Do you consider yourself a night owl? If so you might be surprised at all the unique career opportunities available after the sun sets that most people forget about!
Working the night shift might not be for everyone as it can make your day to day schedule differ from the rest of the world but for those night owls that love to be up all night there are more jobs out there than you might expect!
What is the Night Shift?
The night shift starting time varies company to company but most of the time it is from 11 pm to 7 am. Not every industry works the 3rd shift but it is still popular among many industrial, manufacturing and service based businesses.
Some jobs rotate working the night shift while others have full time staff dedicated to working at night, you might be surprised how many businesses have employees working at night!
Best Jobs for Night Owls
There are many great jobs and career opportunities for night owls looking to work the late shift. Some careers, like jobs in the medical or technology fields require many years of school and expertise while others like manufacturing and call center positions require less training.
Some of the most popular night shift jobs are:
1. Doctors and Nurses
Two of the most well known careers that work the night shift are doctors and nurses due to the popularity of medical tv dramas.
There are many medical careers and jobs that work the late shift providing critical care and medical services around the clock in hospitals, emergency rooms and labs. If you are interested in helping people and working the night shift a career in medicine might be right for you!
2. Technical Support
Another popular field that is growing in size is tech support. Many companies now offer 24 hour a day technical support for critical business infrastructure as well as consumer goods making this an excellent choice for someone looking for a job working the night shift.
Customer support specialists usually spends most of their time talking to customers on the phone or helping them via online chat.
3. Call Center Tech
Much like technical support, call centers are often open around the clock and the perfect job for someone that is social and likes to stay up all night.
Most call center positions are sales, support or marketing roles that will require your shift be spent making or receiving phone calls from customers or sales leads.
4. Warehouse Support
Goods from across the world flow through warehouses 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. These warehouses have a constant need for night shift workers due to the physical nature of the work involved.
Warehouse workers spend most of their shifts loading and unloading inbound and outbound trucks. In order to work in a warehouse it is important to be comfortable with physical labor, have experience operating a forklift and other heavy equipment and be very organized at all times.
5. Emergency 911 Dispatcher
Emergency services are available around the clock and the 911 dispatchers of the night shift are highly trained specialists that can work in high pressure situations at any hour.
As an emergency dispatcher you will be responsible for answering and routing inbound emergency calls made to your local 911 service. Crime tends to increase at night and in order to work the 3rd shift you need to be a night owl that can handle a stressful work environment.
How to Adjust to the Night Shift
If you are starting a new job working the night shift making the adjustment can be difficult for the first few weeks. Most people have spent their entire life going to bed when the sun goes down and it can be difficult to break your sleep cycle.
Your circadian rhythm is your body’s internal clock that determines when to go to sleep and when to wake up in the morning. Resetting this internal clock take is possible but it takes time, especially when making drastic change like starting to work at night and sleep during the day.
