<p>I’m a full-time senior at an online high school. For this semester, which ends late January for us, I’m done or nearly done with all of my classes. As I’ve already committed to and received a likely letter for my school for next year, I don’t need to worry about applications anymore. I’m applying for a bunch of scholarships, but those are under control as well. </p>
<p>So, I’d like to get a job and earn some money for all things college-related. I’ve got an offer for full-time work at an overnight job starting next week. It pays better than everywhere else I’ve applied (hopefully will get another option or two this week), but I have a couple concerns. The offer is attractive because of the pay and consistent hours, but the hours are 11 pm to 7 am every weeknight.</p>
<p>It doesn’t appear to be rotating shifts, and my body clock is already pretty screwed up, so I’m not too worried about my ability to stay up. I’d also have access to a car at these times and I would just come home and sleep all day. Since I wouldn’t work weekends or evenings, I don’t think it would be that disruptive socially.</p>
<p>Also, I’m an athlete. I would be able to schedule all of my workouts in the evenings, so it shouldn’t have an affect on my practices. I don’t have any competitions for 6 weeks, so at least in the short-term it shouldn’t screw anything up in that vein. My dad seems utterly unconcerned with this, my mom has big issues with it but is usually pretty persuadable/reasonable if presented with a strong argument.</p>
<p>Still, I have reservations. Does anybody have experience with this type of schedule and how it affects one’s body? Would this be different for somebody who’s body needs to be in optimal condition for performance? If I was your 17-year-old, would you allow me to take this position?</p>
<p>I did shift work for several years, and my advice is not to, if you have a halfway decent alternative. Since your body-clock is already messed up, my advice goes double.</p>
<p>There has been some research on health and shift work. This one will get you started.</p>
<p>Thanks Deanna, I was aware that there were health risks associated with rotating shift work, but hadn’t realized they were there for just overnight shifts as well, as your study and a couple quick links I just pulled up showed. That’s definitely a big thing to consider.</p>
<p>I strongly advise against taking a job that will negatively affect your circadian clock. If you do some research, you will see how many detrimental effects this can have on your health. People your age already have enough trouble maintaining good sleep hygiene.</p>
<p>I’ve had recent experience working that shift, and had to give it up because I could not drive home without falling asleep. I was also in a constant state of fog & memory loss. I was only working that shift once a week though, with my other two shifts from 3pm-11pm. The people I work with who work overnights five days a week say they manage to adapt. I’m in my early fifties, too, so your experience may be different.
It is very difficult to give up social events and other obligations that occur during the day, knowing that you need to sleep. If it’s not a job that will enhance your resume or build your skills in a meaningful way I would consider a lower-paying daytime job.
You should also post this question on an athletic forum appropriate for your sport. Good luck.</p>
<p>What is the job? I’m wondering whether it’s any place where you might be in danger of being robbed. That would be my greatest concern as a parent.</p>
<p>My first job out of college (nursing)was working night shifts. I was able to sleep in the daytime with no prob. I still hated every minute of it.<br>
I would strongly discourage my kids from working nights if there was any other possible choice.</p>
<p>Thanks everybody for your responses! Hopefully a decent day-time offer will come through this week. @esobay: I checked with my state’s employment laws, and there aren’t any issues. It’s interesting that your H thought it was great, that’s a strong contrast to the other views given so far. @Northstarmom: it’s a pretty rudimentary job at a laundry facility. When I visited, it appeared to be very secure, and there would be a number of people around, all indoors, etc. I’d say it’s in a pretty safe area, but I suppose that’s another thing to consider when dealing with these hours of the day. I also doubt I would have much on me worth robbing, lol</p>
<p>They do have regulations - this job just doesn’t appear to be violating them. I pulled up a file from the government page on it and it gives all the restrictions, both state and federal, but it was fine.</p>
