Before joining Metro Transit, Carrie Stepanek worked in health care administration. But when she saw the opportunity to become a train operator in late 2025, she decided to turn her longtime interest in trains into a new career she believed offered more stability, stronger benefits, and union support.
To make the transition, she spent 10 weeks learning in the classroom and training in the field. While confident in her abilities, she will also have the benefit of being mentored and supported by an experienced train operator for the next two years.
"It's like having a friend you can talk to and go to," she said. "It's a confidential conversation that you can have, someone that supports you...just another added level of support."
The support comes at a pivotal time not just for new hires like Stepanek but for Metro Transit as a whole. To support the METRO Green Line Extension, opening in 2027, Metro Transit will need around 175 train operators, about 50 more than there are today.
To ensure those walking through the door stay and succeed, new operators are being paired with mentors and invited into workshops where they can learn from staff in other departments. The program is modeled on an industry-leading bus operator apprenticeship program introduced at Metro Transit in 2018.
The program is a partnership with the ATU Local 1005 and leads to a journeyworker certificate that recognizes operating buses and trains is an advanced skill, akin to being an electrician.
“We don’t focus on just making them better operators but on helping them find a career here,” said Seth Muench-Thomsen, acting apprenticeship coordinator. "It’s much more of a holistic approach."
Muench-Thomsen knows first hand what it's like to come in the door not knowing what to expect. After serving as a hotel restaurant chef, he came to Metro Transit a decade ago to start a new career that would carry him to retirement.
Some of the biggest challenges for new train operators, he says, include learning the terminology, being on high alert at all times, and getting comfortable moving a massive train with just a left hand.
While instructors, managers, and peers are all there to provide support, mentors add an additional layer that Muench-Thomsen says is invaluable. “Regular and frequent contact between mentor and mentee is the goal,” he said. “The mentor is someone there for questions, advice and moral support.”
And after new operators get over the hump? “Driving light rail is the best job in the company,” Muench-Thomsen said. “You don’t have road construction to deal with, the weather doesn’t affect you that much and it’s just plain fun to drive a train.”
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