The swing shift. It’s that time between the daytime shift and night, or graveyard, shift. For some people, this shift is actually more convenient and fits their lifestyle better.
The hours of a swing shift can vary, but this shift usually begins in late afternoon and runs until late at night. So, you might start sometime between 1 pm and 4 pm, and finish up between 9 pm and 1 am. You find these kinds of shifts in businesses that run 24 hours a day or operate outside normal business hours.
About 15 percent of all employees work shifts outside of the normal 9 to 5 schedule.
There are particular jobs and industries where shift work is the norm, so if you are looking for this kind of schedule, it is best to look in these industries. Here are a few of them.
1. Food Service Industry
Most restaurant workers are on a shift work schedule. This includes not only waiters and waitresses, but bartenders and hostesses as well.
Many people who work in the restaurant industry expect to work hours outside regular daytime shifts because restaurants are open all day.
2. Law enforcement, emergency services and healthcare
Police, fire, emergency personnel, as well as healthcare providers, such as doctors, nurses, lab technicians, pharmacists, and other hospital workers, all need to be available 24 hours a day, so these people are working all different shifts.
3. Transportation
This industry includes people working as cab drivers, truck drivers, delivery drivers, airport employees, pilots, flight attendants, and shipyard workers. To keep advanced economies running smoothly, goods and people are being transported around the world 24 hours a day, so people in these jobs also work all kinds of shifts.
All of these industries also employ people in skilled trades, and these people will work various shifts as well. If you work in a skilled trade, a good place to start your job search in one of these industries is with a skilled trade staffing agency.
Considerations
Because the swing shift is different from the normal workday, it may take some getting used to. It may cause some upheaval to other parts of your life and daily routine because of its place in the workday. You are working when people are normally eating supper and going to bed.
And you will probably need to make some adjustments to your sleeping routine as well. It may be more difficult to stick to a regular sleep schedule. So you need to consider how this will affect your health.
It will probably take some time to adjust, but if it is a schedule you really prefer, it can be done.
Looking for a job?
Whether you are looking for electrician jobs in Seattle, welding jobs in Vancouver, Washington, press brake operator jobs in Seattle, or manufacturing manager jobs anywhere in the Northwest, Opti Staffing can help you in the job search. We have a temp agency in Seattle, a staffing agency in Vancouver, Washington, as well as Portland, Tacoma, and Salem. Give us a call today.