<p>10 - I can’t provide particulars of the assignment, but when in the service I had a six-month assignment that involved rotating shifts: 6:30 PM to 6:30 AM, then six off then 2:30 PM to 10:30 PM, then eight off then 6:30 AM to 2:30 PM then twenty-eight off (and start again). Before this assignment I was a night person … afterward I was a person who only slept when exhausted. That continues today, decades later.</p>
<p>Are you talking about working full time from 11PM to 7AM, and then going to school all day next semester? Remember that you have to keep your grades up to snuff as well, even at an on-line high school.</p>
<p>To answer your direct question: Would I let my 17 year old take this job? The answer is No. I wouldn’t let a 17 year old take any full time job and go to school at the same time.</p>
<p>I like working the overnight shift. Always have. It tends to be quieter, and there tends to be less micromanagement. Also, most people don’t want to do that shift, so you tend to get paid better than you would to do the same work when the sun is up. Somewhere around 3 am to 5 am I would get very, very tired and I needed to be physically active during that period (these days I get up around 4 am, and judging by the people I see around here who work overnights and don’t have a whole lot to do at that point in the shift, I’m not the only one who gets tired then), but by the time things started picking up around 6 am I was wide awake again.</p>
<p>But you’ve got to stick to the schedule, even on your days off. The absolute worst combination I ever had was from 7 am Saturday morning to 11 pm Sunday night, with 11 pm Saturday to 7 am Sunday being “asleep” hours when I only had to be there in case of emergency, and another job with a different employer from 11 pm to 9 am on Monday through Thursday overnights.</p>
<p>If you are going to want to hang out at the mall with your friends at 4 pm during your “weekend,” it’s probably not a good choice for you. If you keep switching back and forth you will never adjust. If you don’t mind spending your days off mostly by yourself except for the late evenings (right after you get up) and early mornings (shortly before you go to bed), that’s another matter entirely.</p>
<p>Have you ever done an all nighter? Do you know if you can even sleep during the day? I know people who work 11-7 who stay up all day after they work and then go to sleep from about 4-10 and then get up and go to work. Many people can’t go to sleep right when they get home. </p>
<p>College students have been doing the UPS thing for years, my ex was a supervisor and he had to leave the house at around 2:30 and then would be done by 9 am, go to class, then nap when he got home, homework, then he’d go to bed around 8:30 pm.</p>
<p>The body responds very strangely to daylight even when you may be exhausted. If you decide to do it, I would definitely invest in the light blocking blinds.</p>
<p>Midnight shift is a love it or hate it thing in my opinion. There are people who abolutely love it and then there is everyone else. The people I know who love it have usually cited the lack of micromanagement and quiet as pluses. Overall they seem to be people who require or adjust to much less sleep than is recommended. I know people who have also been able to study alot while in school working midnights and it is great for parents if they don’t want to put their kids in childcare.</p>
<p>For my 17 year old though, no, unless they were particularly regimented as it requires a level of dedication that most don’t have. When everyone else is just getting going, you are turning in. That’s hard to deal with even as an adult.</p>
<p>My mom worked the night shift for a long time and she really loved it. In fact, I bet she’d still be doing it if it weren’t for the fact that they laid off her entire shift where she was working at the time. </p>
<p>I’d say it comes mostly down to whether or not you can get an environment conducive to sleep during the day. My mom had a room with one window with very dark curtains so she was able to get her room about as dark as night, and because my siblings and I were at school all day and my dad was at work, she had quiet, dark place to come home to and she could get right to sleep. Also, my mother always stuck to her schedule, even on the weekends, so that’s important if you want to keep getting enough sleep.</p>
<p>Ditto what other poster said: you have to keep your same wake/sleep hours 7 days a week. You can’t switch back and forth. I have known a number of people who preferred a reversed schedule- sleep in the day and work at night. Some continue the same schedule into retirement.</p>
<p>When you switch back to days in the Fall for school, you will have to give it some time. It’s generally easiest to move forward rather than back- in other words stay up a few hours later each day until you are on day-time schedule.</p>
<p>Don’t do it. One summer, I took the late-shift job once in a drug store. Now I have diabetes (type 1), which I got at age 32. No history of diabetes in the family. Go figure.</p>