Rising Stars 2024: Adam Motsinger

Adam Motsinger, 39
Manager of environmental operations
Norfolk Southern Railway

Education: Mississippi State University, bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies.

Job responsibilities: Support general environmental compliance and emergency-response activities for a two-state (North Carolina/South Carolina) region. Work as an internal subject matter expert across operating departments to assist these groups as they navigate a variety of environmental challenges.

Career path: While in college and shortly after, I worked for the U.S. Geologic Survey as a hydrologic technician. I mapped stream flow in the Piedmont region of the Carolinas. After that, I moved on to work as an environmental consultant for a full-service national firm. That consulting role helped diversify my experience in a wide variety of environmental topics. Eventually, in that consulting role, I ended up managing emergency-response cleanup projects for several large industry clients, including Norfolk Southern. My predecessor here at NS retired and I was able to successfully jump from consulting into the industry.

Why did you join the rail industry? My consulting job was exciting and always changing, but the role I had at that firm was beginning to involve more travel and to locations farther from home. I enjoyed the railroad work I had been a part of and jumped at the chance to work on railroad projects full time. The NS Environmental Operations team functions like an internal consultant and allows me an exciting opportunity to continue to work on a variety of interesting projects. That variety keeps me from getting bored and helps me stay engaged in the work.

What’s the best career advice that you’ve received so far? Two good pieces of advice I try to remember each and every day, especially over the last five years of railroad life. No. 1: Change can be a good thing, change is inevitable. No. 2: Look at everything as an opportunity – an opportunity to improve if you make a mistake. Feedback is an opportunity for growth as your experience and career develops.

What advice would you give someone new to railroading? Dive in and don’t look back. Volunteer for special assignments. Work the nights and weekends. Get out in the field on the ballast line with “real” railroaders so you can get a sense of what life is like outside the office and outside of the corporate world.

Network, network, network. Meet as many people as you can and try to make as many good first impressions as possible. If you find yourself in a role that isn’t your dream job or on a team you may not be enthusiastic about, find a way to make the best of it. Find something in your job that you can get excited about to help you maintain some enthusiasm and energy.

Also, make sure you take time for your family, hobbies and maintain your personal life.

What was your first job? Working in my childhood church gym at 15 may still be the best job I’ve had. I handed out basketballs and roller skates to my friends, had a TV in the background and Chick-fil-A down the street.

Share a fun fact about yourself. I enjoy hunting and fishing. I have been pheasant hunting in South Dakota a few times and fishing all over the East Coast. I am fortunate to have some good fishing spots in my NC/SC territory.

If you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be and why? My wife. Dinner at our house can be chaotic between kids, events and daily life. A quiet date night sounds great.

Who has had the most influence on your career? Both my grandfathers had a major influence on my career, and I was fortunate to have them in my life for 20 and 30 years. They were both extremely hard-working, family-oriented and honest. They had careers working with their hands and in sales. Between the two of them I got amazing experiences and approaches toward working life.

Describe a major obstacle in your career and how you surmounted it. A challenge that I face daily is time management. In the modern railroad there are always more things pulling you in more directions than you can keep up with. Fighting to find and then keep as much balance as possible, to be productive and efficient, is a constant challenge. Having a good relationship with your supervisor and working through focused short-term and long-term goals or lists has helped me stay focused.

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing the rail industry today? A large challenge is replacing and renewing the railroad workforce – convincing high-quality, high-value, hard-working people that the railroad is where to make their career. It seems that working outside with your hands, in inclement weather and noisy environs, is not as attractive to many people who are entering the workforce.

The railroad industry may need to reevaluate its approach to attracting talent and to keep existing high–value employees from departing. Opportunities exist to be more efficient and utilize technology to find advantages, but there will always be a need for skilled labor to run a railroad.