Anyone’s husband work for the railroad? My husband has always wanted to do it. He got offered a position today and has 48 hours to decide what he wants to do. He currently works for New York State department of corrections. Making over $100,000 a year because he can make his own checks( there is unlimited overtime). He wants to leave Corrections and join csx. I on the other hand don’t want him to. He would be away for four days a week. Leaving me home with three kids, two puppies and two cats. Plus the fact it’s a pay cut. Can anyone give me insight on the pros of the railroad. I know the retirement is good. How is insurance all that?
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My grandfather retired from the railroad. He did work away in his early years, but with more time, he was home nightly. The benefits were amazing. He battled cancer for 12 years, his company was amazing to him. He recieved early retirement, hundred of coworkers showed up for his retirement party. When he passed away, they were there for our family every step of the way.
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My question, will it make him happier, does he not like where he’s at, I hear so many bad things with dept of corrections, not to mention he must be working giant amounts of overtime to make that much, so he’s basically not there anyway…if he’s working himself to death that’s not a positive …but ultimately it’s something yall need to really put the pros and cons and make the best decision for you…we can offer opinions, but this is your life
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Definitely have to sit down with him make your own pros and cons list. And have him make one. Easier to understand each other’s perspectives. But I understand. I could not do 4 days away every week from my husband. Not the life I would want either
I’m a Correctional officer and if he wants to leave you should seriously consider it, im sure he has already weighed the pay cut and everything against this decision… this is one of the most difficult professions out there it’s is mentally exhausting and we are treated terribly… there is a reason our mortality rate after retirement is only 55… I know in IL we are allowed to take an LOA for half of our years served and come back with our seniority… maybe look into that before completely securing himself with the state that way if he doesn’t like the railroad he has a safety net to fall back on… hope this helps
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It’s not always about money. If you’re worried about the pay cut, get yourself a raise if you’re working or get a job if you’re not to make up the difference.
Working corrections is hard. Let the man be happy.
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It’s hard to only focus on the days of him not being there. However, there could be some huge benefits as well.
I would sit down and weigh the pros/cons.
Lower pay, but are there bonuses?
Time away…what about vacation/sick time?
What position level will he start at and what’s the position cap?
Do they offer stocks? Etc…etc
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Corrections is a tough job. Life expectancy after retirement is not good. Is he happy where he is ? How is his mental health ?
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If you don’t want to be a be a widow, let him take the job hes always wanted. Life of a CO is so stressful and short lived after retirement.
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I am shocked the railroad is a pay cut. They have a great retirement and pension. Tough decision for you both to make.
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My uncle retired from the railroad. He lives comfortably and always likes his job. Apparently he also got free railroad water??? Lol
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My husband works for doc also and it’s awful. Mandates 4/6 shifts. Essentially he is in prison 16 hours a day with his ot. What quality of life does he/your family have now? He is telling you he needs out and you should be listening.
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My friends dad work for the railroads he got a good retirement money Ik for sure
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Mine does! Hes a mechanic. Right now he works like 8 days, home 5. Pay is good. I love our insurance. Like, biggest downside is the work schedule. My husband is gone alot. He flies/drives alot. He gets 1 day off during his work week. Some guys do bring their families. It’s not an easy job, but the biggest con for me was him being gone all the time. He’s misses a lot.
Tough decision. Pray about it.
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If he’s always wanted to do it let him do it as long as the pay cut doesn’t impact y’all to much. Let him be happy
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Sounds like you need to get rid of all them animals and let him go work his dream job
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Right now he literally lives at a prison. Sounds like Rachelle Godfrey
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My dad and grandpa were engineers for NS. They were both on the extra board and gone all the time… they both cheated on each other behind each others backs. My dad became an alcoholic. I mean it is great money and a great retirement. They do have good insurance as well. And if you get divorced after your married ten years you get a pension of there retirement.
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My husband was working in the department of corrections it caused us a divorce luckily we loved each other enough that we never stayed out of contact and we remarried a year later as far as the railroad no he never worked there but I did have a neighbor when I was growing up whose husband did and they were very happy as ever and never wanted for anything they had a beautiful home raise five beautiful children and he worked there until course he retired and the benefits he was able to leave his wife and children was wonderful
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I don’t know anything besides I’ve read so many horrifying stories from train conductors that have seen horrific things. People jumping in front of the train, people pushing other people in front of the train, parked cars on the tracks, unwanted pets tied to the tracks, people pleasuring themselves near the tracks(apparently that’s a kink) etc. 
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2 dogs 2 cats plus kids I be wa ting to get away some too…settle down get rid some unnecessary stress… and he will HAVE e a great retirement… if it would help get out of that place called NY
Ot sounds like you have already decided you will resent it if he changes, which isn’t fair to him. So he’s supposed to spend 70 hours a week being miserable at work or spend spend his time at home with you making him miserable… what a lose- lose situation for him, a shame really.
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Maybe for his mental health. He wants to no stress. They payout? Are you losing things you need? Or just things wanted?. If I have everything I just need and my husband wanted it. I’d say go for it.
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It’s is dream… let him do it! He provides for the family let him at have a chance at something he wants to do!
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My dad works for the railway and at first they don’t make super great money but after a few years they do and the benefits are amazing too.
