Anyone work midnights?? What do you do...

[llori7]

Currently I work as a server 3 nights a week. I have one son in PK and one will be in preschool next year. My job starts at 4---they don't open for lunch. I am looking for something I can do next year when they are both in school (9-3). I don't want to have to pick them up from school at 3, and have to be at work at 4. Even though it is only 3 days a week!!! I have a degree in early childhood education. I stopped teaching to stay home with them, but I need to make about $1000 a month. I thought about subbing, but I would have to be there from about 8 to 3. The kids would be in school from 9-3, but anything before or after that, they charge you for. So that would not be worth it. Then I thought I could work midnights somewhere. If I worked at 10 and got home by 6, that would work. My dh leaves for work at 7. The I could sleep while the kids are school. Does anyone do this?? What do you do?? I need ideas....

Thanks

 

[ddmac]

You can get a job at a day care and have your children go to the class there they discount your child tution and they are there with you. With a degree you could probably either teach or work in a class room. Look for a KinderCare Center they pay pretty good and have an excellent program.

 

[Family Loves Disney]

I am a RN and I work Friday, Saturday, and some Sundays from 7 pm to 7 am so I can be home during the week to be with my kids and to take my son to all of his doctor and therapy appts. You could work as an CNA or at a hospital with a daycare at nights for their employees. HTH.

 

[becalubob]

I work at an adjustment training center home (home for individuals with mental disabilities). I work a week, then have a week off. I go in at 9:45pm and get off at 7:45am. Kids are in bed by the time I leave. DH gets them up and ready for school in the morning, and when I get home, he drops them off at school and then goes to work.
I also work with another person, and we can sleep. I have been doing this since April and it really works for us right now. My week is Wed night to Wed morning. I've been lucky though how all my weeks off have landed. I get Thanksgiving weekend off, as well as Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and that weekend. I also go to school full time during the day. I graduate next December!!!!

 

[mom2princessj]

I am going back to school to be an RN. I have a bachelors degree in accounting but with two kids that's just not flexible enough with dh working during the day (and he is a general manager of a production plant so his day shift doesn't change). I will be looking to work nights 2-3 days per week once I'm done. Dh will have to adjust his schedule a bit in the morning to see the kids off to school but with 4 days off per week and nights I don't have to worry about any type of childcare which is definitely what we are trying to avoid. Good luck. A CNA certificate doesn't take long to get (its a class and CPR cert) and you could definitely find jobs either in a hospital or nursing home at night. I hope you find something you are looking for!

 

[KibbyCat]

...you could always get a job working overnight at a department store. Places like Kohl's and Target have shifts that begin when the store closes (10pm) and end around 6am before the store opens. Even Wal-Mart has shifts like this, even though most of them are open 24-hours. And since you have a degree, you'd easily start out at a rate you'd be pleased with (to get you the required $1000/month you desire).

 

[llori7]

Bumping to hear what others have to say...

 

[PatricenPete]

What about waitressing? You can make really good money waitressing.

 

[RMulieri]

I work 11p-7a and have done so for 10 yrs with 3 yrs of day shift( I am a nurse).I currently work 2-3 shifts per week. It takes a lot to get used to it, and as I get older I am finding I have a harder time. Not everyone is able to do it either.It takes a toll on the body, and not everyone respects the fact that you sleep during the day. I find now that I have been doing it so long that I have terrible insomnia on my days off, and have resorted to sleeping pills on my first night off to try and reverse myself. It has been convenient to not have to pay for childcare, but I ended up sending her to daycare anyway because I couldn't get but 2 hrs of sleep in between shifts when she was home. I don't know what to do for Kindergarten this year since we only have 1/2 days and my daycare doesn't latch key or do transfers anymore and all the other centers are already filled. I wish you luck.

 

[Lstar311]

I am also a teacher who quit my job to stay home w/ my son. I don't have any suggestions for you but I wanted to tell you about my DH who works the night shift. He is the overnight grocery manager for a supermarket and works from 11:30-8:30. He has been doing it for about 6 months. He is really tired a lot of the time. I believe that this is also because he NEVER leaves work at 8:30. He usually gets home closer to 10am. He sleeps from about 10:30 to 5:30 when we eat dinner. He sees our son from the time DH wakes up until DS goes to bed. He is very lucky to get to spend the nights w/ DS I know there are a lot of dads to work a lot later and don't have the opportunity to see their children for as long as they'd like to. Just want you to realize that working overnight totally screws with your body and natural sleep patterns. Good luck!

