Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity vs Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers: $59K vs $69K Median Pay

Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity vs Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers: what changes?

Consider Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity if you want to drive bus or motor coach, including regular route operations, charters, and private carriage. Consider Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers if you would rather operate or monitor railroad track switches or locomotive instruments. Both list high school diploma or equivalent; compare training and prior experience separately.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity and Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences

Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity

National median pay (2025): $59,050
Route into the job: High school diploma or equivalent; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Drive vehicles over specified routes or to specified destinations according to time schedules, complying with traffic regulations to ensure that passengers have a smooth and safe ride.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 21,100

Know before you choose

Operating or riding in vehicles is a recurring part of the work rather than an occasional trip.

See the full Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity brief

Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers

National median pay (2025): $68,840
Route into the job: High school diploma or equivalent; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Observe train signals along routes and verify their meanings for engineers.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 900

Know before you choose

BLS projects essentially flat employment (0.8%) through 2035. Annual openings mostly reflect replacement, not a rapidly expanding field.

See the full Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers brief

How the national numbers differ

Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity has the edge on annual openings

Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity is at 21,100 annual openings, compared with 900 annual openings for Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers.

Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity has the edge on projected growth

Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity is at 4.1% projected growth, compared with 0.8% projected growth for Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers.

Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers has the edge on median pay

Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers is at $68,840, compared with $59,050 for Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity.

65.6/ 100

Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity

43.2/ 100

Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence

Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity vs Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers

Dimension	Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity	Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers
Median pay (2025)	$59,050	$68,840
Pay percentile	46.2 percentile	60.3 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	4.1%	0.8%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	21,100	900
2025 employment	166,400	10,700
How you qualify	High school diploma or equivalent; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing	High school diploma or equivalent; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
O*NET preparation group	Job Zone 2	Job Zone 2
Related work experience	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
On-the-job training	More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.	More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.

The table reports national benchmarks and reviewed work descriptions. It does not rate personal suitability, job security, or physical safety.

Read Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity brief Read Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers brief

Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity vs Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity

Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers

How the national numbers differ

Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity has the edge on annual openings

Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity has the edge on projected growth

Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers has the edge on median pay

Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity vs Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers

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