Rachel

I'm the accountant from near the top of the posting. I worked in Ireland for a while, and had 23 days leave, plus the standard holidays, up to 2 days per month so-called "comp" time, and the week off between Christmas and New Years, and basically unlimited sick leave. Back here in the US, I have 17 vacation days, standard holidays (12, I think), and 12 sick days per year. Why do I prefer having what looks like less leave here in the U.S.? Because I actually like my job in the U.S., which I never did in Ireland. Also, I did not have the option of taking unpaid leave.

Sheila

I am a bookkeeper for lawyers in TN. I get 3 weeks vacation (an extra week after 2 more years), 10 paid holidays and unlimited sick time. I have many more dreams about traveling than money so I just travel when I can. Taking my children to London in June.

Neva

I'm a rock music critic for a newspaper. Five weeks a year for vacation, plus whatever comp time I've accrued from working weekends and odd hours.

Stacey

I'm an international sales rep. Customer base is the US Military in Europe. I get two weeks vacation - but because I'm commission based, if I'm not working, I'm not earning. I tend to tack on days to my business travel and see as much as I can that way. I get to Ireland when I go to England (much cheaper to fly from there than Boston). Past few years I've been lucky enough to win a place on our Incentive Trips - free vacation! Unfortunately, my husband just started a new job and only has 1 week vacation time so far and he's saving it for this year's incentive trip to Hawaii in November (hopefully!) <BR>

Gloria

Hi, Danny <BR>I am an interior designer with a studio that I own and operate from. As the owner I wear all sorts of hats. I love the design portion, manage to live through the administrative. It is a fun and exciting field. No one would guess the amount of stress that accompanies it. We carry furniture and area rugs, lighting, etc. So, when I am traveling abroad I find things for clients. They love me for it and I love that it gives me a real opportunity to travel. <BR>I take three weeks in March to travel to Europe and then a few weeks here and there for Chicago, San Fran, New York, etc, to attend markets. <BR>I have flexibility in my job, but, it <BR>is with me all the time. <BR>My goal is to live in Europe for the winter months and bring goods back and forth. I had a hotel in Italy ask for my services Not a bad gig, aye? <BR>Fun thread, Danny. Thanks, <BR>Gloria

Diane

I've been in media research for over 20 years, and I work for a terrific company. I manage a department of bright, responsible people, so I can take off knowing everything will run well while I'm gone. I get five weeks of Personal Leave (to cover vacation and/or sick leave as needed.) I've been at the same company for 22 years, and in 3 more I'll get another week. There are also 10 holidays off (3 of those are self- selected). There are limits as to the number of hours we can carry-over unused from year to year, so vacations are highly encouraged.

kk

((first off, any of my friends reading this, my usual email is down AGAIN so use the hotmail one))... <BR>I greatly envy the vacation time of these folks who have already commented (these in particular): <BR>Miriam in Germany, Terry in Dublin, Patrick in London, Sjoerd in Amsterdam. <BR> <BR>By US standards my own vacation days aren't the worst, but I sure do aspire to those great gobs of leave you all do receive. <BR>I've had a management job for 8 years in a Texas university system and get a total of 25 work days off (not including the weekends). Of these, 14 I can take any time, four are national holidays, and eight work days are all bunched around the Christmas/New Year's holidays, so these cannot be moved around. <BR>In a previous career life when I was a corporate vice president, I got far less (plus of course more work and more stress), so all in all, I'm not doing too badly, by US standards. Still, when I was sitting on a park bench in Wiesbaden, Germany, last week, fantasizing about living there, I realized that if I did that I would probably have at least double the time off that I have now. Ah, bliss, and so close to other places I so long to be right now. Geesh, and I just got back!

Allen

I´m swedish, work as a columnist for a daily newspaper. I just started working there. I have 4 weeks vacation plus all major holidays, my wife is american. We find ourself traveling to the states 6-8 times/year. This year we´re going to south of France, Italy, Slovenia and Croatia.

Mitch

What an interesting post! I am very jealous of some of the posters here with all of the time off! I work in design, and get 3 weeks of paid vacation a year. 1 week of sick time and I also get 10 of the U.S. holidays. However, we are encouraged to take every day of our vacation, so this year I have already done a 4 day quick getaway to London in February, and I am planning on a 2 week Scandanvian adventure this fall!

Susan

I work as an IT consultant. I was with a company for many years when our division was sold 2 years ago. The new company has given me credit for the years of service so this year it'll 25 years for me. Basically I get 5 weeks of vacation (25 days), plus the 11 company / statutory holidays. If our division had not been sold, I would now get 6 weeks of vacation plus an extra week for this year only (a bonus for hanging in there 25 years). The new company has a maximum of 5 weeks, however they also will give me the bonus week for this year only. I don't know what the limits are for sick days - I know I have short and long term disability, so I seem to be covered if I needed time off for that. <BR> <BR>My husband only gets 4 weeks of paid holiday (plus the statutory holidays). With my family living on the other side of the country, I usually spend any extra holidays with them on my own. We usually take a couple of weeks in the winter and go south (somewhere warm to escape the Canadian winter). In the summer, we usually vacation in Canada, although we did go to Greece and Turkey last summer for 3 weeks. We also like to take long weekends to go to places like Chicago, Miami, Santa Fe, etc. <BR> <BR>The longest I have taken in 1 stretch in the last 25 years was 3 weeks (the Greek trip and a trip to Australia). I've never had children or even been off sick for any length of time! Yes, I've been lucky and yes, I know that't not the same as a vacation, but I'm getting tired of reporting to work every day! I'm thinking of a leave of absence maybe in a year or 2 - even a couple of months to just do some of the things I never seem to get time to do. I used to think I could retire at age 55 - now that I'm turning 50, that doesn't seem quite as realistic!

