Night job options?

[waldorfknitmama]

I'm considering working outside the home. Currently I'm a SAHM who homeschools my two boys. We may possibly have other children and hs them as well. So obviously my work choices would be limited. We would not be able to afford DC nor would I want to send them to one. My background is in teaching, so i doubt there are night time teaching jobs. The only things I can think of are Stripping (um no) and something in the medical field. I'd open to going back to school/getting some kind of training, I just need to know what my options are. I am interested in the health field, but nursing is not my number one choice. Are there any other medical jobs that could fufill my work needs?

What do other wohm do for careers at night?

[pinksprklybarefoot]

You could do overnights at a group home, which is sort of medical-y and there are usually openings.

Security guards often work at night (I did this all through college when I went the first time).

[EricaDoula]

Front desk at a hotel? I have a friend who does that.

[sosurreal09]

11pm-7am you an be a nurse aide. its two weeks training in most states- some dont require it. be careful where you work though b/c some places want you to do rounds 3x a night! its nuts just let the old people sleep lol. do you change your babies diaper 3x a night? nope. its not too bad on nights ive been an aide for 5 years

[Momily]

My dog goes to cageless daycare, and the staff who stay the night with the dogs who board, are allowed to sleep. They have loft beds, so the staff are in rooms with the dogs, but the dogs can't get to them. I think a job where you had to stay awake at night would be really really hard.

I also agree with the group home idea -- that's what I did right out of college and I really loved it. I worked in a program once where I went in at 7 p.m. Friday and stayed until 7 p.m. Sunday. They payed me 50% of my regular wage during the 16 hours when the clients were supposedly asleep, so it came out to a 40 hour salary for one weekend.

Hospitals, need receptionists and admissions clerks and all kinds of other people in the E.R.. That might be a way to get your foot in the door and figure out what you like.

In areas with large hospitals, there's often a real need for childcare for the children of nurses who work off hours -- maybe open up your home as a "night childcare". Again, you could probably sleep when the kids sleep.

What about online tutoring? You couldn't do it at night, obviously, but you could probably do it in the evening when your DH can watch the kids, especially if you're on the East Coast and working with students

[lorijds]

Originally Posted by anielasmommy09

11pm-7am you an be a nurse aide. its two weeks training in most states- some dont require it. be careful where you work though b/c some places want you to do rounds 3x a night! its nuts just let the old people sleep lol. do you change your babies diaper 3x a night? nope. its not too bad on nights ive been an aide for 5 years

If you get a nurse aide job, please don't work for a place that does NOT do rounds every two hours! I'm a bit shocked anielasmommy posted this. Older people have impaired circulation, and are at incredibly high risk for skin breakdown. If they are unable to adequately reposition themselves, they absolutely must be repositioned every two hours. If they are incontinent, they absolutely must be changed AT LEAST every two hours to prevent horribly painful, expensive, and sometimes fatal skin breakdown. In a pathophysiological sense, the problems the elderly face do not make them like babies, and you cannot make that comparison reasonably.

In our hospital, besides nurse aides, other jobs that require minimum or only on the job training include admissions clerk, switchboard operator, housekeeper, phlebotomist, and tele monitor tech.

I worked overnights as a youth worker in a youth home. The kids were in bed when I got there at 10pm every night. I did rounds every two hours to make sure the kids were in their beds, made breakfast and started getting the kids awake when 6am rolled around. I did a lot of homework, knitting, and sewing during my shift.

[lisac77]

I would really discourage you from trying to stay awake working all night and then take care of your kids during the day. It's incredibly hard to do and everyone will suffer.

I've been working nights for 2.5 years as a network engineer (and evenings before that, and nights before that, etc.). I've worked nights for a long time, and I have never done it without child care. It's bad enough on those days that DS is too sick to go to school, because I sleep so poorly.

You might want to look more into evening shift work, part time. Cashiering is good for that, then your DH could do child care while you work.

[lisac77]

Also? Insinuating that day care is not an acceptable option is rude in this forum. Many mamas here use day care.

[annethcz]

What kind of teaching experience do you have? I'm not sure where you're located, but there are several different HS co-ops in the twin cities area that utilize professional teachers. You could teach and bring your kids along, either in a pre-existing organization or start your own.

I know HSing moms that waitress, work retail, have WAH/internet businesses, do in-home childcare, do part-time office work, there are lots of different options. I can understand not wanting to utilize or not being able to afford day care. How about trading babysitting with another mom?

I am a former homeschooling mom. My kids now attend a fabulous little charter school, and I teach at their school. It's been a great compromise for us.