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Yes my dad did he left home on Friday and come back on Thursday of next week
My husband don’t work for the railroad but he is a lineman and works out of town 4-5 days a week and is really only home on the weekends. We have 4 kids, a dog, 2 cats inside and 2 rescue cats and 5 chickens, it’s a lot for one person, when he first started leaving it was hard adjusting to the new schedule but now that he’s done it for years, we’ve all adjusted and we actually get along a lot better than we did when he was home every day. Both his brothers work for the railroad and have for many years and they really like it, after working there for a while they are both home every evening now (if they want to be) and are very happy. Let him follow his dream, he deserves to be happy in a career and in life just as you do… their grandfather also retired from the railroad and after he passed their grandmother still had plenty of money to live the rest of her days at home (with paying people to stay and take care of her) and had plenty left to leave all 10 of her children after she passed.
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My husband works for the rail road and loves it. During training he was gone a lot, but we see him a lot now. With Union not only will my husband get retirement,but I will too
I would consider his mental health before telling him what decision he should make. Corrections is a hard job mentally and emotionally.
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I worked for the railroad for a year after I got out of the Navy. I was a train dispatcher.
The money was great but the hours/being on call was horrendous.
I couldn’t handle it.
My husband and I both worked in Corrections for many years. He left to work for the Railroad. He’s currently an engineer. Once you gain enough seniority you don’t have to worry as much about layoffs. The pension is great and I will earn a retirement from the railroad just by being married so it’s eased worries for later in life. The biggest adjustment was his schedule as he is on call for 7 days a week. There are times he is gone for multiple days and in the beginning of his career there it was extremely tough. It’s gotten easier now and we have 2 kids and three dogs. We don’t celebrate holidays or birthdays on the correct day, but that’s similar to how we handled things in Corrections. As difficult as the switch was I am not stressing about if he’s going to come home alive every night. The insurance is good but expensive. I have had no issues with getting Dr appointments and they have a lot of resources for family members.
My Grandpa and my mom both retired from the railroad. I don’t remember what my Grandpa did but my mom worked in the IT department. The retirement is AMAZING especially if the employee is married. My mom also had really good insurance. She just retired 3 years ago. Corrections is a really hard job. Physically, mentally and emotionally.
Sounds like he’s already working a lot w overtime so probably not a huge difference in time at home. Let him make the decision.
How long has he been in corrections? Is he vested in their retirement plan or close to it? If he is vested, he can make the move and still get his retirement later from corrections. For some, it is 7 years. Others more or less. You should have a sit down with him and write out the pros and cons, not ignoring his happiness and the physical risks for both jobs.
My husband did for 10 years. Great Insurance but they tax the heck out of his paycheck. He always was ALWAYS traveling. And because he was one of the few workers that knew how to do the job, they passed over him for a promotion. That was the last straw. So he went to Georgia Power and ended up making way more money and they treat him like the gold that he is.
This dear is a mid life crisis. He knows what he’s doing. He could care less about the money. Life’s little obligations is weighing him down. Kids, house, dog, cat, wife, bills he wants out of it. He knows it will take him away. And that’s what he wants. Sorry it happens
If he’s making more money in corrections simply bc he can and does work lots of overtime, that should be considered. Away for several days at a time is probably going to be hard on everyone but if he prioritizes being extra present the other days it may be that you actually have MORE QUALITY time with him overall and that may be worth it. That being said most men I’ve been with would spend those days off doing absolutely nothing 
but you know him best
I don’t know about the railroad, but I worked as a CO for many years and can tell you that if he’s saying he’s ready to leave…let him. Staying past the burnout in that environment is dangerous for your mental health.
I mean I’m not sure why you made this post asking for input when you already made up your mind and already made the decision for him. What a shame for him really. You say you don’t want him away because you’ll be left with the kids and animals but it sounds like he already is away working so much overtime. To me it doesn’t sound like that’s the issue. I think the issue is he will be making less and that’s why you don’t want him to switch jobs cause of the pay. If money is an issue you can get a job too not just him. Corrections is a very difficult job. My husband used to be a CO and it was the darkest years of his life and it put a huge strain on his mental health and our relationship. It was the darkest times for the both of us. We went through literal h*ll and back when he worked there. He left that job after 2ish years working there and I can’t thank God enough for that. He is so much better, his mental health and just him as a person. Our relationship is so much better too. This was a few years ago. We moved back to our hometown my last year in university. He now works a better job that doesn’t take a toll on his mental health and pays more than what he was making as a CO. His mental health is so much better and our relationship too. I graduated from university a couple of years ago and have been working in my career field for 3 years. You really can’t shoot down your husbands dreams. You should be supporting his dreams and what he wants, especially because it sounds like he’s the one bringing in the income and providing for you and yalls family. I couldn’t imagine not supporting my S/O dreams. Poor guy.
While he’s working all that overtime in corrections he’s also missing out on a lot at home, and in a dangerous environment. If he’s always wanted to work on the railroad, support that dream. I’m willing to bet he didn’t bring the pets home, right? Why punish him by making him stay in a dangerous job when he obviously wants out and to follow his dream job.
Seriously think about it, how much time does he spend now taking care of the pets and kiddos for you while he’s working all that overtime ?
You have to stop thinking of it as if he’ll be abandoned you and start thinking of it as he’s building a far better safer future for you and the kids. The benefits, pension, and bonuses are so much better and the work environment so much safer. My uncle worked at Attica prison during the riots, was locked down with all the violent criminals rioting. He almost lost his life. After he got out he had a mental breakdown and was never the same. Help your husband get out of that toxic and dangerous environment and go to work at his dream job. A happier spouse makes for a much happier marriage.
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I know someone who has multiple pensions. What are the employment durations for pensions? If he wants to leave corrections, consider his mental health. Are there other state/County positions he could transfer to with working towards the service time for pension that would allow him to keep the time he has already put in for retirement? Consider your mental health too. Try and find a happy medium.