Blue Line extension to Lynn

[JumboBuc]

Budget and Labor Analyst
Salary: $61,580 - $85,000 annually

Budget and Labor Analyst

Purpose and ScopeThe Budget and Labor Analyst provides financial reporting and analysis in the support of the Authority’s Operating Budget. The Budget and Labor Analyst supports the development, preparation, evaluation and submittal of the annual operating budget of the MBTA for approval by the...

www.governmentjobs.com

Senior Budget & Labor Analyst
Salary: $69,440 - $90,000

Senior Budget & Labor Analyst

The Senior Budget and Labor Analyst provides financial reporting and analysis in the support of the Authority’s Operating Budget. The Senior Budget and Labor Analyst supports the development, preparation, evaluation, and submittal of the annual operating budget of the MBTA for approval by the...

www.governmentjobs.com

Pay for white-collar jobs at the T isn’t amazing, but it isn’t terrible either. A common refrain you will hear from people trying to hire in this space is that the hoops an agency has to jump through and the time it takes to get somebody on board are a much bigger impediment to hiring than the pay the agency can offer.

Interestingly, one of the areas where the T is the most short staffed is in HR.

 

[bigeman312]

Budget and Labor Analyst
Salary: $61,580 - $85,000 annually

Budget and Labor Analyst

Purpose and ScopeThe Budget and Labor Analyst provides financial reporting and analysis in the support of the Authority’s Operating Budget. The Budget and Labor Analyst supports the development, preparation, evaluation and submittal of the annual operating budget of the MBTA for approval by the...

www.governmentjobs.com

Senior Budget & Labor Analyst
Salary: $69,440 - $90,000

Senior Budget & Labor Analyst

The Senior Budget and Labor Analyst provides financial reporting and analysis in the support of the Authority’s Operating Budget. The Senior Budget and Labor Analyst supports the development, preparation, evaluation, and submittal of the annual operating budget of the MBTA for approval by the...

www.governmentjobs.com

Pay for white-collar jobs at the T isn’t amazing, but it isn’t terrible either. A common refrain you will hear from people trying to hire in this space is that the hoops an agency has to jump through and the time it takes to get somebody on board are a much bigger impediment to hiring than the pay the agency can offer.

Interestingly, one of the areas where the T is the most short staffed is in HR.

Interesting. They increased the salary for the position since I interviewed. That's a good thing. Still wonder why the ghosting. Oh well. It's a personal problem and not for the board.

I can attest to the hoops and the time, plus poor communication.

 

[jklo]

At this point it might take someone with some real estate holdings near the stop (and has the political connections) to get it fixed.

 

[bakgwailo]

Interesting. They increased the salary for the position since I interviewed. That's a good thing. Still wonder why the ghosting. Oh well. It's a personal problem and not for the board.

I can attest to the hoops and the time, plus poor communication.

Yeah, in a bit of a position of looking into new opportunities myself, but I can say: non of that is particularly appealing in software engineering (/management) vs the private sector. Perhaps other fields it's a bit more comptetitive?

 

[Massachoicetts]

Budget and Labor Analyst
Salary: $61,580 - $85,000 annually

Budget and Labor Analyst

Purpose and ScopeThe Budget and Labor Analyst provides financial reporting and analysis in the support of the Authority’s Operating Budget. The Budget and Labor Analyst supports the development, preparation, evaluation and submittal of the annual operating budget of the MBTA for approval by the...

www.governmentjobs.com

Senior Budget & Labor Analyst
Salary: $69,440 - $90,000

Senior Budget & Labor Analyst

The Senior Budget and Labor Analyst provides financial reporting and analysis in the support of the Authority’s Operating Budget. The Senior Budget and Labor Analyst supports the development, preparation, evaluation, and submittal of the annual operating budget of the MBTA for approval by the...

www.governmentjobs.com

Pay for white-collar jobs at the T isn’t amazing, but it isn’t terrible either. A common refrain you will hear from people trying to hire in this space is that the hoops an agency has to jump through and the time it takes to get somebody on board are a much bigger impediment to hiring than the pay the agency can offer.

Interestingly, one of the areas where the T is the most short staffed is in HR.

they pay the starting salary, the lowest figure.

