I’ve worked 2nd (afternoon), swing (evening), and 3rd (overnight) shifts for the majority of my life. I recently moved into a training position where I’m Monday through Friday, 8am to ~5:30pm (I get OT while I’m cleaning up and writing reports).
As much as the 2nd/swing/3rd shifts screw with your life in other ways, the difficulty in scheduling any kind of life services outside of working hours is maddening. Doctor’s appointment? Nope. DMV? Maybe Saturday, if you’re lucky. Chaperone your kids field trip? Hahahhah no.
I don’t want to burn sick time for a doctor’s appointment (I need to save those for when my kid is actually sick), and I sure as hell don’t want to use up a “vacation” day for it. How tf are you supposed to get anything done?
I work swing/2nd shift: 2:00 pm - 10:30 pm. My days off are always Tuesday and Wednesday. It’s not so bad, as I can get stuff done on my days off (doctor’s appointments, banking/government office-related errands, etc.). If I’m up earlier than my 10:00 am alarm, then I try to be productive around the flat.
Oh I did love swing shift when I was younger. But it was 4 - midnight. Could walk home, and stop for a drink on the way, too. Go home and sleep 8 hours and still not get up too late.
Unfortunately back then I had to have more than one job to survive, but I do like that late-but-not-overnight shift.