 

[llori7]

I am also a teacher who quit my job to stay home w/ my son. I don't have any suggestions for you but I wanted to tell you about my DH who works the night shift. He is the overnight grocery manager for a supermarket and works from 11:30-8:30. He has been doing it for about 6 months. He is really tired a lot of the time. I believe that this is also because he NEVER leaves work at 8:30. He usually gets home closer to 10am. He sleeps from about 10:30 to 5:30 when we eat dinner. He sees our son from the time DH wakes up until DS goes to bed. He is very lucky to get to spend the nights w/ DS I know there are a lot of dads to work a lot later and don't have the opportunity to see their children for as long as they'd like to. Just want you to realize that working overnight totally screws with your body and natural sleep patterns. Good luck!

Thanks for the info!! I think it sounds great to work midnights, but I think once I start doing it, I will HATE it!! My youngest is 3, so once he starts K in a few years, I will be able to sub. Right now, I am enjoying them and love being here for them during the day!!

 

[LPNmom]

I am a nurse and work from 7pm till 7 am, and only have to work 5 days in a two week period to get full time benifits. I worked as a cna in a hospital prior to getting my degree, which in my state you can get with a couple of months of classes. I love nights because it is usually quite and management is not around, but I am a postpartum nurse, so I work with newborns and babies, pretty great job! I do have problems fall asleep on my first night off, sleeping pill here and there does the trick. When I get off work I get the kids ready for school, and wake up when they get home, they never miss me! Good luck!

 

[reservations4five]

I did this for the first few years I went back to work- I, too, am a nurse. I worked 11-7 @ a nursing home. Then when I left there I worked 7-7 @ the hospital. I would come home and get my kids off to school then sleep while they were at school. Then get up make dinner and go to work. It was hard, but we managed it.

 

[luvmikids]

I am a RN and work weekend cadre Sat-Mon 7p -7a. I say healthcare is a great start. Its a 24/7 job so you have lots of options.

 

[lovinpoohbear]

Another nurse here, I do 7p to 7 a Sat and Sun and get paid 40 hours. With benefits. I sometimes pick up extra nights for extra $$$.
It is called Baylor, in my area they have it for CNA's also. Like work 2 12's and get paid for 40 or work 3 nights 11p to 7a and get paid for 40.
I used to be an early childhood teacher too.
I just love my schedule because as another poster said, the kids don't miss me. Sundays I sleep but my kids go out with DH and do special stuff. Mondays I sleep, but I am up by 330pm when the kids are home so I am with them all week and I love that

 

[Colinsmom]

Dispatchers (911 operators) obviously can work night shifts and get paid quite well - $10-12/hr and up.

 

[RN4Babies]

Yet another nurse here. I, too, worked as a CNA at night while I was in nursing school, while my son was young (he was 6 months old when I went back to school, and 6 years old when I graduated). I hired a caregiver who did in home care at the time so that I could study and catch some sleep. It was relatively reasonable at the time; she fed him lunch, and she charged $2.50/hour. She was the best; she had her own son, plus mine and one other she took care of. The boys are close friends to this day (15 years later).

I've worked 7pm to 7:30am three nights a week, including every third weekend since 1997 as an RN. My kids' schools start at 8am, so their dad gets them to school. The hardest part is the summertime, when they're home from school for those three months. My dd8 wants to play outside, and if I'm trying to sleep before going into work, she has to be quiet when she plays. What would you do with your little ones in the summertime? It' s something to think about. There are 10 years between my kids, so ds has been a babysitter for his sister from a very young age while I'd try to rest before work. I've always paid him for babysitting, and he's never once complained, but it's not an ideal solution.

I totally agree with pp's who have stated how difficult it is working night shift. It's extremely hard on your body, it messes up your natural circadian rhythms (sleep/awake cycle), I have very disrupted sleep on my days off, and I'm chronically sleep deprived. I take Benadryl or Tylenol PM to help me fall asleep, but I rarely feel rested. I can't remember the last time I slept more than four hours in a row. If you do decide to work night shift somewhere, I highly recommend turning off the ringer on your phone when you're sleeping; people generally don't understand why you're in bed at 1pm (which is like their 1am). Good luck.

 

[reservations4five]

I do well on nights for about 6 months then my body goes through this period where it feels like it is eating it's self. I can totally agree that it is a hard adjustment for you to go through. But it can be done!

 

[jenharring]

I work from 8p-7am normally 3 days a week, but right now I am pulling a 4th night. But woohoo that is OT meaning more money for me to spend at wdw. I am asleep tech. Which you can be trained in the field. I went to school, but you dont have to.

 

[stemikger]

I have been on midnights for 14 years. I work as a word processor in a large law firm. However, due to this terrible economy, most of the firms are letting their third shift staff go.