Are you fed up with the 9 to 5 grind? Do you need to earn some extra cash or find a job that fits around your daily commitments? Night shift jobs may be the solution you’re looking for, and the good news is there are lots of opportunities out there and we’ve got several to share. So keep reading!
Over night jobs come with attractive benefits, including higher pay, less competition, and more independence. So they are definitely worth considering if you are looking for a flexible schedule or want to earn more income!
We’ve found 19 of the best night shift jobs, and in addition, their typical duties and average salaries to help make your night job hunt easier.
Who are night shift jobs suitable for?
Night shift jobs are suitable for anyone if they don’t mind working overnight. Keep in mind that, overnight shifts will typically start between 10 p.m. and 12 a.m., but some jobs will have different working hours.
That said, there may be specific categories of people who might be better suited to night shift jobs. This includes:
- Students who study during the day
- Parents that want to be available to care for their children
- Anyone who doesn’t like getting out of bed in the morning
- People who want to earn extra money or boost their savings funds
Sound like you? Then you’re in the right place to find out everything you need to know.
The best night shift jobs to work in person
A great thing about overnight work is that there are so many different types of work available to suit everyone!
For instance, lots of companies need to maintain their operations 24/7, and as a result, this means providing work for people like you.
So if you prefer to work night shift jobs at a workplace and socialize with others, then these are the top options for you.
1. Flight attendant
Flight attendants keep passengers safe and comfortable during flights. It’s a flexible and rewarding career, and you can travel and work shifts at night. So if you love working with people and traveling, this is a great in-person overnight job.
Typical duties can include:
- Attend flight briefings with pilots
- Help travelers find their seats
- Keep the cabin clean and stocked with drinks and food
- Correctly demonstrate and use safety equipment
- Deal with disruptive or suspicious behavior
Average flight attendant salary: Flight attendants makes a mean annual wage of approximately $67,000 a year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
However, exact earnings will depend on the airline you work for and number of shifts you work.
2. Air traffic controller
Directing aircraft traffic is an important job that is needed 24/7. This means that you can pursue this career and opt for the night shifts if you want overnight work. Specifically, strong communication skills and the ability to work under pressure are a must.
Typical duties may include, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics:
- Provide information on weather, runways, and more
- Direct pilots during take-off and landing
- Raise emergency alerts
- Keep track of and manage aircraft both in the air and on the ground
Average air traffic controller salary: Air traffic controllers are paid well, earning an average of about $56,000 a year, explains Indeed.
3. Healthcare worker
Healthcare is one of those professions that is available whenever you need it, regardless of the time of day or night. So night workers are needed during irregular hours.
If you want to work in healthcare but in a quieter, less hectic environment while most patients sleep, ask for the night shifts! And you might even be able to find medical jobs without a degree.
Typical duties depend on the type of job, but may include:
- Monitor patients
- Conduct health checks
- Wash and dress patients
- Administer medication
- Help with emergency situations
Average healthcare worker salary: For example, a Registered Nurse night shift job can earn an average salary of approximately $59,000 a year, according to ZipRecruiter. Additionally, with more experience, your earnings can increase.
4. Bartender
Bartending can be a great job. Why? Because it boosts your self-confidence, you meet loads of interesting people, and you can work in the evenings, leaving your days free to do anything you want.
Typical duties might include:
- Interact with customers and take orders
- Produce a range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks
- Provide drink recommendations
- Maintain a clean and safe environment
- Process payments
Average bartender salary: In the United States, bartenders make approximately $48,000 per year, claims Indeed. If you make a good impression on your customers, you’ll also pocket some extra dollars as tips!
5. Hotel receptionist
You can earn a good salary from working in hospitality during the night. A receptionist is essential to ensure the smooth running of a hotel, especially throughout the night when other areas of the building may be closed.
Typical duties can include:
- Take reservations
- Deal with customer queries and issues
- Provide guests with information on hotel facilities and local amenities
- Process payments
- Handle and complete paperwork
Average hotel receptionist salary: Hotel receptionists can earn a respectable average of about $30,000 by managing the front desk of a hotel at night, according to Zippia.
6. Security guard
Security guards work at a range of sites, for example, construction, warehouses, events, retail, and more.
In addition, one of the best benefits of working in this field is the ability to choose your own hours and jobs.
Typical duties might include, according to TalentLyft:
- Patrol and inspect premises at regular intervals
- Keep the property entrance secure
- Authorize entrance for allowed people and vehicles
- Monitor surveillance footage
- Report any suspicious activity
Average security guard salary: As a night security guard, you will make an average of about $42,000 per year in the US, claims ZipRecruiter.
7. Warehouse operative
Working in a warehouse is a popular choice for night shift jobs.
