Career crossroads: shift work vs 9-5

rotational Shift Work in the Field vs an 9-5 Office Job, what should I do?

The field job requires working a 12 hour rotational shift schedule in potentially hazardous environments (exposure to radiation, heat stress/steam, etc.). It’s perks are shift premiums, extra pay for schedused work on stat holidays, OT shifts are 2x .... I work for a public utility company that generates electricity using nuclear power ...

Meanwhile I have an opportunity to go to back to a desk job as an engineer, 9-5 work schedule, for a consulting firm that provides services to the utility company. The base pay is initially a lot higher but over time because of guaranteed raises in the field job, it’s kind of a wash, with probably the shift job having somewhat greater pay, job security...

I’m really torn as to what I should do?

I just got acclimated to my field job, built comradrie with my crew mates, and it’s a secure job but shift work is apparently inherently bad for your health and hard to deal with family. What are your thoughts?

Shift work sucks if you have kids. My dad worked shift all my life and it was hard when we were little, we never knew what shift he was on and if we had to be really quiet because he was asleep during the day. He missed many Christmas dinners, events, birthdays due to his shifts. Sometimes I'd go a week without seeing him. He died at 65, so shifts may have contributed to an early demise for him.

My husband worked shifts for over a year and we went thru the same stuff with our kids as when I was a kid. So, in my opinion, it stinks.

Shift work has been proven to take a few years off your lifespan too. So there's plenty to think about if you are considering shift work. Our life was much better and easier when my husband worked days only. It wasn't worth the extra money for the stress it places on the shift worker. Just my 2 cents.

Shift work can definitely be hard on you physically, especially if you have to rotate between day and night shifts. If you're going to work nights it's best to just stay on nights. And you do miss events because you are working when everyone else is off.

I think I tolerate shift work pretty well. Weirdly (and this is truly an odd trait I have) I prefer it to 9 to 5 Monday through Friday. I tried that too and went back to shift work. I think the main thing I like is having a lot of week days off. Until recently I worked a 6 day on, 3 day off rotation. I really enjoyed having say a Tuesday Wednesday Thursday off. I could go do my thing without fighting crowds and it was easier to get things done. Although it was nice when my days off fell on a weekend, in a way those were almost my least favorite. It was as if the rest of the world was encroaching on MY days off.

12 hour shifts can be real nice IF you have half of your days off. I know of departments where they work 4 on, 4 off. That would be really nice in a way. Work 4 days and then get a 4 day weekend. Others do 3 on, 2 off, 2 on, 3 off.

If you are working 12s though without all those days off, that starts to really, really blow.

So, it depends a lot on your personality. Mine happens to be suited for shift work but many people's aren't. If you'd vastly prefer the 9 to 5 and the difference in pay isn't life-changing then I'd just take the 9 to 5.

Thank you for your replies Krankor and Melancholy....

My wife does not particularly like my shift schedule, which is a rotating shift schedule such that I start with 2 12 hour night shifts beginning on a Monday night then have 2 days off and go into 3 days on the weekend, etc.. Effectively in a span of 4 weeks, I work 14 shifts, covering each day/night combo once for every day of the week. So it's a lot of switching back and forth, so I go through times when I feel great and other times, I'm absolutely done..The redeeming part of the schedule though is that every 5th week, we work a normal 8 hr day shift M-F, which is used for training and if we don't have any training scheduled, it's easy to take time off then, and in the summers we get two such weeks scheduled off without having to use vacation.

I've only been doing this for a few years and it does take its toll, but I do some perks, like being off when no one else is and going to the supermarket or gym at less busy times. The cons are that I'm almost always tired, and I tend to be crankier more often.

The field job can be quite physically intensive as I'm clocking nearly 20000 steps some shifts around the plant....while the office job is nearly all-sitting and staring at a computer all day, which isn't good for your health either.

I chose the regular hour job and feel absolutely horrible about it. There’s a sinking feeling in my gut that I just cannot shake.

Average people do average things.

Normal people do normal things.

But extraordinary peoples do extraordinary things.

What you think?

If you want an extraordinary life then you have to do extra ordinary work not 9 to 5 boring work.

Average people do average things.

Normal people do normal things.

But extraordinary peoples do extraordinary things.

What you think?

If you want an extraordinary life then you have to do extra ordinary work not 9 to 5 boring work.

You are right. I am surely not an extraordinary person. I am just a regular guy who wanted to better himself. I tried to do something outside my comfort zone, like work as a field operator at a power plant, and felt miserable, and now I am back to an engineering desk job and again feel miserable. Misery, anxiety and insecurity are my constants.