Transportation Planners get 66k to start at the T. At the MTA it is $75.5k. I went through both of these and the MBTA pays significantly lower than others. The COL is in a way higher in Boston area over NYC arwa because I live in Bergen County NJ and pay under $2k for a really nice 900sqft apt with free parking. The best i could find in the Boston Area was 2.7k with similar amenities.

The BPDA is the absolute worst... terrible pay, terrible positions and an awful residency requirement for a 48sq mile city. I don't know who would be crazy enough to take a low pay position that you are subject to residency requirements in a city that builds little to no housing??? But the MBTA is not much better. If they want to retain good talent from elite universities, they need to help us first.

the MTA HR took me four months to get hired.I can imagine the MBTA would be the same

 

[shmessy]

they pay the starting salary, the lowest figure.

Transportation Planners get 66k to start at the T. At the MTA it is $75.5k. I went through both of these and the MBTA pays significantly lower than others. The COL is in a way higher in Boston area over NYC arwa because I live in Bergen County NJ and pay under $2k for a really nice 900sqft apt with free parking. The best i could find in the Boston Area was 2.7k with similar amenities.

The BPDA is the absolute worst... terrible pay, terrible positions and an awful residency requirement for a 48sq mile city. I don't know who would be crazy enough to take a low pay position that you are subject to residency requirements in a city that builds little to no housing??? But the MBTA is not much better. If they want to retain good talent from elite universities, they need to help us first.

the MTA HR took me four months to get hired.I can imagine the MBTA would be the same

Cut out the ridiculous pensions that incent retiring in the 50’s (and, given the increasing life expectancies is just a future financial cancer) increase the salaries and just have a 401(k) (457?) with a 5% match. Shine up that apple.

 

[Massachoicetts]

Cut out the ridiculous pensions that incent retiring in the 50’s (and, given the increasing life expectancies is just a future financial cancer) increase the salaries and just have a 401(k) (457?) with a 5% match. Shine up that apple.

Honestly, yes. If they cut the pensions down and just increased the pay a bit... it would be a big W and attract more people.

i am not sure how the MBTA works but the MTA is giving me close to 15k in pension benefits when I calculate it out. I could retire at 55 if I wanted to, no lie. Its crazy. I dont know if i would, but its a possibility that they enforce. I rather have slightly more pay though. And from a marketing sales points ,it would look better for perspective applicants!

 

[shmessy]

Honestly, yes. If they cut the pensions down and just increased the pay a bit... it would be a big W and attract more people.

i am not sure how the MBTA works but the MTA is giving me close to 15k in pension benefits when I calculate it out. I could retire at 55 if I wanted to, no lie. Its crazy. I dont know if i would, but its a possibility that they enforce. I rather have slightly more pay though. And from a marketing sales points ,it would look better for perspective applicants!

Thanks for that particular example. I read somewhere (probably somewhere here) about the flood of retirements/resignations hitting the T that is clearly exacerbating the staffing crisis.

The compensation system directly incentivizes getting out at ages that made sense when the life expectancy a middle aged worker could expect going forward was in the early 70's. Not today. if you're in your 50's you have a good expectation of at least mid-80's, if not more. Politics/politicians thrown aside, and that could be a very real world fix - - reward showing up, not dropping out.

 

[tysmith95]

Cut out the ridiculous pensions that incent retiring in the 50’s (and, given the increasing life expectancies is just a future financial cancer) increase the salaries and just have a 401(k) (457?) with a 5% match. Shine up that apple.

They did in 2011 for most state government positions. MBTA has a different system though.

 

[millerm277]

The compensation system directly incentivizes getting out at ages that made sense when the life expectancy a middle aged worker could expect going forward was in the early 70's. Not today. if you're in your 50's you have a good expectation of at least mid-80's, if not more.

I'll push back slightly just in the sense that for jobs that are hard on the body (which is by no means all of them), you can expect a large % of workers will have trouble keeping up with the work by their 60s. Physical ailments tend to crop up in labor jobs. While some can of course move to a less physically demanding role within the T, not every trackworker or the like will be able to do that.

This isn't me suggesting that I agree with the pension system structure, just arguing against a fix of simply increasing the age/# of service years required.

