Entry Level Qualification 

Graduate

Career Fields 

Government & Defense Services

For Specially Abled 

Career Entrance Exam 

RAILWAY GROUP D, RAILWAY JE, RAILWAY NTPC, RAILWAY ALP

About Career 

As an Indian Railways Services Officer, you will have many versatile career pathways and an incredibly diverse set of roles open to you based on whatever cadre of the Railway services you decide to work in.

1. Indian Railways Account Service (IRAS): In this cadre, you will be in charge of maintaining accounts for the Indian Railways and act as a financial advisor to the Railways Ministry. You will additionally be delegated to various roles pertaining to finance and budget management, expenditure, earnings, revenue control etc. Further, you will perform financial scrutiny of various projects and proposals undertaken by the Indian Railways.

2. Indian Railway Personnel Service: In this cadre, you will be working in roles concerned with the human resources management of the Indian Railways workforce at all levels. Your work will entail recruitment, training, selections, transfers, promotions, disciplinary actions etc. along with all matters concerning the welfare of staff (and their families) and handling their grievances. 

3. Indian Railway Traffic Service: In this cadre, you will handle the day-to-day operation of the railways including to managing movement of trains and freight, passenger transport and services, station management, security, infrastructure planning, among many other such roles dealing with the operations, services, and logistics involved in the running the railways.

4. Indian Railway Service of Engineers: You will be responsible for the repair and maintenance of all assets of the Indian Railways such as tracks, bridges, engines, coaches etc. You will also be involved in projects dealing with the modernization and expansion of railways infrastructure like laying new tracks, gauge conversions, etc. and building new railway infrastructure as well as maintaining them.

Key roles and responsibilities:

In the Indian Railways Accounts Services you will need to fulfil the following roles:

1. To maintain accounts and manage finances for the Railways.

2. To offer advice to Zonal, District, and Apex level Railways officials across all cadres.

3. To work as a representative for the Indian Railways on deputation to various government ministries involved in the administration of the Railways.

4. To scrutinize revenue and expenditure, and analyze costs and financial feasibility of proposed projects.

In the Indian Railways Personnel Services you will have the following roles:

1. To handle the recruitment, training, and allocation of various staff

2. To handling promotions, transfers and other human resource management matters.

3. To take appropriate disciplinary measures to ensure order in the workplace.

4. To address employee grievances and negotiate with workers unions.

In the Indian Railways Traffic Services you will have the following roles:

1. To ensure the safe and timely transport of goods and passengers via the railway's network.

2. To coordinate with various service departments to ensure efficient usage of railways assets and infrastructure.

3. To evaluate the performance of railways services and track their revenue generation.

4. Dealing with sales, pricing, and promotional strategies to increase traffic and earnings

In the Indian Railways Service of Engineers you will have the following roles:

1. To maintain railway infrastructure.

2. To undertaking expansion and modernization projects such as laying new tracks, building new stations, etc.

3. To ensure that all the railway equipment is functioning correctly and also oversee the repair and maintenance of machinery and various parts of engines, carriages, etc.

Career Entry Pathway 

Class 10 all subjects as per scheme of studies - Class 11-12 with any subject as per scheme of studies [suited for IRPS, IRTS] - B.A./B.Com/B.Sc./B.Tech Degree - UPSC Examination

Once you’ve completed Class 11-12 with any subject as per scheme of studies. After this, you can graduate with a B.A./B.Com/B.Sc./B.Tech Degree in any subject of your choice. Then you can appear for the UPSC examination. On successful clearance of the exams, you will be assigned to a particular cadre according to your rank achieved, preference, and performance in the final interview.

Class 10 all subjects as per scheme of studies - Class 11-12 with any subject as per scheme of studies [suited for IRAS] - B.Com/Similar degree in Accountancy - UPSC Examination

After you’ve completed your secondary level school studies (class 10), you can pursue your higher secondary level studies in Commerce. Following this, you can graduate either with a B.Com degree or any other relevant degree in Accountancy. Then you can appear for the UPSC examination. On successful clearance of the exams, you will be assigned to a particular cadre according to your rank achieved, preference, and performance in the final interview.

