The information below will help you determine which classification(s) is(are) appropriate for you. Applicants must meet the Minimum Qualifications as stated on this bulletin to compete in this examination.

Open and Open, Non-Promotional Examination(s):

• ASSOCIATE SIGNAL AND TRAIN CONTROL INSPECTOR - Open

For all Classifications, once you have participated in any of the following examinations, you may not recompete for 12 months:

Exam Code(s):

3217

For ASSOCIATE SIGNAL AND TRAIN CONTROL INSPECTOR, once you have participated in any of the following examinations, you may not recompete for 12 months:

Exam Code(s):

• EX-03217

The link to connect to the ASSOCIATE SIGNAL AND TRAIN CONTROL INSPECTOR,CPUC examination is located farther down on this bulletin in the “EXAMINATION INFORMATION” section. 

If you have any questions regarding this examination bulletin or technical complications, please contact: The CPUC Selection Unit by clicking on the link: pucexams@cpuc.ca.gov

NOTE: Communication through Email is the most expeditious and preferred method of communication.

Submit an Examination/Employment Application (STD 678) to apply for this examination.

Electronic applications can be submitted through your account at www.CalCareers.ca.gov.

You may apply by mail to:

• Human Resources Division
  Public Utilities Commission
  Examination/Selection Unit
  505 Van Ness Ave, Room 3008
  San Francisco, CA 94102
  

Indicate the Examination Code and Classification(s) on your Examination/Employment Application (STD 678).

You may drop off your application and any applicable or required documents at:

• Public Utilities Commission
  Examination/Selection Unit
  505 Van Ness Ave, Room 3008
  San Francisco, CA 94102
  8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Indicate the Examination Code and Classification(s) on your Examination/Employment Application (STD 678). All applicants must provide proof of identification. Accepted forms of identification are: 1) a photo identification card or 2) two forms of signed identification.

If you require assistance or alternative testing arrangements due to a disability, indicate on your application that you need reasonable accommodation. You will be contacted by a representative of the testing department to make the necessary arrangements. If you have not been contacted by the time you receive notification of testing, please contact the testing department listed in the Contact section of this bulletin.

If you are unable to submit your application or complete the test due to a disability, please contact the testing department listed in the Contact section of this bulletin.

All applicants must meet the education and/or experience requirements as stated on this exam bulletin to be accepted to the examination.

Unless otherwise stated in the Minimum Qualifications, qualifying experience may be combined on a proportionate basis if the requirements stated below include more than one pattern and are distinguished as "Either" 1, "or" 2, "or" 3, etc. For example, applicants possessing qualifying experience amounting to 50% of the required time of Pattern 1 and additional experience amounting to 50% of the required time of Pattern 2 may be accepted to an examination as meeting 100% of the overall experience requirement.

Certification:

Successful completion of a Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) approved apprentice program resulting in certification of expertise in signal and train control inspection by the FRA. (Applicants who are in the process of securing their certification from the FRA will be admitted to the examination but must obtain their certification before they can be considered eligible for appointment.) and Either I Three years as a certified State and/or Federal Signal and Train Control Inspector or Signal Supervisor; Signal Maintenance Manager; Division, District, or Regional Signal Engineer on a Class I, Regional or Commuter Railroad.

Or II

Four years of experience in railroad signaling construction and maintenance in a position equivalent in level to that of a Railroad Signal Supervisor, Manager Signal Maintenance, Division Engineer, or Chief Engineer with a Class I railroad operating under the General Code of Operating Rules.

(A Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering may be substituted for two years of the experience requirement in Patterns I and II.)

This examination will consist of a Supplemental Questionnaire, Training and Experience Written Narrative, weighted 100%. The Training and Experience Written Narrative consists of job-related questions for which candidates must submit typed responses. A panel of subject matter experts will evaluate competitor responses to each question using job-related rating and scoring criteria.

The PUC reserves the right to modify the selection process as necessary to conform to administrative or business necessity.

This examination consists of the following component(s):

Components that are due with your application will be scored and will count toward your final examination result. Failure to submit these items may result in disqualification or elimination from the examination.

A final score of 70% must be attained to be placed on the eligible list.

PREPARING FOR THE EXAMINATION

Here is a list of suggested resources to have available prior to taking the exam.

Employment History: Employment dates, job titles, organization names and addresses, names of supervisors or persons who can verify your job responsibilities, and

phone numbers of persons listed above.

Education: School names and addresses, degrees earned, dates attended, courses taken (verifiable on a transcript), persons or office who can verify education, and

phone numbers of persons or offices listed above.

