College senior here with an eye on performing at a high level in AG/getting a pro card hopefully in the near future. However, as an engineer, I would be foolish to not get a job following my graduation in May 2019. I have been offered a few positions, so I have a bit of freedom to choose what will work best for me.
One of the jobs is shift work for a 24/7 Ops Center - working 5 days in a row, 7am-7pm (12 hour shifts), and then getting the next 5 days off. This continues for one month, after which you switch to the night shift - (working 7pm-7am), for the same cycle - 5 days on, then 5 days completely off.
Would all you working professionals prefer this schedule for your training? Obviously those off days would be heavier training days, with 1 shorter workout on the long working days/time off. There’s a lot more to consider with this position than just how it fits with my triathlon schedule (pay is ~16% better because of weird schedule), but wanted to gauge the room of working professionals who know how it is fitting a tough schedule around a job.
Lots of things to consider, however, initial opinion is that is a bloody tough roster to do consistent training with (but will partly depend on what your key distance is and family situation).
Given the rotation of your shifts having a regular group to train with will be difficult, ie if you have a regular swim squad etc you will end up missing a lot because of all the rotations.
The 12 hour days will not be too bad if travel too and from work is not too rough, but from experience I struggle to train after a 12 hour day at work, I can before I go to work but afterwards is tough. That would mean some pretty early starts to get something short in, and you will be buggered com 1900 and home time.
The rotation to night duty is hard. It takes a lot of time to adjust to that new sleep pattern and training both during and on your 5 days off for this stretch will be tough. I used to have to do a lot of nights, 7X12 hour nights every 6 weeks. I think yours is even tougher as you will just get into the new sleep pattern then have to figure out if you go back to normal on your 5 days off or keep things reversed.
I guess my last bit of advice…the career of a sports professional is significantly limited in time to make money and dollars overall and the drop out rates are significant. It is important to have a good back up career, so it may be worthwhile thinking about whether you want to establish yourself post graduation with your career first and then consider turning pro a few years later or going pro earlier on but without potentially as much to fall back on. Either way, good luck!
Here’s where I’m coming from… I’m 35 and have been in private equity for 13 years, so I’ve always worked long hours. I also travel a lot so I know how changing sleep patterns impact you. I think the real kick in the nuts isn’t the 5 days of 12 hr days… that’s very manageable. It’s the switching between night and day shifts. That’s going to take its toll on you. And not just for training. For instance, I don’t know if you’re seeing anyone but dating with that kind of schedule would be tough initially.
If I were you, I would look for consistency in schedule more than anything… from a training perspective, if you know you’re working from 7a to 7p Mon to Fri every week with limited or no travel, you can definitely optimize your life and training schedule around that.
The money thing I can’t really chime in because everyone’s situation is different.
I am a nurse and have had the opportunity to work several different types of shifts. Here are my experiences with them and hopefully they provide some insight.
Working long days with several days off (I worked 3 12 hour shifts a week)-These were great for training. You could realistically get 2-3 quality workouts in a day on your off days, and still have time to get other things done. The kicker here is that I was single at the time. The days I would work, i would leave at 6:00 am and get back at 8:00 pm. I could sometimes fit in a 30 minute run in after work but that was a rarity. Now, with a wife and children, I cannot imagine not seeing the kiddos at night. But when I was young and single, I loved those hours.
Nights-I HATED NIGHTS. I picked some night shifts up for a few months and it killed me. Some people adjust really easily, others do not. I didn’t. For every shift I did, it took me one and a half times to recover. One night of working cost me a day and a half to recover, 2 days working cost me 3 days to recover. You get the idea. I would go run and be completely unmotivated within 5 minutes. That being said, some people adjust nicely. One positive is if you have the availability to a lap pool open 24 hours. You aren’t fighting anyone for a lane at 2am.
Regular day shift hours-this works great for me currently. I get up early and spin or swim. Go to work. After work I run and take the daughters with me in the stroller. Hang out with family and go to bed.
