I asked this early, so I was wondering do you have to pay for the trip to the strength test yourself or does bnsf foot the gas? Any info is appreciated.
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BNSF Discussion
(2584 posts) (291 voices)-
zoflyyy
MemberHELP PLEASE..ANYONE..SO I GOT MY "CLEARED ALL THE MEDICAL REQUIREMENTS EMAIL ON JAN 13..AND I JUST CALLED VERIFICATIONS AND ASKED ABOUT MY BACKGROUND SINCE I FIGURED THAT WAS THE HOLD UP BUT THEY SAID MY BACKGROUND WAS PROCESSED IN DEC..SO I GUESS IM JUST WORRYING ABOUT WHEN TO EXPECT TO GET MY FINAL OFFER..MY STEPBROTHER STARTED BACK IN LIKE OCT I THINK AND HE SAID THAT THE BACKGROUND IS AN ON GOIN THING AND THAT MY BACKGROUND IS MOST LIKELY ALREADY COMPLETE TOO SINCE THEY'VE ALRDY SENT ME TO DO THE MEDICAL PHYSICAL AND STRENGTH TEST AND THEY WOULDNT HAVE WASTED MONEY ON DOING THAT IF YOUR BACKGROUND DIDNT CHECK OUT..DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY INFO ON THIS BC IVE HEARD AN READ SOOOO MANY THINGS AND I THINK MY STEPBROTHER HIT IT RITE ON THE HEAD WITH WHAT HE TOLD ME...IM SO RDY TO RECIEVE MY FINAL OFFER ALREADY! :-/
Posted 4 weeks ago # -
AZLongRoad
MemberNikki it's on your Dime.
Posted 4 weeks ago # -
doccaroo
MemberI finally got an email to call and schedule my physical and strength test. I am so stoked right now and it couldn't have come at a better time. This board has been a life saver for me and has kept my hopes up when I get to thinking that I won't get that final offer. Sean you are definitely a saint for me and I am so glad that I found all this information. Fingers crossed on my final steps to an awesome career.
Posted 4 weeks ago # -
rail
MemberSome yards have 13 weeks of training, some 15. When you have that extra 2 weeks you do get a hostler card & training. I only had 13 weeks of training in California. I had the first 2 weekends of my training off during the classroom portion.
And BNSF does not cover your gas to your strength testing.
Dispatchers although it is a railroad job, is in a class all by itself, and very hard to get hired for. A fellow classmate of mine was a former dispatcher, went to training on his own dime, even though BNSF paid for room & board, then was laid off after training.
Posted 4 weeks ago # -
Billy
Member@ Grendie Congrats on getting in on the Engine program. I live in Edgemont right now. You are better off finding a place in Hot Springs...its a bigger town with more....to look at?
Since you worked at Galesburg, I wanted to ask you this. How are the jobs there? Meaning on the road, yard jobs , how is the layout?
Posted 4 weeks ago # -
Grendie
Member@ Billy,
Thanks for the info. Are you working out of Edgemont? As far as Galesburg as a terminal, it is a great place to work. I do not know much about the yard or the yard jobs, when I was there I worked board 11 a SF board and we ran mainly Z trains up the chillicothe sub. we would cut the trailers at willow springs and take the stacks up to corawith about 4 miles. The next day we would van to either Cicero or Eolla and build our train and take it back to Galesburg. The most I would ever do in the yard is cut the DP and take it to the house which was a very simple move.
I pretty much was responsible for doing all my own air tests, hostling my own power and building and switching out our trains. I don't know if this is normal or if it was because they were so short of help during the flooding.
You can work 5 different directions out of Galesburg, but from what I heard from the old heads out there it really slows down during the winter without the intermodal traffic. Chicago was fun to work, just to experience the start of the transcon. All the major RR transfer amongst each other and you will see a different yard almost everyday. I would just call for a pilot everytime I went into a yard I was not familiar with and was never refused one. The officials were good to work with in Chicago, Cant say the same for Galesburg.
They have very strong union out there with very good local agreements. All my claims were paid, and the reps were easy to get a hold of.
Personally I am not much of a city guy, if I was I probably would have stayed out there and not be coming out to Edgemont. LOL!!!!
Posted 4 weeks ago # -
rustan.dirks
MemberHey everyone, I am just now getting my background check done. They have contacted my previous employers. What happens next. How long should I expect to wait to hear anything? Thanks.
Posted 4 weeks ago # -
"How long should I wait" questions have been asked 77,643 time and answered 77,643 times!
It's always the same answer... No one knows! The RR is on their time schedule not yours. They may tell you in a week you will here but it might be months... No news is good news...
Posted 4 weeks ago # -
rustan.dirks
MemberMy bad I guess I should have read more into the forums.
Posted 4 weeks ago # -
archerdave
MemberCan someone please answer a concern of mine. I am enrolled at NARS and will start Feb. 13. An earlier post commented that in the physical you will be tested for specific issues, such as a bad knee. I have an old knee injury that I have lived with for years because I haven't wanted to do the surgery. Walking, running, squatting no problem. It's just certain odd movements that remind me that it is still there. Can anyone elaborate on how they test the knees.
