Man, some folks have a lot of vacation time. I’ve worked in sales and product management in the outdoor industry for 20 years, now in planning and management for a manufacturer in the outdoor industry. You’d think there’d be a lot of time off in an industry that touts being outside as a lifestyle, and Im sure there are companies like that, but of the companies I’ve worked for or with, none have even close to the time benefits many folks apparently have. Pretty standard fare for a salaried employee has been 5 paid sick days, 2-5 paid personal days, 5 federal holiday-days off, and zero paid vaca for the first year, then 2 weeks paid, and usually an extra 5 days (1 week) after each 4-5 years with the company, usually maxing at 4 weeks. Many companies don’t let any of it carry into the next year unless people haven’t been able to take it for a company-mandated reason, and in many cases it’s either not paid out at all or paid out at a low percentage if someone leaves. And while the industry is fairly informal in terms of many things, it’s still in business just like any other business and people work themselves to death just like anywhere else.
I took a new job about nine months ago, and negotiated for four weeks vacation time rather than for money. Still, it’s a very small company and when anyone person is out of the office everyone hurts for it. I’m The one responsible for making sure the company runs smoothly, so I have a hard time thinking I’ll be able to take four weeks off even if I try—Even being gone for two weeks is just about impossible without a few days checking in and getting some work done. I guess the benefit is being able to live and work in a place where I can walk out my door and be outside. If I had it to do all over again I might do a few things different, but I certainly wouldn’t live in a different place just to have a job with better benefits—If any of the above sounds salty, that’s not the case, just reflecting on it given the greater amount of time off some others have in this thread. I really do like what I do and consider myself very fortunate.