Subway and Streetcar Operators

• Summary

• Details

Work Activities

• Monitor lights indicating obstructions or other trains ahead and watch for car and truck traffic at crossings to stay alert to potential hazards.
• Drive and control rail-guided public transportation, such as subways, elevated trains, and electric-powered streetcars, trams, or trolleys, to transport passengers.
• Operate controls to open and close transit vehicle doors.
• Direct emergency evacuation procedures.
• Regulate vehicle speed and the time spent at each stop to maintain schedules.
• Attend meetings on driver and passenger safety to learn ways in which job performance might be affected.
• Report delays, mechanical problems, and emergencies to supervisors or dispatchers, using radios.
• Monitor lights indicating obstructions or other trains ahead and watch for car and truck traffic at crossings to stay alert to potential hazards.
• Complete reports, including shift summaries and incident or accident reports.
• Complete reports, including shift summaries and incident or accident reports.
• Report delays, mechanical problems, and emergencies to supervisors or dispatchers, using radios.
• Greet passengers, provide information, and answer questions concerning fares, schedules, transfers, and routings.
• 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.

Skills

• Learning Strategies
  • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
• Social Perceptiveness
  • Understanding people's reactions.
• Writing
  • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
• Equipment Selection
  • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
• Instructing
  • Teaching people how to do something.
• Operations Monitoring
  • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
• Service Orientation
  • Looking for ways to help people.
• Negotiation
  • Bringing people together to solve differences.
• Systems Analysis
  • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
• Installation
  • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
• Active Learning
  • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
• Technology Design
  • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
• Troubleshooting
  • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
• Management of Material Resources
  • Managing equipment and materials.
• Judgment and Decision Making
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
• Management of Personnel Resources
  • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
• Mathematics
  • Using math to solve problems.
• Reading Comprehension
  • Reading work-related information.
• Science
  • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
• Programming
  • Writing computer programs.
• Management of Financial Resources
  • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
• Time Management
  • Managing your time and the time of other people.
• Critical Thinking
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
• Systems Evaluation
  • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
• Operation and Control
  • Using equipment or systems.
• Speaking
  • Talking to others.
• Monitoring
  • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
• Active Listening
  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
• Repairing
  • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
• Coordination
  • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
• Quality Control Analysis
  • Testing how well a product or service works.
• Operations Analysis
  • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
• Complex Problem Solving
  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
• Equipment Maintenance
  • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
• Persuasion
  • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

Abilities

• Flexibility of Closure
  • Seeing hidden patterns.
• Multilimb Coordination
  • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
• Static Strength
  • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
• Reaction Time
  • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
• Rate Control
  • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
• Depth Perception
  • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
• Fluency of Ideas
  • Coming up with lots of ideas.
• Mathematical Reasoning
  • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
• Written Expression
  • Communicating by writing.
• Wrist-Finger Speed
  • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
• Response Orientation
  • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
• Manual Dexterity
  • Holding or moving items with your hands.
• Explosive Strength
  • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
• Dynamic Flexibility
  • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Speed of Limb Movement
  • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
• Finger Dexterity
  • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
• Inductive Reasoning
  • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
• Oral Expression
  • Communicating by speaking.
• Information Ordering
  • Ordering or arranging things.
• Sound Localization
  • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
• Trunk Strength
  • Using your lower back and stomach.
• Extent Flexibility
  • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Gross Body Coordination
  • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
• Visual Color Discrimination
  • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
• Number Facility
  • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
• Oral Comprehension
  • Listening and understanding what people say.
• Problem Sensitivity
  • Noticing when problems happen.
• Speed of Closure
  • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
• Perceptual Speed
  • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
• Spatial Orientation
  • Knowing where things are around you.
• Visualization
  • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
• Time Sharing
  • Doing two or more things at the same time.
• Peripheral Vision
  • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
• Stamina
  • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
• Dynamic Strength
  • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
• Gross Body Equilibrium
  • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
• Originality
  • Creating new and original ideas.
• Written Comprehension
  • Reading and understanding what is written.
• Deductive Reasoning
  • Using rules to solve problems.
• Arm-Hand Steadiness
  • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
• Control Precision
  • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
• Speech Recognition
  • Recognizing spoken words.
• Glare Sensitivity
  • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
• Night Vision
  • Seeing at night or under low light.
• Hearing Sensitivity
  • Telling the difference between sounds.
• Far Vision
  • Seeing details that are far away.
• Memorization
  • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
• Selective Attention
  • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
• Category Flexibility
  • Grouping things in different ways.
• Speech Clarity
  • Speaking clearly.
• Near Vision
  • Seeing details up close.
• Auditory Attention
  • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

Knowledge

• 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.
• Mechanical
  • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Transportation
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
• 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.
• Law and Government
  • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• 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.
• 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.
• Design
  • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• History and Archeology
  • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
• 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.
• Economics and Accounting
  • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Mathematics
  • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Biology
  • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• 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.
• Telecommunications
  • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
• 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.
• Production and Processing
  • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• 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.
• Sociology and Anthropology
  • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
• Fine Arts
  • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
• 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.

Education

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

1 to 12 months on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

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Education and Training Opportunities

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Pay

Washington Annual Salary

86750/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

41.71/hr

Washington Employment Trends

Currently Employed

180

Yearly Projected Openings

20

Personality

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

• Stress Tolerance
• Self-Control
• Cautiousness
• Attention to Detail
• Dependability
• Integrity

Tools

• Diesel passenger locomotives
• Door openers
• Electric passenger locomotives
• Fire extinguishers
• Intercom systems
• Public address systems
• Rail switching systems
• Streetcars or tramway cars
• Train braking systems
• Train defrosting or defogging systems
• Two way radios
• Vehicle horns
• Wheelchair ramps

Technology

• Office suite software
• Word processing software