Don't do it. - Freight Conductor CN Employee Review

1.0
Jul 28, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- Earn income up to $90,000/yr depending on economic conditions and your seniority. - Colleagues are hard working and genuinely trying to do their best

Cons

- On-call 24/7 and expected to report to work within 2 hours of phone call. - Only 24hrs off between shifts, weekends and holidays are meaningless. - To obtain pay above $60k/yr, you have to be away from home in excess of 72hrs/week. - Seniority is slow to gain and you will be laid off periodically for the first 3-5 years. - If not laid off during slow periods, you will be forced to work in remote locations for 30 days at a time, with only 7 days off at the end. 2 of those 7 days off are usually spent travelling home. Then you're sent away for another 30 days. Repeat for 3-5 years. - The company hires inexperienced and poorly educated front line supervisors that treat employees poorly (verbal abuse, non-reporting of injuries, etc). - No transferable skills. - Dirty & noisy accommodation when working away from home. - CN constantly violates it's own policies and agreements, which is demoralizing.

Explore other reviews about CN

5.0
Apr 2, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Its what you make of it. Good union job with good benefits

Cons

You're always waiting on trains.

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CN Response
2mo
Thank you for your feedback and for your hard work. We pride ourselves on providing our team members with great benefits. We thank you for moving our business and the economy forward. Please share your thoughts with your manager and on your regular Interaction surveys.
4.0
Apr 13, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Pays decently well for first job out of college. My manager and team are very reasonable with expectations placed on new hires. Working after office hours (past 4:30pm) is extremely rare and only expected in emergencies.

Cons

Very slow and/or limited job growth potential. Promotions into middle management are almost purely based on reputation with middle managers who are largely people with previous field experience. This is very disadvantageous to direct-from-college hires like myself and even my current manager.

avatar
CN Response
2mo
Thank you for your feedback and for your hard work. We pride ourselves on providing our team members with great pay. With a 24/7/365 operation CN could not function without its dedicated employees. We thank you for moving our business and the economy forward. Remember to leverage your development plan to have career discussions with your leader and please share your thoughts on your regular Interaction surveys.
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