Pros
*For my area, with no degree or special trade skill, the pay and some benefits are good. *It's fun to wave at kids. š *I thoroughly enjoyed 95% of my peers. Nothing is more fun than yelling "HAY!!" when passing a field of haybales after being on a train forever. *There's a small sense of adventure with all the variables. It's usually not fun to change a knuckle at 3am in the rain, but hey, it's a story to tell later.
Cons
Everything else. *I have seen multiple members of lower and middle management lie, cheat, attempt to hide things from various governing entities (think FRA, OSHA), and act in such unprofessional ways FOR THE SAKE OF NUMBERS. *The unspoken and sometimes spoken pressure to break the rules. The rules are there for safety and liability. TE&Y, WTF are you doing? Stop breaking rules thinking you're doing your "manager buddy" a favor and "getting" to going home 15 minutes early! Your life and your family's lives are NOT worth it. *The hours on call, not knowing if you'll be called for this train or that train or job. If you have a short to medium term goal to make some money and only work and sleep and hope you can wash your butt and clothes inbetween, by golly gumdrops, this job is for you. If, however, you have a kid with a birthday, or a spouse who maybe likes to date you, or hey, maybe you just like to sleep in your own bed. At night. This job will run you through with a sword. Some of my coworkers are on *legal* uppers, downers, and everything inbetween. They are exhausted and dying early, but told these "agreements" are fine. That they are getting enough rest to manage. The solutions decision-making individuals have come up with have not fixed the problem. *As a minority, I never truly felt marginalized until working here. I can't even go into detail without losing anonymity. Purported efforts to improve only materialized within my last month of employment out of 10.5 years.