Love to Stay Up Late? 5 Night Jobs to Consider
Simply Hired Staff
There are a wide range of night jobs, but no shortage of them. Data from the Bureau of Labor suggests that nearly 15 million Americans start their work days when the sun goes down.
Professionals take on the night shift for a variety of reasons. Some need the flexibility to work on degrees or to take care of their families. Others are simply night owls who have found the perfect time to put their skills to use. Whatever your reason for employing your skills at night, you carry on a noble tradition. Other prominent Americans have taken the same course: Early in his career Steve Jobs worked the night shift at Atari. Nobel-Prize-winning-author William Faulkner manned the nightshift at a power plant, giving him the solitude he needed to pen some of his most famous books.
Whether you are looking for a stepping stone on your career path or whether you’ve discovered that evening hours suit you best, there are plenty of good reasons to explore this flexible option. It can be a challenging schedule that demands resilience and flexibility, but for many Americans, life requires that anyways.
A night job, whether full-time or part-time, can be a helpful way to juggle the multiple demands of modern life. This may explain why nighttime work has become so common: “Cross-sectional data reveals that one-fifth of all employed Americans work mostly in the evening, at night, or on a rotating shift. Moreover, one-third of all dual-earner couples with children include at least one spouse working one of these shifts.”
So if you have made the decision that a night job might be just the right fit for you, here are some great ways that you can get to work in the evening:
Lab Technician
Put your chemistry skills and medical tech know-how to work as a lab technician. This engaging work happens around the clock and can have a profound and life-saving impact for patients. Use your analytical skills to help diagnose patients and advance the work of a booming industry. There are a wide range of opportunities in this area requiring a spectrum of expertise to service those positions.
- Number of jobs: 2,200+
- Average salary: $33,000
- Search lab technician jobs
Nanny
As more parents are juggling the demands of dual workloads, they need help, and they are willing to pay top dollar to keep things running smoothly on the homefront. There are a variety of ways to work evening and overnight hours in the childcare field. Some agencies provide drop-off night time services for newborns so that the parents can get a couple nights of rest each week. These facilities are always looking for loving caregivers.
There are also scores of individual families looking for the right caregiver to help get everyone through the night so that mom and dad can be ready to work in the morning. If you have the experience and updated references, there are myriad opportunities for you to take on the role as a nighttime or an around-the-clock-nanny. This is work you can feel good about. You will make life easier and more harmonious for a family in need of an extra hand and make a good living doing so.
- Number of jobs: 1,000+
- Average salary: $26,000
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On Call Hospice Nurse
Help support terminally ill patients and their families during the time when they need help the most, the nighttime hours. Assist patients being treated at home, in nursing homes or in hospitals. The care that patients and their families need can range from purely medical assistance to emotional support. This role will also involve assisting non-medically trained family members who are working as caregivers. Working in this capacity requires medical credentials plus a high level of comfort in dealing with death and dying. It also necessitates calm and clarity in handling crisis situations. It requires a lot of empathy and skill, and is a highly rewarding profession.
- Number of Jobs: 1,000+
- Average Salary: $41,000
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Hotel Night Auditor
Learn the ropes in the hotel industry during one of the most interesting times of day to be in a hotel. Night auditors use the relative hush of the evening hours to perform financial functions such as running reports and calculating cash intake. They also check in guests and respond to their needs and inquiries. This is an engaging role that usually requires a high school diploma. It offers auditors resume-building responsibilities, and it is a standard role in hotels across the nation. So once you get these skills down, you can apply them in cities across the country and use them as a stepping stone to advance your career in this thriving industry.
- Number of jobs: 1,100+
- Average Salary: $22,000
- Search hotel night auditor jobs
Janitorial Positions
There are a wide range of janitorial positions, both with service companies and for individual employees. Some are entry-level position and provide standard cleaning services. Others require more training and involve repair and machine operation services. Pay attention to the organizations posting these positions. If you find an opening with a university or college, you may be eligible for health care coverage and other perks such as tuition remission. There is a lot of demand in this field, so shop around and find an organization that truly suits you.
- Number of jobs: 1,500+
- Average Salary: $23,000
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It takes a flexible and driven professional to handle the demands of the night shift. If you have the energy and stamina to take on this challenging schedule, then kudos to you. You are a unique asset to the workforce.