TJBrown

I work for the federal government. I get 5 weeks vacation and have accumulated close to 1000 hours of sick leave. In addition, I work 10 hours per day, and get a day off every pay period. I use all of my "vacation" time travelling or planning my travel. I started late and am making up for lost time.

AC

Thanks for asking Danny: <BR>I work for THE BEST Public transit system in the US in NYC. <BR>I have been here 15+ years. I get 5 weeks vacation, 5 Personal Leave days and 12 sick days a year that I have been accumulating since the beginning. I hold onto them for the "just in cases". I also get Comp time for the days it snowed and I was here for 24 hour shifts. Not too shabby! <BR>I have only recently begun to take all my vacation time because I have a new boss who encourages me to use all my time so that I am morally and emotionally fit. (Nice thought) <BR>The travel bug only bit me recently so I have a lot of catching up to do. <BR>Amsterdam and Belgium at the end of this month. Ireland in October and another trip next spring. I am not sure where yet. Any suggestions??

Mike

"I'm from the government (law enforcement) and I'm here to help!!" <BR> <BR>I get 4 weeks a year vacation, 13 paid holidays and one "discretonary" day. I use 90% of my time going snowboarding or to NASCAR races here in the US. <BR> <BR>I'm now in the process of actually saving my vaction time for a 30 trip to Europe next September.

dan woodlief

I am Marketing Research Manager at a mid-sized education supplies company. We get two weeks until we have been at the company five years; then it goes up a day per year after that. We have a lot of very long term employees, so the policy is a little out-of-date. I have been here four years but have 11 days this year due to contributing to the United Way (we raise lots for that every year). I am planning to start looking for something closer to home soon (42 miles right now, but the drive isn't too bad - 45 minutes). A major priority will be 3-4 weeks vacation, at least within a year or two of the start date. My wife just started a new job as a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Public Health Service. She gets 6 weeks a year (boy am I jealous), but she has to count the weekend as days off if she takes days off around the weekend.

Barbara

I am a "headhunter". I recruit attorneys for law firms, mostly in California. I work for myself, so I can theoretically take off whenever I want, but when I'm not working, I don't make money.

Robin

I'm a financial advisor for a major company. I don't have vacation time per se-- I can take unpaid time as often as I can manage it, but even so it can be difficult to get away, especially for extended periods. <BR> <BR>My husband, though, is in IT management, and he is more limited, both in terms of having a fixed amount of vacation time, and in that it's tough to get away. Luckily he too negotiated not only the time, but the willingness to let him take it! <BR> <BR>Danny, what sets people on this forum apart (I think) is that scheduling their vacations ranks near the top of their priorities. So whether you have to work with two weeks or two months, something wonderful is going to happen in that amount of time! <BR> <BR>I love the idea of Prue's extended trips from Australia. While I don't envy them the long flights to many places, imagine the adventure of a multi-week, multi-destination trip each year!

Capo

After thirteen years working for a very large company, I'm up to three weeks of vacation per year. That's enough for one 1-2 week trip to Europe per year, plus a few long weekends.

tcc

Hi all- <BR> <BR>I'm in book publishing and I have 8 national holidays off, as well as the week between Christmas and New Year's off, 4 personal days, and 15 vacation days. Plus we have half-day Fridays from Memorial Day to Labor Day. This is all paid leave. I think we get all this time off because 1) book publishing is known for not paying as well as some industries unless you're at the top- which I'm not; and 2) we're owned by a German company so our rules/standards are European. <BR> <BR>Since they don't pay as well as we'd like, vacation time still has to be taken sporadically because you have to save up for these jaunts to Europe/etc. and I also take a lot of reading/ editing work home to do on my own time, but I like what I'm doing so I can't complain.

Alli

I am an accounting coordinator and receive 2 weeks vacation, 5 sick days, 2 personal days, and just the major holidays off. <BR> <BR>My boss is awesome and if I were to take more, it would be ok, but without pay. <BR> <BR>My husband owns his own contracting firm, so he is flexible. But, that has its downfalls, if he does not work, he does not get paid.

Myriam

I'm self-employed, can take off as much as I like but: no work, no income. Husband works at Exxon-Mobil for 25 yrs (!), has abt. 60 days paid leave per year (vacation, compensation hours, national holidays). Sick time is unlimited and paid as well. We take a 2 week "far away" vacation in Feb/March, a 1 week "nearby" (=European) vacation in May/June and another 1 week "more or less nearby" in October + a few weekends.