[Slick]

who all works 3rds, i am starting at a local fiberglass plant sunday night, making parts for fords mosty, and as soon as i leave work in the morning i have to go to school till noon,

does anyone else have a schedule like this???

 

[ecdak]

Yeah, it sucks.

 

[RJ_Hythloday]

I've done it in the past, best was 4am to noon (often 10am), I was going to bed at 8pm w/ my kids. The weekends are always a killer, cause you want to be a normal person fri and sat night, then Sunday night back to work is like death.

 

[Mystake]

I work at a bar once/week from 10pm-3am. I enjoyed working 5pm-2:30am at the other restaurant and I'd probably do a lot better working a 3rd shift job than I would a 9-5 job.

I'd probably pick a 3rd shift over a 8-4 or 9-5 job if the jobs were the same, just different times. Then again, perks of being single, 20 and not in school for a few months.

 

[GWhaley]

I have worked days. nights, you name it, I have done it. As long as you get a routine down you will be fine. Just make sure you get enough rest. Too many guys get hurt at work, fall asleep driving, etc. because they think that they can go for days on end without proper sleep.

 

[ecdak]

I work grave weds and thurs and then swing sat and sun. Tell me who does that crappy a work week. It is easy enough though. I think I maintain a normalish sleep pattern. Sometimes I pick up some gigs that keep me awake for about 30 hrs at a stretch. It is easier than you think. get at the very least 5 hrs sleep and then up and at it again.

 

[razman131]

did it a few yrs ago when i was single and in school. as for now, when im on the ship it can be 2-3 days with no sleep or just a couple hrs here or there.

just get a pattern and stick to it.

 

[jmaack727]

I work 3rd 10pm to 630

 

[Perdue]

For the past 18 months, I've been working screwed up shifts and going to school. I used to work 24 hours (0800-0800) then go to school from 0900-1700, after which I'd get some sleep and start all over. I changed to a different shift and I've been working a rotating night shift (Mon Tues, Fri Sat Sun, Wed Thurs, repeat) from 1900-0700, then going to school every third day.

It's been rough, but it will all pay off in a month or so when my 11k/year raise kicks in. Keep your head up.

 

[timberwoof]

I work 3rd shift on a regular basis. Right now I'm on 1st shift 6a-2p, because I'm training a new guy. Fun fun.

 

[70Cuda383]

the trick is to get a routine and stick to it. if you go to sleep right after school, you can get a good solid 8 hours of rest (1pm-9PM) wake up at 9, and start getting ready for work to be in on shift at 11. or, sleep an extra hour and get up at 10...I don't know how far you live from work, or what your report time is for 3rd shift.

for my plant, 3rd starts at 11.

I used to come home, get to bed by 9 or 10 am, and wake up at 5 when the wife and kids got home, so I still had all evening with them.

Also, if you're not in shape, develop a workout routine, working out will help you fall asleep faster, sleep better, and give you more energy when you're awake. don't use pop or coffee as a crutch. you'll never make it. eat healthy foods, and you'll be set.

a cup or 2 of coffee at 3 or 4 am can help you get over the "crash" that you'll feel at 4 am. It's the same crash that "day walkers" feel at 1 or 2 in the afternoon after they eat lunch and have been up for 8 or 9 hours. but don't start chugging coffee at midnight, and drink it all night and into the morning. you'll have too much in your system to get a good sleep when you finally do go to bed

 

[GWhaley]

X2 on the routine - if you don't get into a routine you're going to be screwed.

I have worked I think every shift possible I think (1st, 2nd, 3rd, rotating 12hour shifts - you name it I've done it at one point or another).

Cuda hit that nail on the head - don't start chugging coffee to get you through, because it won't work. Seen too many times where guys say - no problem - I can stay up all day and work all night - just think - when you work dayshift do you stay up all night and go back to work the next day with little sleep? No. There is no substitute for a proper routine and sleep.

 

[Taz_FL]

I don't work 3rd shift but i do work nights. I work from 3:30pm to midnight. thing is i get home and can't go right to sleep so i sit up, watch some TV or get on the PS3. usually i end up going to sleep between 2:00-3:00am, sometimes later. Then I wake up at 7:00am to get my son up and ready for school, take him to school, come back home and I'm up from then on. Sometimes i will take a nap during the day while he's at school. basically i get about 4 hours sleep a night

 

[dadditruck]

X2 on the routine - if you don't get into a routine you're going to be screwed.

I have worked I think every shift possible I think (1st, 2nd, 3rd, rotating 12hour shifts - you name it I've done it at one point or another).

Cuda hit that nail on the head - don't start chugging coffee to get you through, because it won't work. Seen too many times where guys say - no problem - I can stay up all day and work all night - just think - when you work day shift do you stay up all night and go back to work the next day with little sleep? No. There is no substitute for a proper routine and sleep.

Same as above, done it all, Days, Swings, Mids, 10hrs, 12hours, rotating days, just like he said, get into a routine and don't start out by hating the shift, chance are you'll be on it for a long time and the more you hate it the worse it will get, I'm not saying to love the shift, just learn to live & deal with it.

 

[kawiryder20]

I'm doing 3rd right now- 11p-7a. I did this while in school last semester- depending on the day of the week, i had class 3p-5p or 1p-330p, and then a sat morning at 830- that saturday class really wrecked any type of schedule that I would try to get myself on. I couldnt get into the classes I needed this semester because the school 'lost' my transcripts and now im off until the summer- so yay sleep!