 

[shmessy]

I'll push back slightly just in the sense that for jobs that are hard on the body (which is by no means all of them), you can expect a large % of workers will have trouble keeping up with the work by their 60s. Physical ailments tend to crop up in labor jobs. While some can of course move to a less physically demanding role within the T, not every trackworker or the like will be able to do that.

This isn't me suggesting that I agree with the pension system structure, just arguing against a fix of simply increasing the age/# of service years required.

Agreed, but the answer for that already exists! That's what the DISABILITY (STD and LTD) exist in the benefit booklet. The small percentage that can no longer physically do their job, get disability. It shouldn't be a universal-blanket excuse for 1930's-life-expectancy retirement programs.

 

[stick n move]

Thanks for that particular example. I read somewhere (probably somewhere here) about the flood of retirements/resignations hitting the T that is clearly exacerbating the staffing crisis.

The compensation system directly incentivizes getting out at ages that made sense when the life expectancy a middle aged worker could expect going forward was in the early 70's. Not today. if you're in your 50's you have a good expectation of at least mid-80's, if not more. Politics/politicians thrown aside, and that could be a very real world fix - - reward showing up, not dropping out.

Im actually thinking of applying for a maintenance job at the MBTA for 1. To try to help with the worker shortage theyre experiencing and 2. It seems like it would be a pretty cool job. Last time I tried the application process was kinda screwy and you didnt get to apply for specific jobs, so they emailed me back later on and said I could start out as a part time bus driver lol. Since I work full time and need to pay bills there was no shot I was taking a part time job, and the idea of being stuck in traffic all day in a pos bus for my job was less than appealing.

I currently build/repair printed circuit boards for mobile power supplies for the patriot missile, which sounds like it would pay well but it pays complete shit since Im not doing any real high level stuff just soldering, assembly, and troubleshooting. In the military i did mechanic work on aircraft so Id like to get back into that general line of work instead of electronics, but I guess either one would be fine. Im hoping I can somehow get into the repair side of working on the train cars, so hopefully theres a better way I can navigate the hiring process vs what it was when I had applied before.

Ill report back if it has gotten any better, because Im sure that is another piece of the puzzle contributing to the shortage, because the recruitment process is complete shit and didnt let you apply for what you wanted. It was more apply to us and well choose where you go. That kinda thing flies when your under contract in the military and have no choice but in the real world people want to apply for what they want to do. Hopefully this process has changed.

 

[shmessy]

Im actually thinking of applying for a maintenance job at the MBTA for 1. To try to help with the worker shortage theyre experiencing and 2. It seems like it would be a pretty cool job. Last time I tried the application process was kinda screwy and you didnt get to apply for specific jobs, so they emailed me back later on and said I could start out as a part time bus driver lol. Since I work full time and need to pay bills there was no shot I was taking a part time job, and the idea of being stuck in traffic all day in a pos bus for my job was less than appealing.

I currently build/repair printed circuit boards for mobile power supplies for the patriot missile, which sounds like it would pay well but it pays complete shit since Im not doing any real high level stuff just soldering, assembly, and troubleshooting. In the military i did mechanic work on aircraft so Id like to get back into that general line of work instead of electronics, but I guess either one would be fine. Im hoping I can somehow get into the repair side of working on the train cars, so hopefully theres a better way I can navigate the hiring process vs what it was when I had applied before.

Ill report back if it has gotten any better, because Im sure that is another piece of the puzzle contributing to the shortage, because the recruitment process is complete shit and didnt let you apply for what you wanted. It was more apply to us and well choose where you go. That kinda thing flies when your under contract in the military and have no choice but in the real world people want to apply for what they want to do. Hopefully this process has changed.

I’ll be rooting for you there, Stick. The T (and the ridership) needs professionals like you very badly.

 

[mass88]

Im actually thinking of applying for a maintenance job at the MBTA for 1. To try to help with the worker shortage theyre experiencing and 2. It seems like it would be a pretty cool job. Last time I tried the application process was kinda screwy and you didnt get to apply for specific jobs, so they emailed me back later on and said I could start out as a part time bus driver lol. Since I work full time and need to pay bills there was no shot I was taking a part time job, and the idea of being stuck in traffic all day in a pos bus for my job was less than appealing.

