Evening shift - no family time

[vanRN12]

I wished for a full time job with no weekends. And waa lah! I got a 3-11 m-f as a new grad! They offered me 4-6 weeks of orientation...only got about 2.5. FYI. Anyways, I'm not so excited about it anymore, because I don't get to see my 5 year old as much. I see him one hour before school everyday. I miss family dinners and events (like halloween). Not to mention I had no choice of off holidays, so guess who has to work Thanksgiving, xmas eve, xmas, and new year's? The new girl (me). I'm not sure how to deal with this. I don't want to jeoperdize my employment, but it feels like no one cares about anybody's personal life. Sometimes I just think, "i'll stay there a year and get experience, then find something new." I really like the job, and I'm pretty good at it. But i don't want my son to forget who I am.

[StinkMomBomb]

I'm a new grad LPN and felt like I was in the same boat. I've only applied to jobs that offer days. The job I landed was private duty nursing ( they found me, not the other way around), and during the interview with family was told I was required to work nights. The agency has my back and if I'm not accomodated they will re-place me. Downfall though is low pay and no benefits. To me it's worth it to be home with my husband and daughter (8). At least then if I work a holiday, I'll be home in the evening to relax. When I was a CNA on the evening shift, my family life fell apart. My daughter was only in the 1st grade and her grades went down, she missed me and I resented what was pulling me away from her. Aren't there any other jobs you can hold out for? You worked so hard and probably for your family so don't waste the time away from them. I hope this situation works out for you!

[Aurora77]

Honestly, I wouldn't wait the year--I'd be looking for a new job. I don't have kids, but with that schedule, I would only see my husband three days a week. I work 12 hour nights. Even when we both work the same days, we get 30 minutes or so together in the evening. I don't think any job is worth trading that much family time for.

[LilRedRN1973]

I completely understand. While I have never worked swing shift, I am married to someone who has and it sucked. We have three kids and I told him it was the ONLY shift I never wanted him to work. Unfortunately, he works as a Sergeant in the local prison and can't really chose his shifts. So he was put on swings for a year. It was awful and I hated every minute of it. It was so difficult on our family, he turned down a promotion because it would have required him to work swings (he later got the promotion without having to work swingshift). One of the reasons I drive 35 miles each way to work, 5 days a week, is because I work 7am to 4pm and with kids, that is ideal. He currently works 4:30pm to 4:30am three days a week and that is kind of a bummer but will be going back to days in January.

I love having the afternoon/evenings with my kids and not missing out on recitals, games, and other events they seem to always be having. When he was on swings, they noticed that dad wasn't there a lot. I think swing shift is great for those without kids and I would do it in a heartbeat if I wasn't a mom! But for this gal, working swingshift is not an option as long as my kids are young and living at home.