Jennifer Bailey

Why did you decide to enter a technical career field?
During my high school math and science courses, I realized how much I enjoyed and excelled at solving problems. I appreciated the process of determining what is “known” and using that information to discover the “unknown”. A collegiate guest speaker came in to talk to my senior math class one day. He said, “If you love math, you’ll love being an Engineer.” That was the moment I chose my major.

What has been your career journey so far?
I entered college and chose Civil Engineering as my major. Through the cooperative education program office at college, I took advantage of the opportunity to work multiple semesters at Norfolk Southern.

When I graduated, I chose to remain with Norfolk Southern and hired in full-time as a Management Trainee in the Mechanical Department. Throughout my career, I have worked in multiple location and capacities, almost exclusively in system locomotive repair facilities. Other roles have included the Facilities group – responsible for overseeing capital projects across the system, the System Operation Center – responsible for balancing the locomotive workload between the various system locomotive shops, and in Process Engineering – working with employees and managers to make continual improvements in the workplace.

Please describe your current role.
My current position is Locomotive Shop Manager at Juniata Locomotive Shops. The facility is the largest locomotive maintenance and repair facility on the Norfolk Southern system. I plan and manage the shop and monitor the departments within the shop to ensure they work together and complement the activities of each other. In each department, the employees and supervisors must work as a team to meet department and shop performance objectives in safety, program budget, locomotive reliability, and labor productivity.

What does a typical day involve for you?
It’s hard to explain because a typical day rarely exists. Flexibility is key as the direction of the day can change in an instant!
On any given day, there may be multiple meetings with employees and/or union local chairmen. There is a lot of production and budgetary planning that occurs in the office and on daily scheduled conference calls. Whenever I can, I also walk around the shop floor to talk with Supervisors and witness operations and any potential concerns firsthand.

What do you like most about your job?
Every day is different, and while that is one aspect of the job that makes it so challenging, that is also what I love about the railroad and my role. I also appreciate the fact that I am always learning. The railroad is an industry that is always facing new challenges, new projects and new directions. As I progress in my career, I am continually provided with challenges that can help me to grow and develop professionally.

What are you most proud of in your career so far?
It has been exciting to see ideas come to fruition and projects that I have worked on being useful to others on the Norfolk Southern system.

What would be your advice to young women entering the industry?
My advice would be to go for it! This is the place for people who like challenges, people who like the satisfaction of a job well done, especially after working hard. If you trust yourself and work hard to build a network of relationships, you can gain the knowledge and skills to have a rewarding career.

What are your interests/hobbies outside of work?
My hobbies away from work almost always include spending time with my family. I am married and we have two teenage boys. School and extracurricular activities keep us quite busy. We love to be outdoors and we like to travel. We have moved around the eastern US quite a bit and enjoy learning about the best of each new home by acting like “tourists” in each city and outlying area.

In your opinion, what is the recipe for success – for a team, career, or otherwise?
I believe being successful in any aspect of life comes down to flexibility, accountability and building relationships. In my role, I have to be able to adapt quickly and communicate change, sometimes when that change is unwelcome. By building relationships and trust, that communication becomes a little easier.