Great Careers for Night Owls

Posted on Dec 16th 2009, 07:08 pm, under Career Advice

Hate waking up early every morning and dragging yourself to work? Do you find that you hit your stride when working just as the clock hits midnight? If you're a night owl who performs best during late hours, here are several careers that might interest you:

1. Chef

Whether it's catering at an evening buffet, or cooking for a restaurant's dinner rush, there's a lot of opportunity in the culinary world for night owls. As a late night chef, you may also be put in charge of preparing the next day's morning service or early morning deliveries; don't forget hospitals and late night diners. If you want to work as an independent, you'll find private clients who want to pick their own meals and menus. Given the variability in positions, you can expect to earn anywhere from $25,900 to $46,00, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. If you're interested in this line of work, you can find more information on training here.

2. Nurse

People never stop getting sick or injured, and hospitals never close. Whatever the time of day or night, a nurse must always be around to provide critical care and assist doctors. As a night shift nurse, though, you'll enjoy some additional advantages - the work load tends to be lighter, and you'll have more responsibility and autonomy because fewer hospital administrators will be around. Registered nurses can make around $57,300 per year, according to the BLS. Night shift nurses can earn significantly more, between $58,00 to $64,000 yearly.

3. Police officer

As a police officer on the night shift, you'll be running patrols and responding to calls, and you'll have to be especially vigilant since criminal activity increases during the hours of darkness. Working the police beat at night is no joke, but somebody has to keep people safe from harm. Most police officers earn around $47,000 a year, but since you'll be doing night work, you can expect to get extra pay. The exact amount varies by department and location (check positions online).

4. Night school teacher

If you've got a bachelor's degree, and don't mind working beyond standard class hours, you might want to teach at an adult school. Most classes at adult schools don't start until 6 pm onwards, so it's a great job for night owls. Although a bachelor's degree is the minimum, a post-graduate degree in education is much more preferable. You'll instruct students in topics like English as a second language, remedial reading, math, and so on. You'll earn around $40,000 per year as a night school teacher, with some regions offering even higher pay.

5. Photojournalist

If you like being at the scene of the action, whether it's at a crime, an emergency, or a sporting event, then this is the job for you. Newspapers and other news services need pictures of events of interest, no matter where or when they happen. Since many news events occur at night or before dawn, photojournalists need to be ready to go at any time. As a photojournalist, you can expect to make $38,000 a year or more, according to the BLS.