Genuinely confused: How on Gods green earth do people keep going on vacations & still maintain a full time job ?????? Who is approving all this PTO??? How do they afford these lavish trips???

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You only live once.

likeupliftingfunny

That’s deep. I love it

funny

Points

likeupliftingsmarthelpful
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Not having kids helps.

likefunny

It depends on the individual. If you prioritized work over vacation , then it’s on you. I travel 100% for work and I’m diamond on delta, titanium on Marriott and whatever highest tier they have at national. But I do take big vacations and real day offs. Not checking my emails every second or joining a ‘critical’ call. I mean it’s part of your overall compensation , if you are not utilizing your full share of vacation, you are leaving money on the table. As far as PTO approval is concerned , if you’re having hard time getting those, maybe you’re in the wrong firm. I can understand postponing a vacation, but blocking is literally not getting a part of your compensation

likesmart

🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽

USA got you down? In our non-US office it would be odd to not approve PTO (we get 30 days) and travel is cheap around Europe. And we don’t work weekends.

BUT salaries in the US can be quite a bit higher than ours.

likesmart

USA consulting firms also offer 30 days (or between 25 and 30 depending on your level).. it’s not like the jobs you hear about with 10 or less days.

Not sure I understand the question. At PwC nobody “approves” our PTO, you just book it in your deployment calendar and then take it. Obviously you need to be conscious of project commitments, don’t book PTO all of a sudden in the middle of a project, but if you have something planned months in advance your team should be understanding and make it work.
Regarding cost, use the points!
You have PTO for a reason - use it! If you’re genuinely afraid of losing a job because you used a benefit that is part of the job, then either you’re really misinterpreting things or your firm is insane and you should jump ship ASAP.
I typically take 3 1-week vacations a year (in addition to the Xmas holidays) and haven’t suffered at all for it.

likesmart

Amen! Totally agree...Deloitte gives me 30 days of PTO and so far i haven’t lost a single day in 4 years and it hasn’t impacted my ratings or career progression. People who never take time off get a bad rep more and more - and I think that’s right. The American vacation culture needs to become better

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I took a one month vacation to Europe as a senior and only paid for food & entertainment. You are doing it wrong.

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Paris was the toughest but I stayed at Le Meridien and luxury collection hotels. I managed suites through a good chunk of the trip too. Gotta maximize those points ;)

I'm fairness this was 6 years ago. Could be harder now. I have no clue as I got out of the points game.

I ask for forgiveness not permission, use points and am a single, mid-30s woman with 6 weeks of PTO. Also, I’m a much better employee if I take frequent vacations.

likeuplifting

Idk... I get like 7 weeks off per year once you bake holidays in, plus I end up logging a chargeable hour or two every day during vacation which I deduct from my 8 hours of PTO, and I make a decent amount of money so it’s actually kind of easy and the fact that I can make that work is about the only reason I haven’t quit

Also points are basically Monopoly money

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Genuinely confused: how on God’s green earth does OP not take vacation and still maintain a full time job? Who isn’t approving this PTO? How come OP can’t afford trips?

like

I’m not sure how you aren’t taking vacation. I use all of my time every year. Use mostly points for big trips. You can travel cheaper using Airbnb too if you don’t have points

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Four

S2, that hasn’t been my experience. For my group, you also need the approval of your practice lead if it will be longer than one week. Also, all time off still has to be cleared with project leadership. Those tensions drive some of us to have accrued so much vacation that we are maxed out but don’t get to take anything. I have heard of several teams who have been told by Directors that no one on the team is allowed to take vacations and that can go on for 8-12 months.

likeuplifting

Find a new job. Not being allowed to use PTO is kinda the same as not being allowed to earn your full salary. This is unfair and wrong. Don’t work for a firm who perpetuates this bull$hit

likeuplifting

Believe in the ball and throw yourself!

like

OP is afraid to ask for time off while staffed. End of story

likesmart

Either that, or they genuinely believe that the project won’t able able to continue without them. Know a ton of folks who take all the burden on themselves, don’t have anyone that can back them up, then as a result feel they can’t take PTO.

Spoiler: there’s always someone or multiple someones who can do your job while you’re on PTO!!

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I automatically transfer a certain amount of money to a "vacation fund" savings/credit union account each month and fund vacations using that account. It happens automatically (much like automatic investments), and I have adjusted my spending habits not to spend more than I have in my main checking account. #PayYourselfFirst

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Think about it this way. You spend $10 per day on lunch, that’s $300/month, $ 900 every 3 months. Not to mention how many times you eat out a night/weekend. It’s not hard to prioritize financing travel.

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I “work” from “home" 😂

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Unlimited PTO means take what you need when you need it

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It’s called Daddy’s credit card

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Lol - you know, every time I come back I regret it, because that week back is so stressful, I feel you

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