I currently build/repair printed circuit boards for mobile power supplies for the patriot missile, which sounds like it would pay well but it pays complete shit since Im not doing any real high level stuff just soldering, assembly, and troubleshooting. In the military i did mechanic work on aircraft so Id like to get back into that general line of work instead of electronics, but I guess either one would be fine. Im hoping I can somehow get into the repair side of working on the train cars, so hopefully theres a better way I can navigate the hiring process vs what it was when I had applied before.

Ill report back if it has gotten any better, because Im sure that is another piece of the puzzle contributing to the shortage, because the recruitment process is complete shit and didnt let you apply for what you wanted. It was more apply to us and well choose where you go. That kinda thing flies when your under contract in the military and have no choice but in the real world people want to apply for what they want to do. Hopefully this process has changed.

If you do push ahead with applying, best of luck to you.


Crossing my fingers that come 2030, we have the blue line extended to Lynn and the red/blue connector built, or at the very least both under construction.

 

[Teban54]

Can a mod move the discussion to something like the General MBTA thread? While I think this is a very valuable discussion to have, it doesn't fit the BLX thread at all.

 

[ant8904]

Can a mod move the discussion to something like the General MBTA thread? While I think this is a very valuable discussion to have, it doesn't fit the BLX thread at all.

I apologize in advance, but I'm going to continue the conversation here as I'm prioritizing keeping to the context rather than the correct location. Also if a mod moves the posts, it allow the whole tpic

Interesting. They increased the salary for the position since I interviewed. That's a good thing. Still wonder why the ghosting. Oh well. It's a personal problem and not for the board.

I hope you didn't mind, I did saw the original post. I didn't have the time/energy to respond, but I'm not going to leave it unsaid now that I finally get a chance to write. It might be too personal to share, but I want to say it does provide insight. Possibly very helpful insight for me.

Personally, I've been trying to get into the MBTA too. I even noted the idea before on this board about the desire and gotten tips and advice. Since then, I applied to various positions with various adjustments the way I present myself. But unlike you, the farthest I got is only a phone screen. I did contact their recruiters, but the feedback I got is that I am meeting their minimal standards for most positions I have applied. I'm not sure if I'm meeting the "true" standards, applying to positions where competition is just too fierce, applied to too many positions that I am on timeout (or worse), or my background is too much of an oddball versus the positions that I have applied (though I gotten 0 responses for positions that I would traditionally fit too).

Your post does provide some insight. Not enough for me to figure out what's going on, but it does help. I don't know to reconcile with the information that I have heard from others. I think the most trustworthy story I have gathered so far is from my IRL friend who does work for the MBTA as a project manager. I recently resorted to openly ask if he can directly refer me or something similar - particularly for a position that came out that really fits my background - but he told me all HR have been outsource so he can't personally recommend me to anyone no matter how he truly feels (but then I also hear contradictory stories too - I don't know).

 

[Ruairi]

I apologize in advance, but I'm going to continue the conversation here as I'm prioritizing keeping to the context rather than the correct location. Also if a mod moves the posts, it allow the whole tpic



I hope you didn't mind, I did saw the original post. I didn't have the time/energy to respond, but I'm not going to leave it unsaid now that I finally get a chance to write. It might be too personal to share, but I want to say it does provide insight. Possibly very helpful insight for me.

Personally, I've been trying to get into the MBTA too. I even noted the idea before on this board about the desire and gotten tips and advice. Since then, I applied to various positions with various adjustments the way I present myself. But unlike you, the farthest I got is only a phone screen. I did contact their recruiters, but the feedback I got is that I am meeting their minimal standards for most positions I have applied. I'm not sure if I'm meeting the "true" standards, applying to positions where competition is just too fierce, applied to too many positions that I am on timeout (or worse), or my background is too much of an oddball versus the positions that I have applied (though I gotten 0 responses for positions that I would traditionally fit too).

Your post does provide some insight. Not enough for me to figure out what's going on, but it does help. I don't know to reconcile with the information that I have heard from others. I think the most trustworthy story I have gathered so far is from my IRL friend who does work for the MBTA as a project manager. I recently resorted to openly ask if he can directly refer me or something similar - particularly for a position that came out that really fits my background - but he told me all HR have been outsource so he can't personally recommend me to anyone no matter how he truly feels (but then I also hear contradictory stories too - I don't know).

