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?
Yup, this is me. Both my parents were software engineers, I grew up top 1% wealth in Canada. Went to a decent university (covered by my parents), job hopped a few times, salary kept going up and the work kept going easier.
I still grinded my ass off along the way (first job took me 700 applications, I spent nights and weekends studying for my next interviews instead of going out with friends), but I still wouldn’t be here without nepotism and family wealth that they used to support me.
While there is some guilt that other people who worked harder couldn’t get to where I am, that doesn’t mean I’m going to waste the opportunity.