(no subject)

[wolffyluna]

I am at the stage of job searching where I'm going "help? Advice???"

So, I have two potential offers right now. One is 12 hour day shifts, with 3 weeks in a row working and two weeks off. It will give me experience in a corner of the industry I don't already have experience in yet.

The other is also 12 hour shifts, but it's 1 week night shifts, day off, 1 week day shifts, then two weeks off. It is in a corner of the industry I already know I like.

Which would you recommend?

Comments

[brin_bellway]

I haven't *done* swing shifts myself (though I *do* do changing shifts erratically within the 11 AM - 11 PM range, which is also bad), but word on the street is that swing shifts will absolutely destroy you and you should only do them if the alternative is eviction or something similarly bad.

Will you be on your feet? (Because, on the other hand, 12 hours/day on your feet for 21 straight days *also* sounds pretty destructive.)

[wolffyluna]

The 21 days in a row will be mostly on my feet and mostly outside (winter conditions there are relatively mild, summer is... Not.)

At the moment I'm trying to weigh up "the three weeks in a row job will pay more, but even if I get promoted I will be stuck with the nonsense schedule" vs "night shift is the scutwork given to the grads and I will eventually get promoted out of it."

[chocochipbiscuit]

Having worked majority graveyard shifts in the past, I gotta say: don't. At least not for long term. One day off is not enough to shift your body from night to day mode or vice versa, and having to do that on a regular basis, even with two weeks off? Extremely rough. I can say, anecdotally, that I was running off caffeine and sugar for a lot of my shifts, and it definitely affected my mood and ability to do things (even for fun!) on my days off.

Three weeks in a row working is also gonna be rough, but at least it will be a steady-state exhaustion rather than trying to readjust your body's clock.

I'd think the deciding factor should be how long do you expect the schedule to stay like that? You mentioned that you expect to be eventually promoted out of night shift?