These are just my experiences, and hopefully it helps.
I dunno, those 5 days on you would also want to train so that doesn’t leave you with much available time if you want to get a workout in, have a life and get appropriate rest. The change in sleep cycles … seems like that wouldn’t be a long term situation even if you weren’t trying to get that pro card. Have you inquired about how long folks on average stay in that position? So it might work for a while. Also it’s likely your social connections wouldn’t share this cycle so there is an impact to them.
With a relative 9-5 type schedule I’ve structured things so if I needed to get in a lot of training hours and still have a life (family and being there for the kids), it means getting it done really early.
Also worked in the ER doing 12 hour shifts. Working only 3 a week was great for training but when I upped it to 4 12’s things got tough. Not much time to workout after if you want to prioritize sleep. It really becomes quality over quantity. If you go that route I’d suggest a really good coach so you’ll have one less thing to worry about.
I’m an engineer and I work in the power/energy industry (24/7/365 business). I work with a ton of folks who work 12 hour shifts or longer and night shifts.
While the days off are extremely enticing, the 12 hour shifts and night shift take a huge toll on you. Honestly, the night shifts are terrible for you and really screw you up for several days. If you have a choice, I don’t recommend it.
Honestly, the night shifts are terrible for you and really screw you up for several days.
This. Flipping from nights to days is horrible for your body. I currently work a 10 days working and then 4 days off schedule of 12 hr shifts. I don’t work nights regularly but on the occasion that I do I am still messed up weeks down the road. Training after a shift isn’t bad but is usually limited to 1.5 hrs max due to trying to go to sleep early enough to get adiquate rest at night. I typically incorporate shorter more intense sessions with more rest days in my schedule and use my days off to go long. Someone else already mentioned it but the 5:5 schedule can suck. Your “week†will always be rotating around the actual week and that can make a social life really difficult at time. The thing to take into consideration. Is that the less paying job makes up for itself in a cost of living raise. With a more normal schedule. Edit to ask if the 1:1 schedule has a normal vacation package. All the jobs offers I’ve received with this type of schedule have zero vacation days since the time off is greater than a 5:2 schedule. Not that you would need any either that schedule. Personally I have always preferred that to the higher paying jobs.
I worked some nights for years. Doctor in UK. They basically killed me every time. It’s that low at 4-5am, and then the next day feeling drugged. There is evidence that night shifts are bad for health.
As for 5 on 5 off, how would you build a routine around that? If you know Saturday morning is swim team, Tuesday night run intervals and so on , it just kind of happens.
Would I? Hell no. Speaking from personal experience I can’t train if I’m working 12 hour days. So that’s 5 days of no training.
Regular 8x5 hours work out well for squeezing two 45-60 minute workouts every day. Swim AM, run for lunch, 2x20 on the trainer in the evening. Or swim for lunch run after work. Etc… That’s easy when you are young and have no family.
And yeah get a job in your chosen profession. Pro field is replete with people who got a pro card out of high school then realized they have no other skills when they turned 40.
Are you already performing at a high level in the age group ranks? Can you win your age group or the age group overall in almost any race of your preferred distance? What’s your motivation for getting a pro card?
I went the same route, without the shift work question. I was a top level age grouper for probably 15 years before I turned pro at 30. I had moved after college to work full-time but also continued racing. After I was 2nd overall at USAT Nationals while still working full-time, I decided to ‘go pro’. I was fortunate to work for a company that allowed part-time with benefits. I gradually shifted to that and then had my first ‘retirement’ from engineering to race pro. I still coached (independently and then part of a company then independent again), raced, and trained. I retired for racing in 2014 and am back working in engineering.
I don’t know the salary spread other than the 16%, but you have to weigh your personal and professional goals. The shift-work schedule will not be conducive to high performance if that is what you think you want?
