
- Learning Strategies2.8
Knowledge areas
- Transportation4.2
- Public Safety and Security3.6
- Administration and Management3.2
- Mechanical3.1
- English Language3.1
- Customer and Personal Service3.0
Abilities
- Problem Sensitivity4.0
- Oral Comprehension4.0
- Far Vision3.9
- Reaction Time3.8
- Control Precision3.8
- Near Vision3.6
Core activities
- Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment4.5
- Getting Information4.4
- Controlling Machines and Processes4.4
- Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials4.4
- Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards4.3
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events4.3
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Rail Yard Engineer
Job zone 2 of 5 · SVP Below 6.0- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-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 Yard Engineers, Dinkey Operators, and Hostlers1 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 49.0208Railroad and Railway Transportation
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 Yard Engineer?+
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 Railroad and Railway Transportation, which awarded 87 degrees in 2024-25, 100.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Rail Yard Engineer?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 1 programs to this occupation. The largest are Ground Transportation. Together they graduate about 87 people a year.
How much do rail yard engineers, dinkey operators, and hostlers earn?+
The median is $60,600 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $44,540 at the 10th percentile to $100,270 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 yard engineers, dinkey operators, and hostlers growing?+
BLS projects a +0.3% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 200 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
1 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 yard engineers, dinkey operators, and hostlers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Engineer, Switchman, Railcar Switcher, Railroad Engineer among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 53-4013.
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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