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Ask HN: U.S. workers, how much vacation do you get yearly?

10 points by mproud ↗ HN
I’m thinking of making a change of employment, but I’m curious what amount of vacation in a year I should expect to receive as a non-startup IT employee? Currently I get 4 weeks, and if I were to hit 10 years it will become 5 weeks.

I understand employment around the world, particularly Europe has a reputation for offering much more vacation, but I have no plans moving outside the country, so I’m only concerned with U.S. employment right now.

12 comments

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kghose
I work at a mid stage startup. I got 7 weeks paternity leave and there is no set vacation time but we are encouraged to take at least 3 weeks a year. People often take a month off for summer and a week or two off for christmas.
mkaziz
I'm a year in and I get 2 weeks. I feel like (and hope) this is on the lower end of the spectrum.
lscharen
I started with 2 weeks and bumped up to 3 weeks after 5 years.
arink
3 weeks.

FYI: Something to be aware of is if the company shuts down at the end of the year. You may have to use 2 - 4 days of vacation around Christmas/New Years or take it those days as unpaid.

mproud
The cool thing is the other office shuts down for Thanksgiving, but we don’t (inorite?) so instead they give us 3 days to take whenever else we want (pending approval).
ja27
At my last company I maxed out at 28 days a year after seven years there. Standard is usually 2 weeks but if you negotiate as part of your hiring, you should be able to get 3 weeks, especially if you're in a more senior or managerial role.
tedyoung
4 weeks after 4 years (starts at 3 weeks for new employees). Note that we are forced to use 2-4 of those days during the yearly winter shutdown. There's also a limit to the accrual of vacation time, so if you let them build up over the max amount (around 6-7 weeks worth), you'll start to lose some of those days.
mproud
Yeah, at 240 hours (6 weeks) I start losing it.

There is a cash out option typically in the summer (for every vacation day used I can cash out another day). I did that once; then more money taken out of my paycheck because the govt. assumed I was now making way more, so I didn’t really see the money until the following April.

jpetersonmn
4 weeks vacation, 1 week personal, 1 week sick. All available after the first of the year, if you don't use by the end of the year you lose it. And can't cash any of it out.
tfangel
I work at a seasonal concert venue in the North East as a developer and Full Time IT Support Staff. After 2.5 years, I'm at 2 weeks paid, plus a mandatory week paid at Christmas, and mandatory one week paid when the season ends to get the team back in gear. So, all in all 4 weeks.
mattwritescode
You lot in the US have it hard. 28days standard + 7/8 days bank holidays + sick leave on top.

You all need to be moving to Europe.

faet
8 holidays. 4 weeks. leniency on appointments (hour or two late due to dentist/Dr i don't need to use leave on).