Class 10 all subjects as per scheme of studies - Class 11-12 Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics along with any other subject as per scheme of studies [Mandatory for IRSE] - B.E./B.Tech in any subject/discipline - UPSC Examination

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After you’ve completed Class 11-12 Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics along with any other subject as per scheme of studies. Following this, you can graduate with a B.Sc/B.Tech in any subject of your choice. Then you can appear for the UPSC examination. On successful clearance of the exams, you will be assigned to a particular cadre according to your rank achieved, preference, and performance in the final interview.

Required Qualification & Competencies 

Higher Secondary

1. You can Class 11 and 12 with any standard combination of subjects. There are no mandatory subject requirements for UPSC.

2. However depending on your eventual preference of a specific cadre of civil services, it will be beneficial for you to pursue commerce stream [for IRAS] or the Science Stream with Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics [for IRSE].

College/Graduation

1. You can acquire a Bachelor’s degree in any subject but it is highly advisable that you pursue a degree in a relevant subject to better prepare for certain papers.

2. B.Com/Accounting/Mathematics or related degree is advisable if you wish to qualify for Accounting Services.

3. A Bachelor’s degree in engineering is required to if you wish to be selected as an Engineer Services Officer since you will have to clear the Engineering Services Exam paper as a part of the UPSC examinations.

Competencies Required

Interests

1. Enterprising: You should have interests for Enterprising Occupations. Enterprising occupations involve taking initiatives, initiating actions, and planning to achieve goals, often business goals. These involve gathering resources and leading people to get things done. These require decision making, risk taking and action orientation.

2. Realistic: You should have interests for Realistic Occupations. Realistic occupations involve more practical and hands-on activities than paperwork or office work. Realistic occupations often involve physical activities for getting things done using various tools and equipment. 

3. Investigative: You should have interests for Investigative Occupations. Investigative occupations involve working with ideas and quite a lot of thinking, often abstract or conceptual thinking. These involve learning about facts and figures; involve use of data analysis, assessment of situations, decision making and problem solving.

Knowledge

1. Transportation: Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

2. Mechanical: Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

3. Public Safety and Security: Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

4. English Language: Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

5. Customer and Personal Service: Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Skills

1. Active Learning: Focused and continuous learning from various sources of information, observation and otherwise for application in getting work done.

2. Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, understanding the points being made by others, asking questions, etc.

3. Coordination: Skills in working together with other people to get things done.

4. Instruction: Skills in training others how to do something.

5. Judgment and Decision Making: Skills in considering pros and cons of various decision alternatives; considering costs and benefits; taking appropriate and suitable decisions.

6. Problem Solving: Skills in analysis and understanding of problems, evaluating various options to solve the problems and using the best option to solve the problems.

Abilities

1. Abstract Reasoning: The ability to understand ideas which are not expressed in words or numbers; the ability to understand concepts which are not clearly expressed verbally or otherwise.

2. Auditory Attention: The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.

3. Bodily-Kinaesthetic Intelligence: The ability to coordinate the movement of your arms, legs, and bodily motion; the ability to keep or regain your body balance when in an unstable position; the ability to quickly and repeatedly bend, stretch, twist, or reach out with your body, hands, arms, fingers, or legs.

4. Far Vision: The ability to see details at a distance.

5. Hand-Eye Coordination: The ability to make quick and precise hand movements as per visual observations and understanding (that is, what you see and comprehend).

6. Mental Stamina: The ability to sustain prolonged mental effort.

7. Selective Attention: The ability to concentrate on a task over a long period of time without being distracted.

8. Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

9. Physical Stamina: The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.

Personality

1. You are always or mostly organised in your day-to-day life and activities.

2. You are always or mostly careful about your actions and behaviour.

3. You are helpful to others sometimes.

4. You don't trust others easily.

5. You are always practical or in most situations.

Career - Job Opportunities & Profiles 

If you possess the minimum qualification that this job demands, you can bad entry-level job roles in the Indian Railways. For instance, under non-technical services, the cadre ranks are IRTS (Traffic Service), IRPS (Personnel Service), IRAS (Accounts Service), and RPF (Railway Protection Force). Under the technical services, the job roles are IRSE (Civil Engineers), IRSEE (Electrical Engineers), IRSME (Mechanical Engineers), and IRSSE (Signal Engineers).