Outsourcing, man, it's a huge problem.
Institutions think they're streamlining their processes but really they're just burying tons of bureaucracy because no one wants to deal with it.
Everything gets gummed up!

 

[ant8904]

Outsourcing, man, it's a huge problem.
Institutions think they're streamlining their processes but really they're just burying tons of bureaucracy because no one wants to deal with it.
Everything gets gummed up!

I should clarify a bit on this. While outsource is partially fitting, it also implies the work is being done overseas which I didn't meant to imply. To my limited understanding, the more correct word is at least part of HR has been privatized. I'm pretty sure at least IT has been - you can even tell by where most technology jobs are listed. What my project-manager-friend seem to imply is a lot more than just tech jobs has been assigned to Lever - so regardless if he thinks I fit somewhere, he literally have nobody he can contact that is internal. At the same time, I also aware of the recruiters that I met via the job fairs. I don't know how to reconcile HR has been seemingly privatized to the point workers can't find anyone internal, but HR recruiters that I met does seem to be part of the MBTA (well at least of them, I also notice some where phone numbers to Level).

So, I don't know the true mix. So here's the limited information that I have.

 

[The EGE]

Can someone who knows the details better tell me if extending the blue line to Vinnin Square area is possible just by having it go along the CR tracks?

Answering this question from the Red/Blue thread.

• Wonderland to Lynn: As discussed elsewhere, there's a couple different ways to go for this segment. It's a tradeoff between how far you continue along the BRB&L alignment towards Point of Pones (dealing with minor right-of-way encroachment) versus hopping onto the Eastern Route (dealing with the need to widen the causeway), and figuring out where to cross the Pines River and Saugus River. Once you cross into Lynn, the ROW is four tracks wide due to a never-completed 1910s quad-tracking project. (You can see that the Saugus Draw abutments are four tracks wide.) There's plenty of room for a station at Riverworks or West Lynn (Commercial Street) if desired. The former Lynn garage was designed with space for a future Blue Line station; hopefully whatever replaces it will as well.
• Lynn to Swampscott: There's a tight fit with a few buildings on the south side of the ROW for the first few blocks out of the station. From there, the ROW is fully four-track as far as Chatham Street. At Swampscott you probably have enough room to build a Blue Line station over the parking lot, but you'll have to move the historic station building.
• Swampscott onwards: More difficult. The ROW is not as wide; you're going to be acquiring property, widening overhead bridges, etc. It's certainly doable as far as the south end of Salem, but a new tunnel under Salem would be a massive and difficult project.

There's debate about whether Regional Rail will provide adequate service to Lynn, or if a Blue Line extension is needed. I fall on the side of the latter; I feel it needs rapid transit frequency that's beyond what Regional Rail can deliver. But in any case, the cost/benefit of any Blue Line extension beyond Lynn is doubtful; Swampscott doesn't have the density to justify a +1 extension beyond Lynn, and Salem is rather far out (14 miles from downtown) with a big density hole after Swampscott.

 

[Riverside]

There's debate about whether Regional Rail will provide adequate service to Lynn, or if a Blue Line extension is needed. I fall on the side of the latter; I feel it needs rapid transit frequency that's beyond what Regional Rail can deliver. But in any case, the cost/benefit of any Blue Line extension beyond Lynn is doubtful; Swampscott doesn't have the density to justify a +1 extension beyond Lynn, and Salem is rather far out (14 miles from downtown) with a big density hole after Swampscott.

Totally agree about the need for BLX to Lynn (particularly without electrified Regional Rail + NSRL). Salem has the potential to enjoy very high Regional Rail frequencies on its own; 1-hour freqs to each of Newburyport, Rockport, and Peabody get you to 20 min headways already. Pulsing any of those up at all can easily get you to 15 min headways, and half-hourlies on each branch would give Salem a train every 10 minutes (which is probably pushing the limit of the Salem Tunnel, but that's neither here nor there).

I've idly crayoned a North Shore LRT line/network that picks up, for example, the northern half of the Saugus Branch, stops at one or two of the cross-streets in East Lynn, and then maybe uses the Marblehead Branch or something; basically build a feeder network into a Blue Line station at Lynn Central Square.