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Considered working as a track maintenance engineer? This interview will take you through the ups and downs you can expect in the position, what it takes to land the job, what you can expect to earn and more.

I am a track man for the New York City Transit Authority. My job is mostly all manual in that I replace ties, rails, and plates, as well as perform general track maintenance. I believe that the most common misunderstanding people have regarding the job function I perform is that we sit around drinking coffee all day, but the fact is, the job is very dangerous, and we do our heaviest work during traffic conditions.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate my job a 7. I enjoy my job, and have done it for many years. I do believe my work experience would be enhanced if my supervisors had a keener grasp on the type of work that goes on underground each day.

I would not say that this job necessarily moves my heart; however, I do enjoy the physical aspect of my job, and prefer it to a job in which I was stuck behind a desk all day. I love to work with other men who enjoy the kind of work we do.

Danger is imminent in my line of work. There are not too many professions out there in which your life is literally in danger on a consistent basis. In the many years I have worked for the Transit Authority, I have personally known three men who were killed while working on the tracks.

I started this job many years ago after taking a civil service test. If I could go back and do it differently, I would have taken the police test, or maybe gone into the Air Force.

Given the danger involved in my job, you do not want to learn any lessons the hard way. Unfortunately, that is unrealistic. One example of my learning things the hard way occurred one night as I was inspecting the tracks in a tunnel. As I made my way through the tunnel, my heavy duty light went out and I didn't have a back up. It is a scary feeling to be left alone in a dark tunnel in the main artery of the subway system. That happened one time and has never happened again.

The single most important thing I have learned outside of school about the working world is that working together as a team makes the job load lighter, the work go faster and more efficiently, and even fun.

I have seen a lot of strange things during all my years working underground, but the funniest, by far, would have to be the time when a passenger mooned my work crew as the subway train passed by. These types of crazy things go a long way in lightening up the mood underground.

I get up and go to work every day because I have to. I have a wife and daughter to support and although I work because I have to, I enjoy what I do. I have had many moments in my work career when I felt proud of the job I was doing. One example in particular happens to be ongoing in that my higher supervisor trusts me more than he trusts the foremen under him, who happen to be my immediate supervisors. While that is a good feeling for me, it does not say much about the higher-ups, and how they approach their daily job duties.

Like any other profession, I am faced with daily challenges when performing my job duties. The ones that get to me the most are when I am told to work in unsafe conditions, deal with foremen who don't care how the job is done as long as it gets done and nobody gets hurt, and foremen who do not know how to do their job. These things can be especially stressful in my line of work, as we depend on these men and women to know their job like the backs of their hands. They should have our backs, and do everything that they can to ensure that we are working in the safest conditions.

Believe it or not, the stress level of my job is next to nothing because the foreman takes all the blame when something is done incorrectly. I am now at a point in my career where I am able to maintain a healthy work/life balance. I worked nights up until a few years ago. It was next to impossible for me to juggle my family life with my career. At that time, my daughter was a baby. I feel like I missed out on a lot because I slept during most of the day.

I make in the $60,000 a year range. I have worked for the Transit Authority for over 20 years. For the number of years I have worked with the organization to the type of work that I do, I do not feel like $60,000 is a fair annual salary. I am entitled to five weeks of vacation per year. I do not believe it is enough. The physical element of my job is tiring and taxing to the body. I believe it would be fair to add another two or three weeks per year to my vacation time.

You must have a high school diploma in order to obtain a job as a track worker with the New York City Transit Authority. Because much is expected of its employees, a willingness to work hard will go a long way.

This is a true career story as told to LogisticsJobs.org and is one of many interviews with logistics professionals which among others include a Logistics RFID Manager and a Solutions Engineer.