BNSF Railway Reviews

Pros

I get to manage my own time. You have to make yourself take time away from the job, otherwise it will own you. I'm kept very busy, but at least I'm not behind a desk all day.

Cons

Too many layers of management bring visions of "Office Space" to mind. Unfortunately, it's not in a funny way. Very easy to get frustrated.

Advice to Senior Management

Please replace the Leadership Model behavior "Communicate, Communicate, Communicate" with "Communicate - Effectively"

Pros

Great pay potential for 6 digit figures for only a hs diploma

Cons

You have no personal life always on call

Advice to Senior Management

Better train line ups

Pros

Little supervision, with an ability to work at your own pace.

Cons

Union job, so some people don't exactly work hard, since it's almost impossible to get fired.

Advice to Senior Management

More feedback.

Pros

The benefits and pay are great. The work is challenging. No day is exactly the same.

Cons

The odd hours can really be hard on a family life. The divorce rate in this industry is over 50%.

Pros

Great work life balance at Fort worth location.

Cons

A lot of politics in promotion.

Advice to Senior Management

Promote people who are performing not just whom you like.

Pros

Reliable company not going anywhere

Cons

Behind times in pay and employee considerations

Advice to Senior Management

Get feedback from the employees

Pros

Excellent Retirement Benefits; Family friendly

Cons

Compensation is not satisfactory ; Promotions are hard to get

Advice to Senior Management

Improve the pay scale in the IT department to match the market.

Pros

Its all about the pay...not too many place you can make 80k a yr in under 4 yrs. I have made some good friends union side and management but its not a lot of them

Cons

Way too demanding of time, If you have a special someone in your life i hope the bond is strong. Certain months i have worked over 250 hrs, it takes a toll on ur physical and mental health. Also, union employees can be real asses some times. As FLS we don't hate you for no reason, but we can only take so much of you begging for a "quit" then we give it to you and you still complain. Try growing up. You get paid for 8 hrs and most days you only work 4 of them, trust me you are getting over, this is the only industry that happens in. This is a place where the saying "the prisoners run the prison" is absolutely true...difficult culture to work in for sure

Advice to Senior Management

Be honest, no one likes to be lied to. Quit telling ppl the schedule is 3 on 3 when we all know thats not the truth. Quit making saving its all about safety when our meetings are all about metrics and money

Pros

The company is stable and is well aware of it's mission and direction. Rail volume will continue to grow and the company is positions itself well for the future. Many workers have over 30 years of service and the company will continue to hire new employees providing stable jobs with solid benefitts.

Cons

Many railroaders are third or forth generation employees. The culture is very unique and new employees may find it tough to transition and thrive in the 24/7 work enviorment. There is a perceptions that some are promoted based on who they know and/or who they are.

Advice to Senior Management

I would encourage Human Resources develop a policy to make the hiring process transparant with feedback availiable to candidates regarding how decisions are made. It doesn't matter how decisions are made regarding candidates but it does matter what you say to candidates about how the company comes to those decisions if that information is inaccurate.

Pros

The best reasons are possibly the pay is generally higher than other companies, if you're union or at least in mine health insurance is no cost to employee, people are amazed if you work here for some reason (it's nearly impossible to get on)

Cons

I am very very tired everyday, there is too much emphasis on meeting numbers rather than who would perform work the best. If you are non exempt you are constantly called on rest days and expected to come in. Poor management where each management tells you something different. My job has the work load of what should be done for 2-3 people and is on shifts and no one is able to handle the stress of deadlines in my team. Management tells us to "get quicker" etc. but can not do it themselves. A lot of deception, lots and lots of lying my managers will make me lie to BNSF employees over the phone and stand there to make sure I do not stray off what is to be said. A common saying in my department is "they want you to lie to others, but always tell them the truth"

Advice to Senior Management

I would say appreciate your employees more and value their thoughts and opinions. I'm not pro union, I am a hard worker, and just want to feel valued. I really feel that creativity and happiness are very much discouraged.