Plan for nothing and manage everything..... - Spouse to A Railroader CN Employee Review

1.0
Nov 24, 2009
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Money is good only if you look at the $ Benefits Shares Pension

Cons

You never know when your coming and going to work, you cannot plan anything with anyone, you wait for the phone to ring all hours and when you check the computer and think you'll go to work everything will change and you will keep waiting. You have no set days off, board change is every friday....One check will be good and the next you sat waiting days and days to go to work cause the board isn't turning....You will sit at your destination town bunkhouse for hours and hours and hours thinking about everything you have to do when you get home or all that you missed while sitting there unpaid. (kids playing sports, birthdays etc). They have a CN mentality of feeling there is never enough time to get things done.......meaning nothing will wait. Sleep deprived constantly (misses 1 night sleep per week at least) poor eating habits and a short short fuse and you'll never know if they'll be home to help with sports, school, chores, appointments or anything! You can book 1 personal day a month.....if there is not too many guys off already and vacation in October/Nov unless you have 30+ years senority.... Why he stays, it never used to be this bad only the last approx 8-10 years and he's invested to much time and energy into this company, can see light at the end called retirement and he has a spouse who is capable of multitasking.

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5.0
Apr 2, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Its what you make of it. Good union job with good benefits

Cons

You're always waiting on trains.

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CN Response
2mo
Thank you for your feedback and for your hard work. We pride ourselves on providing our team members with great benefits. We thank you for moving our business and the economy forward. Please share your thoughts with your manager and on your regular Interaction surveys.
4.0
Apr 13, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Pays decently well for first job out of college. My manager and team are very reasonable with expectations placed on new hires. Working after office hours (past 4:30pm) is extremely rare and only expected in emergencies.

Cons

Very slow and/or limited job growth potential. Promotions into middle management are almost purely based on reputation with middle managers who are largely people with previous field experience. This is very disadvantageous to direct-from-college hires like myself and even my current manager.

avatar
CN Response
2mo
Thank you for your feedback and for your hard work. We pride ourselves on providing our team members with great pay. With a 24/7/365 operation CN could not function without its dedicated employees. We thank you for moving our business and the economy forward. Remember to leverage your development plan to have career discussions with your leader and please share your thoughts on your regular Interaction surveys.
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