Career Overlap Occupation record
RecordJob

Where a train driver can go next

5 destinations recorded, ranked by how much of the target role a train driver already meets. The closer to the top of Table 1, the less there is to learn.

Train drivers operate trains providing passenger or cargo transport services. They are responsible for driving the locomotive in safe manner, respecting all relevant safety, operational and communication regulations, and have full responsibility for the safety of passengers and cargo. The task involves cooperation and communication with the relevant staff under the infrastructure manager, as well as with staff on board the train.

Also known as engine driver, locomotive engineer, metro driver, passenger train driver, train operator, passenger engine driver, driver of trains.

Plant and machine operators and assemblers 38 skills on file 5 career moves 0 above 60% overlap Closest: train dispatcher, 39%

Fig. 2 · Career map 5 nearest · ESCO v1.2.1
train dispatcher 39% covered occupational railway instruct… 35% covered shunter 23% covered railway passenger service age… 21% covered marine cargo inspector 21% covered train driver You are here
  • 70% and above · short step
  • 50 to 70% · real move
  • Below 50% · substantial retraining
The 5 nearest destinations from train driver, each one a link to that move’s record. Distance from the centre is how much retraining the move takes; the figure on each is how much of that role a train driver already covers. All 5 are listed in the tables below.
Table 1

Table 1 · A bigger jump

Possible, but expect real retraining rather than a sideways step.

Table 2

Table 2 · What the job itself asks for

A train driver needs 24 required skills and areas of knowledge. These 10 are the ones fewest other jobs share, so they say the most about the work.

Required skill Area
  • ensure trains run to schedule information skills
  • control train movement working with machinery and specialised equipment
  • shunt rolling stock in marshalling yards working with machinery and specialised equipment
  • teach train driving principles communication, collaboration and creativity
  • track geometry natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
  • monitor train schedules information skills
  • train operating procedures services
  • adjust weight of cargo to capacity of freight transport vehicles handling and moving
  • check train engines information skills
  • follow signalling instructions communication, collaboration and creativity
Table 3

Table 3 · Jobs that lead here

The reverse view: occupations whose skills already cover much of what a train driver does. The figure is how much of this job each one brings.

Index

Look up another occupation

Train driver is filed under Plant and machine operators and assemblers, ISCO major group 8. The full index lists all ten groups.

Note

How these figures were compiled

Overlap is how much of the target role is already part of a train driver’s work. It is directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. Every entry above opens the full comparison for that move: what carries over, what is missing, and where to start. The full method.