Going from a career of doing 9-5 to shift work

dazl1212

Got a telephone interview for a networking job that involves shift work, including a week of nights every 5 weeks.
Has anyone gone from days to shifts and would like to share their experiences?

Ive had sleep issues in the past but they are mostly under control now.

wtrwlkr

I was in the military and definitely experienced rotating shifts. I routinely went from 8am - 4pm to 11pm - 7am. Luckily my management was relatively sensible and kept me on the same shift for at least 3 months.

What i'd suggest is buying a decent eyemask and maybe some black out curtains for your bedroom. Also, try to stay up for at least 24 hours straight the day before you're due to change shifts so you can get a good sleep period immediately before you start.

dazl1212

wtrwlkr wrote: »

I was in the military and definitely experienced rotating shifts. I routinely went from 8am - 4pm to 11pm - 7am. Luckily my management was relatively sensible and kept me on the same shift for at least 3 months.

What i'd suggest is buying a decent eyemask and maybe some black out curtains for your bedroom. Also, try to stay up for at least 24 hours straight the day before you're due to change shifts so you can get a good sleep period immediately before you start.

Hi, thank you very much for the advice.

I would be doing evenings before the night shift, 4 days off after the night shift and evenings following which should help.

NOC-Ninja

I did this before. It was definitely weird working at night. Especially if you are alone. Its a good time to study since nobody was talking to me. Although, I was hearing some weird noises at work. lol

EnderWiggin

Personally, I would never do shift work. Changing your sleep schedule that often severely messes with your circadian rhythms, and greatly increases the risk of some pretty bad health issues down the line.

I'd rather volunteer to always be third shift, that way my circadian rhythms would even out on that schedule.

dazl1212

I was thinking it would be bad for me but I'm out of work so I'm a bit stuck at the moment.

kohr-ah

If you need the money I would consider taking it and take your time to keep looking for work. Before you know it, it may be 6 months then something better comes along.

Just like I am doing now I just took a new job if I get a better offer in 6 months to go work for a better company I'll consider it. You do what is best for you and your family (if you have one).

dazl1212

kohr-ah wrote: »

If you need the money I would consider taking it and take your time to keep looking for work. Before you know it, it may be 6 months then something better comes along.

Just like I am doing now I just took a new job if I get a better offer in 6 months to go work for a better company I'll consider it. You do what is best for you and your family (if you have one).

My thoughts exactly, I will gain a lot of experience as its a pure networking role with Cisco equipment.
Get that and my CCNA under my belt and things will begin looking rosier.
Thanks for the advice.

aderon

While I don't have experience with rotating shifts, I have been working third shift for about 3 years now and, while it does have some novelty at first, it definitely gets old after a while. I'm dreaming of the day I land a 9-5 lol. I will most likely turn down any future job offers that want me to work 3rd shift again.

Pros:
1) Doing errands when you get off work is super easy. Everything is open and there's no traffic anywhere because everyone else is at work.
2) Speaking of traffic, at least where I live, everyone travels into the city in the morning whereas I'm leaving the city and going outwards. There's literally no traffic at all in that direction and it's amazing.
3) If you're the type to fall asleep as soon as you get home, you can wake up in time to party at night on the weekends. You'll get up 4-6 PM and have literally the entire night to enjoy yourself.

Cons:
1) SLEEP!!! This is the number one reason I want to switch to a 9-5. You just don't get a lot of sleep on third. It's so hard to fall asleep during the day for so many reasons. Some weeks are better than others, but it just feels like you're dragging through life so much of the time.
2) SLEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!!!!!
3) Your ability to network and advance your career is hindered because most of the important shot callers work 9-5.
4) You miss out on a lot of work benefits. At my place, they like to bring food trucks, give us movie tickets and time off for matinee showings of new releases, cater lunch, etc, etc. All of this stuff takes place during the time that you're sleeping and not at work.
5) Friends, family, loved ones. You won't have any lol. But seriously, it's very hard to make this schedule work when you're trying to interact with other people who work normal schedules. It's not impossible, but expect a challenge.

gespenstern

I actually enjoyed it and would prefer night shifts to 9-to-5 in the office.

Double that impenetrable curtains advice, it's important to sleep in as dark room as possible.

But i'm a misanthrope type of a person, so it played well for me. If you can't live without partying and visiting friends and having similar activity then it could be tough. Especially considering that at nights there aren't many folks you can talk to.

dazl1212

aderon wrote: »

While I don't have experience with rotating shifts, I have been working third shift for about 3 years now and, while it does have some novelty at first, it definitely gets old after a while. I'm dreaming of the day I land a 9-5 lol. I will most likely turn down any future job offers that want me to work 3rd shift again.

Pros:
1) Doing errands when you get off work is super easy. Everything is open and there's no traffic anywhere because everyone else is at work.
2) Speaking of traffic, at least where I live, everyone travels into the city in the morning whereas I'm leaving the city and going outwards. There's literally no traffic at all in that direction and it's amazing.
3) If you're the type to fall asleep as soon as you get home, you can wake up in time to party at night on the weekends. You'll get up 4-6 PM and have literally the entire night to enjoy yourself.

Cons:
1) SLEEP!!! This is the number one reason I want to switch to a 9-5. You just don't get a lot of sleep on third. It's so hard to fall asleep during the day for so many reasons. Some weeks are better than others, but it just feels like you're dragging through life so much of the time.
2) SLEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!!!!!
3) Your ability to network and advance your career is hindered because most of the important shot callers work 9-5.
4) You miss out on a lot of work benefits. At my place, they like to bring food trucks, give us movie tickets and time off for matinee showings of new releases, cater lunch, etc, etc. All of this stuff takes place during the time that you're sleeping and not at work.
5) Friends, family, loved ones. You won't have any lol. But seriously, it's very hard to make this schedule work when you're trying to interact with other people who work normal schedules. It's not impossible, but expect a challenge.

Thanks so much for the advice, luckily my girlfriend works shifts but doesn't do nights (i'd only be doing a week every 5) so it shouldn't be to bad on that front..

Got through the first stage and have my telephone interview on Friday.

dazl1212

gespenstern wrote: »

I actually enjoyed it and would prefer night shifts to 9-to-5 in the office.

Double that impenetrable curtains advice, it's important to sleep in as dark room as possible.

But i'm a misanthrope type of a person, so it played well for me. If you can't live without partying and visiting friends and having similar activity then it could be tough. Especially considering that at nights there aren't many folks you can talk to.

Thanks for the input as well. luckily its only one in 5 weeks and I actually don't usually have issues staying up late but recently I have found it hard to lie in.

Tyb

I have done shift work (Non-IT) and it sucks, to put it bluntly. As soon as your body adapts to a schedule, you switch it. However, you do what you have to when you need a job. I would take it but keep looking as I was getting experience.

dazl1212

Tyb wrote: »

I have done shift work (Non-IT) and it sucks, to put it bluntly. As soon as your body adapts to a schedule, you switch it. However, you do what you have to when you need a job. I would take it but keep looking as I was getting experience.

I think this is the best approach. Even the recruitment guy said to see it as a temporary thing, then again theyll say anything to get a person in a position.
I haven't been offered the job and I'd say its 50/50 I get through all the stages.
I'd prefer working evenings truth be told.