Locomotive Engineering

What the Numbers Say About Locomotive Engineering

0.0% of the federal civilian workforce (2,289,472 employees total, March 2025) works in the Locomotive Engineering occupation (OPM code 5737): 62 people, headcount up 3.3% versus the prior period, though at this small a headcount, year-to-year swings can reflect a handful of hires or departures rather than a broad hiring trend.

Locomotive Engineering pays $70,185 per year on average, 36.1% below the $109,869 federal civilian average, after moving up 1.5% from the prior period (a modest shift, consistent with routine locality pay and grade-level movement). Employees in this role stay an average of 12.3 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.

Locomotive Engineering sits inside the Transportation/mobile Equipment Operation Family family (code 57), which contains 15 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Locomotive Engineering postings should also review these sibling occupations, since federal hiring managers often cross-post positions across closely related codes when recruitment is difficult. All figures here come directly from OPM FedScope Employment Cubes, the same official source referenced in federal workforce planning, budget justifications, and GAO reports.

Inside the Transportation/mobile Equipment Operation Family family (15 occupations, 10,693 employees combined), Locomotive Engineering holds the #13 spot by headcount, a 0.6% share of the family total.