Training: Class titles, certifications received, names of persons who can verify your training, and phone numbers of persons listed above.


ASSOCIATE SIGNAL AND TRAIN INSPECTOR, CPUC EXAMINATION

CLICK HERE to take the ASSOCIATE SIGNAL AND TRAIN INSPECTOR, CPUC EXAMINATION.

In addition to evaluating the applicant's relative knowledge, skill and ability as demonstrated by quality and breadth of education/experience, emphasis in each test component will be on measuring competitively, relative to job demands, each applicant's:

Knowledge of:

Railroad signal inspection, signal maintenance methods, signaling equipment, and general railroad safety; and the proper corrective action to be taken in order to bring railroad track signals into compliance with State, Commission, and Federal Rules, Standards, and instructions governing the installation, inspection, maintenance, and repair of signal and train control systems, devices, and appliances.

Ability to:

Determine the safety of signaling equipment and the adequacy of maintenance procedures; understand railroad maintenance standards and detect deviation therefrom; determine adequacy for prescribed speeds in accordance with the provision of the Federal Signaling Safety Standards; conduct investigations of railroad accidents; write clear and concise reports; and compile and analyze data.

A Departmental Open eligible list for the ASSOCIATE SIGNAL AND TRAIN CONTROL INSPECTOR Classification will be established for:

• Public Utilities Commission

The names of successful competitors will be merged onto the eligible list(s) in order of final score regardless of test date. Eligibility expires 12 months after it is established. Applicants must then retake the examination to reestablish eligibility.

Veterans' Preference will be granted for this examination. Veterans' Preference is an assistance program for veterans, veteran widows and widowers, and spouses of 100% disabled veterans who seek employment with the state. Veterans' Preference is also extended to currently serving military members nearing their retirement or separation date.

You are not eligible for Veteran's Preference if you are:

• A veteran who has been dishonorably discharged or released.
• A veteran, widow or widower of a veteran, or spouse of a 100 percent disabled veteran who currently has permanent civil service status. (Permanent civil service status is the status of an employee who is lawfully retained in his/her position after completion of the applicable probationary period. This does not include limited term).

Veterans' Preference is codified in Government Code Sections 18973 – 18979.

Veteran status is verified by the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR). Directions to apply for Veterans' Preference are on the Veterans' Preference Application (Std. Form 1093), which is available at www.CalCareers.ca.gov, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Career Credits are not granted for examination(s) administered on an Open basis or a Promotional basis.

• Public Utilities Commission

Questions regarding this examination should be directed to:

California Relay Service: 1-800-735-2929 (TTY), 1-800-735-2922 (Voice). TTY is a Telecommunications Device for the Deaf, and is reachable only from phones equipped with a TTY Device.

Examination and/or Employment Application (STD 678) forms are available at the California Department of Human Resources, local offices of the Employment Development Department, and through your CalCareer Account (www.CalCareers.ca.gov).

If you meet the requirements stated on this examination bulletin, you may take this examination, which is competitive. Possession of the entrance requirements does not assure a place on the eligible list. Your performance in the examination described in this bulletin will be rated against a predetermined job-related rating, and all applicants who pass will be ranked according to their scores.

Public Utilities Commission reserves the right to revise the examination plan to better meet the needs of the service, if the circumstances under which this examination was planned change. Such revision will be in accordance with civil service laws and rules and all applicants will be notified.

General Qualifications: Applicants must possess essential personal qualifications including integrity, initiative, dependability, good judgment, the ability to work cooperatively with others, and a state of health consistent with the ability to perform the assigned duties of the class. A medical examination may be required. In open examinations, investigation may be made of employment records and personal history and fingerprinting may be required.

Eligible Lists: Eligible lists established by competitive examination, regardless of date, must be used in the following order: 1) sub-divisional promotional, 2) departmental promotional, 3) multi-departmental promotional, 4) service-wide promotional, 5) departmental open, 6) open. When there are two lists of the same kind, the older must be used first. Eligible lists will expire in one to four years unless otherwise stated on the bulletin.

High School Equivalence: Equivalence to completion of the 12th grade may be demonstrated in any one of the following ways: 1) passing the General Education Development (GED) Test; 2) completion of 12 semester units of college-level work; 3) certification from the State Department of Education, a local school board, or high school authorities that the competitor is considered to have education equivalent to graduation from high school; or 4) for clerical and accounting classes, substitution of business college work in place of high school on a year-for-year basis.

Accepted applicants must provide proof of identification at each in-person test session. Acceptable identification consists of a photo identification card or two forms of signed identification.