CAREERS FOR NIGHT OWLS & OTHER INSOMNIACS

CAREERS FOR NIGHT OWLS & OTHER INSOMNIACS
Louise Miller
Lincolnwood, Illinois: NTC Publishing Group
179 pages, paperback, $9.95
ISBN 0-8442-4116-4

Reviewed by Lynne Lamberg

Why didn't someone think of this before? If you can't sleep at night--or don't want to--perhaps you can fashion a career to suit your preferred schedule. Louise Miller, a teacher who has worked split shifts, explores opportunities for jobs at hours other than 9 to 5.

Jobs span the full range of education, training, and skill: "Without pilots, flight attendants, mechanics, baggage handlers, and air traffic controllers working through the night," she points out, we would miss our early morning business meeting, our parents' anniversary, our daughter's wedding, or the morning mail." Bartenders, waiters, talk-show hosts, firefighters.... Virtually all "day" jobs have their nighttime counterpart.

Miller describes a slew of careers in transportation, hospitality, health care, communications, entertainment, and security and social services, and details education and training requirements, and average earnings. She also profiles individual workers, pointing out both the advantages and disadvantages of non-traditional hours. For most jobs, she includes a "what it takes" section, with questions to help readers decide if the work described is right for them. Every chapter includes several pages of resources for further information.

Although the book is aimed at students or persons considering a career change, it is a potent reminder to daytimers of their debt to those who work in the dark.