night shift with family?

[dispatchgal]

Are there pro's to working the night shift when one has a family. I haven't tried it, but it seems to me that there would be....

If you worked 9pm -7am, then you would be home in time to get your child(ren) ready and off to school. Then when they were at school, and hubby was at work, you would have the house quiet to get some sleep. Then you could wake up at 3:00 to pick the child(ren) up from school. Spend time with them.. Hubby would be home shortly for dinner, and then off to work you go.

1. You could save on after school care.
2. You are home before and after school for the kids.
3. If the dept works 4 10 hour shifts, then you are home 3 days versus 2 days with the family.
4. If you live in a highly populated area, where everything is to crowded on the weekends, it might be better to have days off durin the week.

Any thoughts from someone whos actually done it? How'd it actually work out?

Thank you

[Lynn]

Dispatchgal,
Those are great reasons to work that shift. It does give you the flexability to get the things done the way you need to when you have young kids. Just remember though that you aren't home in the evening to tuck them in, read them stories, go to after school events, etc. I don't mean to bring you down here, but I have worked that shift before, I did enjoy it, however, it did make me miss a lot of activities. Maybe your kids are young enough to get by with you working this shift, and you will have the opportunity in the future to work days and have your evenings free. My opinion is that if your kids are still young right now, and they don't have too many after school activities or an abundance of homework at this time, go for it.
Lynn

[dispatchgal]

Lynn,
I don't quite understand why you would have to miss activities on a grave yard shift? Is it because you were sleeping when the activities occurred? It seems that on grave yard you would be starting work when the kids are sleeping and coming home when they wake up, right?

After school child care is very expensive where i live ($500./month), so I'm thinking grave yard would be better than working days...

But since I haven't done it personally maybe I am being naive or missing something?

Thanks for your response. I appreciate all the information I can get before I make a decision.

[MrJim911]

I work 2315-0715. I have Friday and Saturday nights off. I like them. Here's why. My wife has one of those normal jobs M-F with weekends off. She works 0800-1700. I will leave home about 2220. By then my 4 year old daughter has been in bed for 2 hours and my wife and I have had some quiet time. I'll get home in the morning about 0800. By then my wife is gone, taken our daughter to daycare. I sleep until about 1630. Get my daughter by 1730. Wife is home by 1815. I have all evening to spend with my family. And since I have Friday and Saturday off I'm not a walking zombie during the weekend. In other words I have weekends off as well. :D

I prefer day shift which is 0715-1515. But those are coveted by people with more seniorty then I. But by next year I might get them with Tues/Wedn off. Woo Hoo!

9pm-7am is a weird shift for a 911 center...is that something you actually heard about or did you just use it as an example?

[dispatchgal]

Mr. Jim,
It sounds as if our situations could be similar. My husband works "normal hours" and also has flexibility to come in late and leave early if need be.

The PD that I am considering working at is small and is currently short 3 dispatchers - so they have been working some unusual shifts.... But they do work 4 10 hour days, which is very appealing to me....

I am thinking that the 3rd shift could work out very well for me. I have always been lucky that i have no problem falling asleep, and can easily take naps during the day if I'm so lucky.... I don't think falling asleep during the day will be a problem for me.. it will just be a bummer sleeping alone if you know what i mean;)

[MrJim911]

LOL...I know exactly what you mean. The only night my wife and I are actually sleeping at the same time is Friday nights and part of Saturday night. We both miss each other but it's not forever. Anyway, I never hear her complain about having the whole bed to herself every night. :)

[ladymoonlite]

On the contrary, MrJim I LOVE midnights, and won't take days if I can avoid it! But that does explain the nickname, doesn't it? <grin>

I have always liked mids, even when my son was small, because I could sleep while the rest of the world had school or worked, and then have my evenings with my family. I think it works out as well as days would, and I'm generally happier.

Not all departments base your shift on your seniority, however. That should be clear to those seeking jobs. We base shifts on balance of "rookies" and "vets."

[MrJim911]

Don't get me wrong! I like mids alot. If you get a big call, you know it's gonna be big. Not to many routine calls on mids. Not to mention it's where you get alot of your "weird" calls. Plus you can usually finish a conversation in a normal amount of time where as on day shift one conversation may span several hours because of the activity level in the center. LOL

Plus on mids you don't have the admin walking around and admin lines ringing constantly...Ugggg...Something from Day shift I don't look forward too. Maybe next year I'll do 6 months of mids and 6 months of days instead? Hmmmm.......

