What skills should a Signal and Track Switch Repairer put on a resume?

O*NET rates Troubleshooting, Equipment Maintenance, Repairing, Quality Control Analysis, and Critical Thinking among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Signal and Track Switch Repairer list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Maintenance management software, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, and Microsoft PowerPoint. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Signal and Track Switch Repairer work?

O*NET records 27 titles for this occupation, including Signal Inspector, Signal Maintainer, Signalman, and Train Control Electronic Technician. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Signal and Track Switch Repairer need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 34% reported their level of education as "Less than a High School Diploma". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Signal and Track Switch Repairer role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Signal and Track Switch Repairer resume example

A resume for a Signal and Track Switch Repairer needs to show the work itself: install, inspect, test, maintain, or repair electric gate crossings, signals, signal equipment, track switches, section lines, or intercommunications systems within a railroad system. Day to day that means work like this: inspect and test operation, mechanical parts, and circuitry of gate crossings, signals, and signal equipment such as interlocks and hotbox detectors; inspect electrical units of railroad grade crossing gates and repair loose bolts and defective electrical connections and parts. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Signal Inspector
Signal Maintainer
Signalman
Train Control Electronic Technician
Railroad Signal Maintainer
Signal and Communications Maintainer
Signal Maintenance Technician
Signal System Testing Maintainer
Signal Technician
Train Control Technician
Communications Maintainer
Electric Track Switch Maintainer
Gate Technician
Light Rail Signal Technician
Rail Signal Designer
Rail Signal Inspector
Rail Signal Mechanic
Rail Track Maintainer

O*NET records 27 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Inspect and test operation, mechanical parts, and circuitry of gate crossings, signals, and signal equipment such as interlocks and hotbox detectors.
Inspect electrical units of railroad grade crossing gates and repair loose bolts and defective electrical connections and parts.
Test and repair track circuits.
Drive motor vehicles to job sites.
Install, inspect, maintain, and repair various railroad service equipment on the road or in the shop, including railroad signal systems.
Tighten loose bolts, using wrenches, and test circuits and connections by opening and closing gates.
Inspect switch-controlling mechanisms on trolley wires and in track beds, using hand tools and test equipment.
Replace defective wiring, broken lenses, or burned-out light bulbs.
Inspect, maintain, and replace batteries as needed.
Record and report information about mileage or track inspected, repairs performed, and equipment requiring replacement.
Lubricate moving parts on gate-crossing mechanisms and swinging signals.
Clean lenses of lamps with cloths and solvents.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Inspect and test operation, mechanical parts, and circuitry of gate crossings, signals, and signal equipment such as interlocks and hotbox detectors, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Inspect electrical units of railroad grade crossing gates and repair loose bolts and defective electrical connections and parts, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Test and repair track circuits, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Drive motor vehicles to job sites, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

Maintenance management software
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Office software
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft Word
Supervisory control and data acquisition SCADA software
Web browser software

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

Adjustable hand wrenches
Articulating aerial lift equipment
Audio spectrum analyzers
Brush cutting equipment
Clamp-on ammeters
Closed circuit television CCTV systems
Digital oscilloscopes
Digital still cameras
Digital timers
Digital voltage meters
Frequency specific volt meters
Hotbox detectors

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

Maintenance management
Supervisory control and data acquisition SCADA
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft PowerPoint

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Troubleshooting
02Equipment Maintenance
03Repairing
04Quality Control Analysis
05Critical Thinking
06Operations Monitoring
07Equipment Selection
08Complex Problem Solving
09Operation and Control
10Active Listening

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Transportation
Mechanical
English Language
Public Safety and Security
Engineering and Technology
Telecommunications
Computers and Electronics

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

34%Less than a High School Diploma
29%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
24%Post-Secondary Certificate, awarded for training completed after high school

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Medium Preparation Needed”. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Common questions

What does a Signal and Track Switch Repairer do?: Install, inspect, test, maintain, or repair electric gate crossings, signals, signal equipment, track switches, section lines, or intercommunications systems within a railroad system. Day to day that includes work like inspect and test operation, mechanical parts, and circuitry of gate crossings, signals, and signal equipment such as interlocks and hotbox detectors and Inspect electrical units of railroad grade crossing gates and repair loose bolts and defective electrical connections and parts.
What skills should a Signal and Track Switch Repairer put on a resume?: O*NET rates Troubleshooting, Equipment Maintenance, Repairing, Quality Control Analysis, and Critical Thinking among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Signal and Track Switch Repairer list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Maintenance management software, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, and Microsoft PowerPoint. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Signal and Track Switch Repairer work?: O*NET records 27 titles for this occupation, including Signal Inspector, Signal Maintainer, Signalman, and Train Control Electronic Technician. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Signal and Track Switch Repairer need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 34% reported their level of education as "Less than a High School Diploma". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Signal and Track Switch Repairer role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.