Work environment

Working conditions of Indian Railways Services Officers vary according to their job responsibilities. For instance, while Station Masters have to work in railway stations, an Accounts Officer (Railways) spends most of the time in an office environment working on a computer. Engineers (Civil, Mechanical, Electrical) on the other hand, have to spend a considerable amount of time performing field work related to construction, repair,and maintenance, etc. Also, engineers will be expected to travel, often to far-flung places, in order to conduct field visits and oversee maintenance and expansion projects. Railway Officers may be transferred from one location to another. While office jobs in the Indian Railways may range from 8-9 hours, working hours are not fixed for professionals working in the field.

Specialisation Tracks In This Career

1. Indian Railway Personnel Officer (IRPS)

Most IRPS officers are assigned to the Establishment Directorate or the Personnel department of the Ministry of Railways, where they are involved in various levels of human resources management and work their way up the rank as Personnel Officers.

2. Indian Railway Accounts Officer (IRAS)

IRAS officers will largely specialise in tracking revenue, expenditure and other book-keeping based roles pertinent to managing the finances of the Indian Railways.

3. Indian Railway Operations Offier (IRTS)

IRTS officers working in Operations occupy roles pertaining to the transport of freight and customers. They also occupy bureaucratic positions, coordinating with various directorates and offices to ensure that channels of communication remain open to coordinate the smooth delivery of services and operations.

4. Indian Railway Commercial Officer (IRTS)

Officers in the commercial department oversee various revenue generating services and offerings of the organisation and works towards maximising earnings as well as being a key figure in formulating strategies to drive up traffic. Passenger services such as ticketing, catering, etc are also carried out under the superintendence of IRTS officers in the Commercial Department.

5. Indian Railway Services Engineer (IRSE)

Engineers at the Indian Railways are exclusively made up of IRSE cadre and they undertake all construction, maintenance, repair, and developmental activities for the Railways. They are usually sub-specialised into civil, mechanical, electrical and telecommunication engineers under the Engineering Department of the Indian Railways.

Career Growth

1. As a civil servant, you will experience steady, reliable career growth with annual pay hikes and regular, periodic promotion across the ranks.

2. Based on your merit during the UPSC examinations and your ability to distinguish yourself at your postings, you can rise pretty quickly up the various levels.

3. At the junior and mid-level you can land an important executive position in the railway's bureaucracy and also end up with prestigious postings and deputations.

4. At the Apex level of your career, you will be involved in the highest levels of policy-making and be an important stakeholder in the executive decision-making process of various national ministries potentially even getting to serve as a Cabinet Secretary to the Government of India.

Salary Offered  

The pay scale of all Group A civil servants (to which the Indian Railways Services Officers belong to) are fixed as follows:

1. As an entry-level officer (level 10) your pay will be fixed at Rs. 56,100  per month.

2. As junior officers (level 11, 12) you will earn at least Rs. 67,700 and go up to Rs. 78,800 per month.

3. As a Mid-level officer (level 13, 13a, 14) you will earn Rs. 1,18,500   an up to Rs. 1,44,200 per month.

4. At the Apex level ( level 15, 16, 17, and 18) you will make Rs. 1,82,200 and upto Rs. 2,50,000 per month. 

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Monthly Earning In Indian Rupee

1. Entry level: 0 - 2 years of work experience

2. Junior Level: From 1 to 12 years of work experience

3. Mid-Level: From 5 to 20+ years of work experience

4. Senior Level: From 10 to 25+ years of work experience (there could be exceptions in some high-end technical, financial, engineering, creative, management, sports, and other careers; also in the near future, people will reach these levels much faster in many careers and some careers, these levels will have no meaning as those careers will be completely tech skill driven such as even now, there is almost no level in a Cyber Security Expert’s job)

Famous Personalities 

Not Available 

Work Activities 

1. Reading and interpreting technical documents, charts, and drawings.

2. Supervising design, planning, construction, and installation of various structures.

3. Monitoring, planning, and organizing various procedures in the workplace.

4. Working with other co-workers on a daily basis like a team player.

5. Communicating well with co-workers and other individuals who visit your workplace.

6. Communicating and collaborating with colleagues, superiors and other staff members in the workplace as well as with outsiders.

7. Analyzing problems and situations of crisis and find ways to address them in a befitting manner.

8. Resolving workplace issues with discipline, skill, and tact.

9. Using creative thinking and innovative approach to perform various duties in the workplace.

10. Performing a wide range of tasks using a computer.