Money · 1 of 5
What rail traffic controllers make
Qualified controller
$78,000
In training
$58,740
Senior or chief dispatcher
$109,770
The federal wage survey does not publish this job on its own. It is counted inside railroad conductors and yardmasters, where the national median is $78,000 a year and the bottom tenth start near $58,740. Control center work on a big freight railroad usually pays at or above that median once you are qualified, because the overtime is heavy.