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Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators vs Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators

Side-by-side · O*NET · BLS · AI-exposure research · Anthropic Economic Index

A factual, source-backed comparison of Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators and Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators on the dimensions both occupations carry. Every figure is a position within an independent published dataset — not a verdict on which job is better, safer, or more “future-proof.”

Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators
Median pay · BLS OEWS
$67,370
$51,650
Employment · BLS OEWS
16,480
45,680
AI exposure (percentile) · task overlap, not automation
0th pct
1st pct

At a glance

Dimension Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators
Median pay $67,370 $51,650
Employment 16,480 45,680
Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection About average (+1.6%) About average (+3.2%)
Annual openings · BLS projection 1,100 4,000
Typical education · O*NET Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not. Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
AI exposure · published exposure studies Low · 0th pct Low · 1st pct
Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk 2nd pct · 9% of tasks 11th pct · 13% of tasks
Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index — —
Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman No No

Pay and employment are BLS OEWS estimates; outlook and openings are BLS 2024–2034 projections; AI exposure and observed-use figures come from separate research and reflect exposure and usage, not predictions that either job will disappear. Compare like with like.

Skills

Shared: Control Precision, Operations Monitoring, Operation and Control, Manual Dexterity, Multilimb Coordination, Mechanical, Problem Sensitivity, Arm-Hand Steadiness, Reaction Time, Far Vision, Building and Construction, Visualization, Near Vision, Depth Perception, Equipment Maintenance, Troubleshooting, Rate Control, Static Strength, Critical Thinking, Monitoring, Coordination, Repairing, Quality Control Analysis, Oral Comprehension, Deductive Reasoning, Information Ordering, Selective Attention, Finger Dexterity, Response Orientation, Trunk Strength, Extent Flexibility, Active Listening, Judgment and Decision Making.

Specific to Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators

  • Transportation
  • Flexibility of Closure
  • Public Safety and Security
  • Perceptual Speed
  • Dynamic Strength
  • Auditory Attention
  • Administration and Management

Specific to Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators

  • Oral Expression
  • Speech Recognition
  • Speech Clarity
  • Speaking
  • Spatial Orientation
  • Time Sharing
  • Mathematics

Knowledge, skills & abilities O*NET rates as important for each occupation. “Shared” are common to both; the columns list what is distinctive to each (top by the order O*NET surfaces).

Tools & technology

Shared: Spreadsheet software , Office suite software , Time accounting software .

Specific to Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators

    Specific to Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators

    Full profiles

    This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators or Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators — tasks, the full skill graph, tools, work context, preparation, wages by percentile, industries, AI exposure and the AI work map.

    More comparisons

    Related occupations you can place side by side on the same sourced scale.

    Sources for this page

    Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

    Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

    Cite this page
    Plain

    Singulariki. "Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators vs Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/compare/rail-track-laying-and-maintenance-equipment-operators-vs-paving-surfacing-and-tamping-equipment-operators

    APA

    Singulariki. (2026). Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators vs Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/rail-track-laying-and-maintenance-equipment-operators-vs-paving-surfacing-and-tamping-equipment-operators

    BibTeX 
    @misc{singulariki-rail-track-laying-and-maintenance-equipment-operators-vs-paving-surfacing-and-tamping-equipment-operators,
  title  = {Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators vs Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/compare/rail-track-laying-and-maintenance-equipment-operators-vs-paving-surfacing-and-tamping-equipment-operators}
}

    Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.