Additionally, there are usually lots of roles available, and you don’t need prior experience or qualifications to get started. It’s also extremely flexible with lots of variety, suiting anyone with commitments and a busy daily routine schedule.
Typical duties may include:
- Load and unload goods from delivery vehicles
- Check damaged or missing items
- Pack customer orders
- Operate forklift trucks to move stock around the warehouse
Average warehouse operative salary: Wages for a warehouse worker are about $33,000 a year, according to Talent.com.
8. Firefighter
Fancy doing something a little bit different to earn money at night? Undeniably, a firefighter is a rewarding career path for anyone who wants to help protect their local community.
Like other emergency services, firefighters are needed around the clock, making it a good career choice for night owls.
Typical duties can include:
- Regularly check firefighting equipment to ensure it is safe and efficient to use
- Respond to emergency calls
- Control and distinguish fires
- Rescue people and animals from burning establishments
- Handle bomb alerts and flooding
Average firefighter salary: Firefighters earn an average of $53,000 annually, according to Indeed.
9. Baker or confectioner
Do your friends and family always compliment your baked goods and sweets? Becoming a baker or confectioner is one of the best ways to escape the 9 to 5 routine.
Additionally, you don’t even need any formal qualifications or experience to get started!
Typical duties might include:
- Correctly measure and mix raw ingredients
- Bake a range of goods such as bread, pastries, biscuits, sweets and desserts
- Decorate goods to a high finish
- Follow food safety and quality guidelines
- Take and fulfill customer orders
Average baker salary: In the US, overnight bakers earn around $30,000 annually on average, according to ZipRecruiter. However, your years of experience can affect your earnings in this industry.
10. 911 dispatcher
If you’re looking for night shift jobs where you can make a real difference to somebody’s life, then a 911 dispatcher is a great option. You can be part of a night team that works together to provide advice, support, and also emergency help to people in need.
Typical duties may include:
- Take emergency and non-emergency calls
- Assess and interpret a caller’s information and deploy the right support
- Communicate with the caller and offer support until help arrives
- Keep other emergency service teams updated
- Help prepare paramedics and police for their arrival at the scene
Average 911 dispatcher salary: You can expect to earn approximately $42,000 from working as a 911 dispatcher, claims Salary.com.
The best overnight remote jobs
For various reasons (for instance, childcare costs and availability, health issues, or personal choice), you may need an overnight remote job that you can do while working from home. If so, these are the jobs for you!
Keep in mind that you can work these jobs in person as well.
11. Content writer
There are so many reasons why a job in content writing is one of the best overnight remote jobs. You don’t have set hours, so you can log on to your laptop and write at any time of the night. You can learn how to become a freelance writer and work at your own pace, which is great if you have a busy life!
In addition, the work is varied and enjoyable.
Typical duties may include:
- Draft content ideas for approval
- Write long-form blog articles
- Creating compelling product descriptions
- Generate copy for website pages
- Write marketing material for a variety of formats
Average content writer salary: Content writers in the United States earn an average of $58,000 annually, says Glassdoor – undeniably, this isn’t bad for something you can do from home at night time in your PJs!
12. Customer service representative
If you want to work with people remotely, then an overnight customer service representative is a good career to consider. Lots of companies provide their customers with 24/7 help and support, which means they need people to work the night shift.
Typical duties could include:
- Respond to customer inquiries
- Answer questions and give advice
- Process orders
- Resolve issues
- Handle complaints
Average customer service representative salary: Overnight customer service representatives earn about $35,000 annually in the US, according to Glassdoor.
13. Social media manager
Social media is essential for all businesses. However, companies don’t always have the time to manage it effectively in-house.
You can easily do this role remotely during the evenings, so your client’s social media content is created and scheduled ahead of publication.
Typical duties:
- Maintain a content calendar
- Create social media posts across all platforms
- Respond to online conversations
- Produce and monitor ad campaigns
- Set objectives and report on ROI
Average social media manager salary: Social media managers can receive an average annual salary of $70,000 per year, states Zippia.
14. Editor
Editing jobs make great night shift jobs because you can do it remotely and at a time that suits you. All you need is a good laptop and a reliable internet connection to work on a variety of written formats, such as books, websites, articles, legal documents, training manuals, and more.
Typical duties:
- Identify and correct spelling and grammar errors
- Check all facts, statistics, and statements
- Rewrite sentences for clarity
- Suggest headlines and titles in line with the content
- Comply with brand guidelines
Average editor salary: Editors in the US earn approximately $66,000 per year, says Indeed.
15. Software developer
If solving problems is your cup of tea, then becoming a remote software developer is one of the most rewarding over night jobs to consider.
In addition, you’ll never be short of work either, as companies all over the world look for programmers to help them develop software that solves an issue.
Typical duties:
- Listen to user needs and review current systems
- Suggest ideas
- Create cost proposals
- Develop and test software solutions
- Collect user feedback and make improvements
Average software developer salary: A career as a software developer can be very lucrative. The median salary is $120,000, says U.S. News.
