Graveyard Shift

[TheBigChicken]

any of you guys done this or currently doing this??  11pm-7am :-/going on almost a month...one good perk is beers at 7:30 :D

[Taterbug]

I  worked the 10:30pm - 7:00 am when I was in my early 20's. I did it for about 8 months and thats all I could handle.
Lots of advantages and disadvantages.
I  had problems sleeping during the daylight hours, but that could of been from the hashish at 7:30 in the morning.  

[ycartrob]

I used to do overnights in the Coast Guard, either radio watch or underway at the helm of the ship.  I learned to drink really old, really bad coffee, hot or cold, black or with.

[mjkoehler]

I did Graveyard one summer in college. I was working in a factory that made metal store shelves and shit. I was also taking a full summer class schedule (to make up for the first 2 years of school that I still have little to no recollection of) and fighting with an ex and trying to ummm nail another. I honestly got 2 hours of sleep a day that summer. It f'n sucked. I was drinking nothing but coffee and Mountain Dew just so I didn't fall face first into a MIG welder. Oh and it was a very hot summer that year.

[megisnotreal]

oh my god.

i used to run my university's campus radio station. we were live 24/7, which meant someone almost always bailed on the ol' 12pm-3am or 3am-6am shift.

as directors, we had to carry around a special phone just so people could call us to say "hey, it's 3:30 and this dude who has the next shift still isn't here." anyway, it had that lame ass "hello, moto" ring that comes on all motorola phones.

i swear to god, if i hear that ring, i kind of freak out b/c i think someone is calling me to say get your ass down to the studio.

i mean, sometimes you're busy, you know. or you're beyond the point of maintaining and you have to drop whatever and go down there. that sucked.

[Jaimoe]

I used to work 4 on 4 off 7pm-7am shifts (for 5 years). However, my station (I work in broadcasting) decided to be fair and change things up. Here's my shift schedule for the past 4 years: 2 weeks from 7am-7pm, one weekend off, then 2 weeks 7pm-7am. Our scedule now is 2 on, 2 off, 3 on, 2 off, 2 on, 3 off - basically every other weekend off. The killer is getting off work at 7am on a Friday and having to be back at work Monday at 7am. It basically feels like I'm jet-lagged every week or two. I just finished my 2 weeks of day shifts yesterday. I'm back to nights starting on Monday.

[Taterbug]

Holy crap, how do you keep it straight man.
I use to work california 24's when I was a fireman, it was in a small town without alot of action. It felt rewarding to get paid while I was ( sleeping  :) ) protecting the public from danger.

[Jaimoe]

Holy crap, how do you keep it straight man.
I use to work california 24's when I was a fireman, it was in a small town without alot of action. It felt rewarding to get paid while I was ( sleeping  :) ) protecting the public from danger.

I get paid relatively well and it's not a stressful job for the most part. It's not physically strenuos either. I'd love to not work nights, but what can you do? I never thought I'd be doing what I do now for this many years, but I never take work home with me and I get paid in the same ballpark as some producers and technical directors, so I guess the exhaustion and subsequent health worries are worth it. I would jump at another job somewhere else. I think I may try to look into working at the University of Toronto next year in a media related field.

[Taterbug]

It sounds like you have a great job and as long as you really enjoy what you do  the hours really don't matter much, right ?  

[red]

I'm in love with my 6am - 3pm shift, apart from the nap I usually have to take as soon as I get off work.

[Jaimoe]

It sounds like you have a great job and as long as you really enjoy what you do  the hours really don't matter much, right ?  

Some people think I have a great job. It's easy enough and it can be interesting. I'd say it's a good job but not fulfilling intellectually. I'd rather do what my wife is doing right now: she's taking dual major programs in Urban Studies/Enviromental Studies  at the University of Toronto. I have a passion towards urban renewal and healthy sustainablility for cities. I hate suburbia and think it's one of the most damaging forces in the world today. Oh well, maybe I can live vicariously through my egg-head wife's future.

[getinthevan]

For the past year and a half, I've been loading delivery trucks for FedEx Ground from 2:30am-8:00am, Tuesday-Saturday.  I'm also going to school full time and doing sound on Saturday nights.  I don't get much sleep during the week but the pay is good and I work with some friends so its bearable.  

I really like driving to work at night because there's very little traffic.  

[Hawkeye]

This is a little bit off-topic, yet somewhat related:  do any of you work opposite shifts from your spouses/significant others?  If so, for how long and how do you make it work?  My live-in girlfriend and I have been working opposite shifts for about 9 months now and it can be hard.  We get Tuesday and Wednesday nights together, and Saturday and Sunday mornings, but that's about it.  I usually end up staying awake until 1 or 2 in the morning during the week so we can get an hour or two together at night, but I suffer for it at work the next day.  The worst thing is that she gets no vacation for her first year of the job, so she can't have ANY weekends off.  We can't take any little mini-trips together unless I take vacation on a Tuesday and Wednesday.  Sometimes I feel like we are wasting so much time together by not being able to take these weekend getaways.  Enough rambling, I just needed someplace to vent.  There are some positives though, I get time to play guitar and hang out with the guys.  Anyone else in this situation?

[Taterbug]

I don't, but  I  have a friend that works days and his wife works nites, All was working ok until they had kids.   His marriage has become toxic.  He struggles  with the kids constantly. It is not a healthy situation for him, he has become a alcoholic and lord knows what else is goin on. The kids are having a tough time also ( 9 year old & 6 year old )They fight with each other every nite. This is just my view of a situation that I'm familiar with.  I couldn't do it.  But I'm sure thousands of people make it work just fine.

I think it would take 2 very special people  to make that situation work with kids.
I worked 3rd shift for a little while when I was dating my wife before we got married,   We made it work.  it wasn't easy but we made the best of the time we shared together.