Posted 4 weeks ago # -
BIGgerm
Member@Dgoldman- Myself and doccaroo are both in process for Ft. Worth. I had to go see a doctor to get cleared for a previously documented condition. I sent CHS the info last week and got a call yesterday to schedule the physical for Friday. I have not yet been contacted to do the strength testing. My last contact with Verifictions Inc. was last week when I sent them some W2s for employers they couldn't verify and was told by the VI rep that everything else was in for my background check. I believe doccaroo just scheduled his physical as well. Feel free to PM me and keep me posted on your progress. Good Luck and hope to meet you at training!
Posted 4 weeks ago # -
Solindius
MemberAfter getting out of the service (U.S. Army) I applied for every Conductor Job available for BNSF, because I want to work for them and I'm not tied down...so I can live anywhere. Now, Im getting letters for me to attend the hiring events. Im all geared up for the Mandan, North Dakota on 31 Jan. After reading some of these posts Im a bit disheartened because I presumed that if I interviewed in North Dakota: I would not need to attend the events in San Bernardino, CA and Amarillo, TX. I only have so much cash for travel. If I could attend them all I would. Maybe I will get lucky and the other job openings in other cities will take the results of the North Dakota interview process.
Anyone else on here going to ND on 31 Jan?
Either way, Ill post on here how everything goes in ND. I think I will read through all of your stuff again Sean. I want to keep my mind agile so that I preform well on the exams. I know that you cannot talk about the testing but I wish I could take "similar" types of questions to prepare.
Posted 4 weeks ago # -
ak-jlc
MemberI am a newbie to this forum and have searched it for an answer but can't find anything pertaining to my question. Sorry- it's kind of a long story. I had an original start date (final offer) for conductor trainee in Galesburg in Oct 2011- I had to postpone that and was told by HR I could move to the Jan 9th class. I started receiving calls/emails in Nov to do another hair sample and fill out another health assessment. I did all of these but about a week before my start date I had not heard from BNSF- I sent an email to the HR contact that had told me I could move to the Jan 9th class. The response was- if you don't have a final offer by now, you are not in the class. When I asked why the response was- your background must not have come back on time. My fault for not asking the questions up front- but assumed a final offer was good for Jan. HR also said I would be put into the Feb class if there is one. I don't know if I would have postponed my start date if I had of known I would have to do everything over, except the strength test. After a few phone calls to Verfications Inc- I figured out why my background didn't clear- I lived in Idaho for a short time a few years ago and they said they were waiting on them for a response and they had followed up 11 times in the last month. I asked them if I could call them, they said sure and gave me the number. I called and within a few minutes was told they did not have a request from VI and if they could get one that day they would send out the same day. After a couple more phone calls, everybody had what they needed and my background check was cleared. My question is- Does anybody know if there is a conductor class in Galesburg coming up next month or when the next one is going to be?
Posted 4 weeks ago # -
donchiles
MemberHeads up for anyone in the Chicago area.BNSF Cicero track laborer positions posted yesterday for March start. I applied already as I was turned down for conductor position after interview. Fealt it was worth a shot since I really want to start a career with the railroad ansd bnsf sounds like a great company to be a part of.
Posted 4 weeks ago # -
doccaroo
Memberdgoldman, I am scheduled for the physical on Monday as well. I will be up there as close to the opening time as I can since there is not a set time and I am hoping to not be there all day, although it is worth anything to get the final offer. I will be going to Grand Prairie for the physical.
Posted 4 weeks ago # -
brian.justice
MemberI previously applied for a position for BNSF conductor position and completed the online assesment test and was turned down for that job. I now applied for a signaled position and was wondering if my answers on the previous assesment test will affect my getting hired in any positions with BNSF. How do I know if I pass or failed the online GATE Assesment test? Also how long will the anserwers be good for beofor I have to retake the test?
Please and thankyou for the help!
Posted 4 weeks ago # -
Your previous test should not affect your other position applied for.
Posted 3 weeks ago # -
TheFullMonty
MemberYou guys need to hurry up and apply for the new openings in Greybull, WY. We're hurting up here! lol
Posted 3 weeks ago # -
grateful
MemberI am requesting everyone's input who may can help me decide what I should do. There are 15 positions for track laborer position right out side of Chicago, in the town of Cicero, IL. I am a returning candidate on there career website (I was denied a position with bnsf as a "mechanical shop laborer hostler helper" and they emailed and said they chose another candidate) so I have all my info. there and resume but I have not applied for the track laborer position yet. Here is the deal the closed date to apply for this position is 1/30/2012. My question is can I purchase the book today read it and implement it for this position before the closed date? If yes what is the salary I should request, if this info. is in the book then just let me know and I will reference that.
Thanks
Posted 3 weeks ago #
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