16. Technical support
For fellow night workers, being faced with a technical problem on your laptop at 1 a.m. is inconvenient and frustrating. This is why companies like Apple hire night technical support staff to provide their customers with assistance around the clock.
It’s one of the best night shift jobs to have if you are good with computers and modern technology.
Typical duties:
- Take support calls via email, chat, text, and other communication methods
- Identify and resolve user issues promptly
- Assist with the installation of equipment or software
- Resolve network issues
- Provide technical information on products and services
Average technical support role salary: Most technical support representatives will earn an average of about $57,000 per year in this job, claims Indeed.
17. Telephone triage nurse
A telephone triage nurse is an important job that can be done overnight from the comfort of your own home. There are several different opportunities in this field, such as working for private practices, pharmaceutical companies, or assisting physicians.
Typical duties:
- Answer patient calls
- Assess symptoms and conditions
- Give medical advice over the phone
- Consult other medical professionals when required
- Refer patients to further help if needed
Average telephone triage nurse salary: The amount of money you earn in this field will depend on your experience. The average salary for triage nurses is about $84,000 per year, claims NursingProcess.org.
18. English teacher
If you’re looking for overnight remote jobs that enable you to work with children too, becoming an English teacher is a great choice. Because of the time difference in other countries, there’s a demand for teaching English online to foreign students during the night.
Typical duties may include, according to Betterteam:
- Prepare lesson plans to help improve children’s reading and writing
- Create and deliver interactive, educational content and activities
- Adapt your teaching style to suit students’ needs
- Monitor and report on children’s progress
Average English teacher salary: Remote English teachers can earn a decent yearly salary of about $52,000 per year, says ZipRecruiter.
19. Graphic designer
Working as a graphic designer is the perfect career choice for creative individuals who want to work remotely at any time of the day or night. Most people in this line of work thrive from being able to set their own schedule and work when they feel their most creative.
Typical duties:
- Understand and interpret design briefs
- Produce design visuals
- Present ideas to clients
- Develop designs by hand or software
- Work with copywriters and marketing teams to ensure graphics are on-brand
Average graphic designer salary: Graphic designers make an average of about $50,000 annually, according to Talent.com, although it can be more depending on your experience and client budgets.
Expert tip: Make working a night shift job easier by keeping a routine
As a night shift worker, it’s a great idea to try to stick to a schedule on your days off to stay mentally and physically healthy.
So make a time management plan for the best time to do things such as your self-care routine, exercise and socializing. This will help you make the most of your spare time and ensure you can fit in what’s important to you.
Don’t forget to try and eat and sleep at the same times every day to keep your body happy and healthy. Your day off may look something like this:
6am: Finish work
6.30am: Breakfast
8am: Sleep
3pm: Exercise
4pm: Socialize
5pm: Eat
6pm: Nap
8pm: Self care
10pm: Start workAdjusting to over night jobs with a new schedule can be challenging but these tips will set you up for success!
What is the best night job to have?
The best night jobs to have are ones that allow you to use your skills and pay the amount of money you want to earn.
For instance, public services, hospitality, and freelance work are industries that need good night staff, and you can even learn how to start freelancing with no experience. Consider your skill set and make a short list of jobs that you’re interested in.
Ultimately, the best night job to have is one that you’re happy in!
Is night shift pay worth it?
Night shift pay can be worth it, as most companies will pay a higher hourly rate for unsociable working hours, but it isn’t guaranteed.
However, consider the other reasons why you want to do night work and use them as your main motivation for overnight work.
Some of the top reasons people work night jobs are:
- Spend more time with your family
- Achieve a higher quality of life or start a new chapter in life
- Have more time to do the things you love during the day
- There are fewer distractions
- You can earn a higher salary
- There’s no need to travel during rush hour
You may find that lots of people don’t find the idea of night work desirable, meaning less competition for shifts and also an increase in earning potential.
Can you work the night shift at Amazon?
Yes, you can work the night shift at Amazon. Amazon offers a range of night shift roles, and the pay can make this an appealing choice.
If you want to work for a company that offers competitive rates of pay and the possibility for other benefits like insurance and shopping discounts, Amazon ticks the boxes.
Articles related to working night shift jobs
If you learned a lot from reading about the best night shift jobs, check out these posts next!
Find the best over night jobs options for you!
Night shift jobs won’t suit everyone. But if you’re a night owl or can only work while everyone else sleeps, there are plenty of options for you.
Additionally, it’s completely possible to earn a decent salary by working at night and spending your days doing whatever you want.
All you need to do is decide what type of career aspirations you have and where you want to work. Check out a job blog or two and take the time to find out what career is best for you. Good luck finding the perfect overnight job!