[Lynn]

Dispatchgal,
Well, maybe I managed my time poorly. I did work a 9pm-6am shift a while back, and while it affords you some room for convenience, I did feel a crunch between the kids getting out of school and getting ready for work. The idea that you and your husband can overlap your hours is appealing, and probably ideal. But, like Mr. Jim said, I think it's more the 11pm-7am that allows for more normalcy. Ahhh, I don't want to throw a wrench into the works, but what about the kids days off school and summer break? That's something I'm worried about as well. There is always a way to work things out if you want something bad enough. Good luck and let us know what you decide!
Lynn

[MrJim911]

As far as the kids off school and such. My daughter is still in Kindercare, or for those of you who don't know what that is, a preschool setting for kids her age. So the only days she doesn't have school are the major holidays. And my wife always has those off as well. We are lucky in that respect. If it is a snow day or something unexpected my wifes job is pretty flexible and she is usually able to take a vacation/personal day with little or no notice. Which is good since in our profession you can't quite do it that way most of the time. Also this Kindercare takes older kids after school as well. So even when she starts public school they will pick her up and bring her back to Kindercare. So we are pretty much good to go. It's just a matter of getting all the blocks to fall into place.

The only downside to this is that sending her to Kindercare is
$181 a week..... :biggun2:

[Lynn]

Mr. Jim,
Too funny (blasting away at the $). I agree, when the kids are younger there doesn't seem to be anything to pressing that NEEDS to be done. But, when they get older, the homework, activities, tests, projects, etc, can be a bit taxing to say the least!! ENJOY them while they're young! Still busting a gut over the $
Lynn

[Cyclone911]

I think you just have to pick the shift that works best for you and try it out. Do you have shift bids every year? If you do have shift bids then whatever shift you choose you will only have to bear with for a while. I work third shift myself, but I don't have kids. On the other hand, I do have a husband, a dog that requires a lot of attention and I go to College full-time (15 credit hours) so I make up for not having kids. I do have to split my sleep (I know, I know that is not healthy) I sleep 4 to 5 hours before class, then when I get home I'll try to sleep for 2-3 hours before work. My husband works from 1500-2300 so I don't see him as much as I'd want to. I've been on thirds a little over a year now and I like it. I hope that you find the shift that works for you.

:sleepy: :sleepy: :sleepy: :sleepy: :sleepy: :sleepy:

[MrJim911]

Depending on the agency you may not be able to pick what shift works best for you. Many times when your new your put on mids because that's the least desirable shift. So sometimes it's a matter of making it work no matter what "it " is.
Sometimes, not all the time. If seniority doesn't play a big roll in the scheduling process then it might be easir to get what works better for you.

[Lynn]

For myself, if it HAD to be the midnight shift, it would work. It would allow me to be at work while the kids and husband are home sleeping. Normal day time hours would probably give me a problem, as I have an 8 year that I still need to get off to school in the morning. Then you have the pesky days off school and summer break to contend with. I guess it's a good thing that there are a variety of shifts to fit everyone's lifestyle, however, I'm sure the lifestyle of the employees is not the intent of these types of shifts, as much as is the nature of the job.:)
Lynn

[ladymoonlite]

MrJim I have to say, mids is not the least desirable shift in my agency - it's afternoons that people try to avoid, usually.

My TCs bid for shifts twice a year for 3 month increments. You bid in order of choice (1st, 2nd, 3rd), and are assigned in a manner that keeps a balance of vets and rookies on each shift, NOT based on seniority. While you are not ever guaranteed any shift, I've never had anyone get their 3rd choice for a bid period (although fresh out of training it's possible to be assigned without regard to preference). In this way, if you absolutely CANNOT work a shift, you can make it your third choice and you'll virtually never get that shift.

I'm fortunate in that I LOVE MIDS and none of the other supervisors do, so we never argue shifts.

BTW we have recently lost a supervisor and I think we'll be looking for a replacement soon... anyone interested?

[MrJim911]

Mids at mine is least favored. Days is most popular. In Nov/Dec of every year we bid for the next year. It's done by seniority. And you have to stick with the same days off throughout the year. We rotate every 3 months. Unless of course you bid for the same shift for more than 1 quarter in a row. For example the senior most dispatcher here bid for day shift all year with Fri/Sat off. So obviously she won't rotate. I got mids with Fri/Sat off so I won't rotate either. We have 1 permanent day shift and 1 permanent Evening shift slot. Those are not bid on unless the person currently on it decides he/she no longer wants it. With the exception of supervisors. Dispatchers have either have Fri/Sat--Sun/Mon or Tue/Wed off. Supervisors have either Sat/Sun--Mon/Tues or Th/Fr off. They bid round robin one year and the next year they bid by seniority and so on so forth.

[KYEMT325]

If you can stand the hours, night shift is by far the best shift to work if you like to do the normal things that everyone else does during the evening. I worked day shift with Fri/Sat/Sun off for over a year, and then pulled my seniority to put the 3rd shift dispatcher on 1st shift so I could go to 3rds, because the hours are better and I love the days off (Th/Fr/Sat nights). Plus, I don't have to put up with administration looking over my shoulder anymore, and the crap that happens during the day at a police station (i.e. nuisance calls, stupid people usually sleep at night, etc).