You can’t really do both…work and race…at a truly high level. You can be a really good age grouper and work full-time. You can be an ok pro and work full-time. I don’t think that you can be a true pro and work full-time. Someone will get on here after my post and say you can, but in all honesty, you can’t. If you can’t win almost any race you enter as an age grouper, Grumpy-Marsh says you shouldn’t turn pro. Again, you have to decide your motivation to ‘go pro’ and how it weighs in with your decision to move into a career…
5 x 12’s alone would probably be doable, but the alternating night and day shifts would push it over the top for me. I have to think I would feel terrible and be worthless during workouts for the first week of every month after switching.
I used to work overnights (in a sleep lab ironically), here is my thought. You will lose time on either end of the 5 nights, either adjusting to the switch to nights, or coming off. There are some workouts that you will not be able to do due to the sleep changes/adjustments. not to mention any long term health issues due to lack of sleep, etc.
During the 5 days, that does not leave enough time to train. I liked 12 hour days, but I ended up eating all 3 meals at work (hospital setting), and it did not leave much time for anything else.
It is certainly not an ideal training schedule, and unless you have done nights and know how it effects you, I would not plan on being able to do much.
Nothing is impossible. But I echo what others have said. My work schedule is about 8:30-5:30 M-F but it’s two hours each way commuting. So a long 5 days. Add in a spouse and two kids it’s a lot. But, it’s consistent. That’s the key thing. I’m also 48 and strictly do this for fun. You need to decide what is best for you. Personally, get started in your career and see where it takes you. Keep at shorter races for a while. Then maybe you can change into something more stable? That said, you only live once
Thank you to all who have given me some insight on this. I honestly didn’t think it would be that bad, but reading these comments are definitely giving me second thoughts. I agree switching on/off nights every month is the worst part - it doesn’t allow your body enough time to adjust. To ask about where I am as an AG right now - in USATCRP, performed well at AGNC, winning OA at most races in region. Likely not going to be the next Jan Frodeno but having a pro card would be cool. Knowing this, however, career comes first.
The position would likely be for 18-24 months, not a long term situation. I do have other options, but thanks to everyone who showed me how bad of an idea this might be!
I’m a nurse who worked 12 hour night shifts for 2 years in an ICU. The most shifts I’ve done in the row was 5…and wow that was a bad idea. Waking up for the fourth one was awful, and the fifth was even worse. The one thing they don’t tell you about night shift is that you have to pre-sleep before your first shift of a few in a row. It’s pretty much non-negotiable, otherwise you start off well behind on sleep, and trying to catch up the next day when you have two-to-four more shifts to work is not good. I did the whole rotating shifts thing for a summer a few years ago, and that was bad. Right when you get used to being on a certain schedule, it gets switched around, and you’re left trying to find “normal” again. I would not recommend it.
The worst part is the stress that it puts on your body. I’m working 12 hour day shifts in an ER now, and I come home drained. If I’m on the couch watching a movie with the husband, there’s a good chance I’ll fall asleep, and then wake up at 2 am on the couch, realizing that I need to get in a real bed. The recovery from night shift is a real thing. I’d pretty much be a zombie during my first off day, and have a hard time going to sleep at a normal time. Constantly throwing off your circadian rhythms jacks up your body like no other. The two years I worked night shift in the ICU I was also going to grad school full time, and competing as a collegiate triathlete. It was a hot mess at times, not going to lie. I used triathlon as my stress-reliever, and found that I actually enjoyed going to the pool at 8 AM when I got home from work. But those swims were more relaxing swims than balls to the wall workouts.
In my experience being able to get in exercise and the right amount of rest will be the tough part to balance on the 12 on/ 12 off days. Especially with a rotating sleep pattern. I think that might be the hardest part to adapt to. Not saying it’s not possible, but it will be a hard life to adjust to and excel at exercising in my opinion.
Being young coming out of college would the balance of working 12 hours a day be a big adjustment?