Protective Service · Holland code RCE
Transit and Railroad Police
Protect and police railroad and transit property, employees, or passengers.
Also called: Patrolman, Railroad Police, Railroad Police Officer, Transit Police Officer, Law Enforcement Officer, Patrol Man, Patrol Officer, Police Captain.
O*NET 33-3052.00
At a glance
- US median annual pay
- $90,230
- Middle half earn $68,990 to $119,290. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
- Most common education
- Bachelor's Degree
- 28% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
- Preparation needed
- Job Zone 3 of 5
- Medium preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
What the work involves
The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.
- Prepare reports documenting investigation activities and results.
- Monitor transit areas and conduct security checks to protect railroad properties, patrons, and employees.
- Apprehend or remove trespassers or thieves from railroad property or coordinate with law enforcement agencies in apprehensions and removals.
- Direct security activities at derailments, fires, floods, or strikes involving railroad property.
- Patrol railroad yards, cars, stations, or other facilities to protect company property or shipments and to maintain order.
- Investigate or direct investigations of freight theft, suspicious damage or loss of passengers' valuables, or other crimes on railroad property.
- Examine credentials of unauthorized persons attempting to enter secured areas.
- Enforce traffic laws regarding the transit system and reprimand individuals who violate them.
Skills and knowledge it leans on
Skills
- Active Listening4.0 / 5
- Speaking4.0 / 5
- Critical Thinking3.9 / 5
- Monitoring3.4 / 5
- Writing3.3 / 5
- Active Learning3.3 / 5
Knowledge areas
- Public Safety and Security4.9 / 5
- Law and Government4.7 / 5
- English Language4.4 / 5
- Customer and Personal Service4.1 / 5
- Transportation3.7 / 5
- Education and Training3.5 / 5
Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.
Who tends to enjoy it
How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.
- Realistic86
- Investigative21
- Artistic0
- Social25
- Enterprising37
- Conventional66
The same work abroad
Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.
European occupation titles (ESCO)
- police commissioner · DE Polizeipräsident/Polizeipräsidentin · FR commissaire de police
- criminal investigator · DE Polizeibeamter im Ermittlungsdienst/Polizeibeamtin im Ermittlungsdienst · FR officier de police judiciaire/officière de police judiciaire
- police detective · DE Kriminalbeamter/Kriminalbeamtin · FR gardien de la paix/gardienne de la paix
- police officer · DE Polizist/Polizistin · FR agent des forces de l’ordre/agente des forces de l’ordre
- security guard · DE Fachkraft Schutz- und Sicherheit · FR agent de sécurité/agente de sécurité
- airport security officer · DE Fachkraft Schutz- und Sicherheit – Flughafen · FR agent de sûreté aéroportuaire/agente de sûreté aéroportuaire
Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)
- Police community support officers (6311)11,800 employed
- Police officers (sergeant and below) (3312)198,400 employed
- Security guards and related occupations (9231)158,600 employed
Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.
Pay across Europe, for the whole group
Median annual earnings of all employees in “Service and sales workers”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.
| Country | Median pay |
|---|---|
| Belgium | €32,957 |
| Sweden | €32,596 |
| Netherlands | €29,198 |
| Austria | €29,068 |
| Germany | €27,471 |
| Ireland | €26,978 |
| Italy | €24,995 |
| France | €24,971 |
| Spain | €18,303 |
| Portugal | €10,656 |
| Poland | €7,579 |
Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.
Exposure to AI
This occupation sits in the lower third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -0.82. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.
Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.
Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (33-3052).
Related careers
Is it a fit for you?
Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.
Take the career interests test