<p>Hey All,
I am graduating soon from Cornell with a BS in Chemical Engineering and I am looking for careers and/or companies that would hire chemEs and have good vacation time off and stuff like that. I don't care is pay is subpar, I would just like a bunch of time off to do things that aren't engineering. Anyone have any ideas or know any friends that landed jobs with good time off?</p>
<p>I hope my employer does not see this thread but General Dynamics does NOT give good vacation time. I don’t know how it is in other parts of the USA and/or other niche industries, but here in the NSA/Fort Meade/INTEL world, experienced engineers like myself are USED to negotiating 4-to-5 weeks of vacation…even if it means adjusting the salary offer.</p>
<p>Not General Dynamics. You get your 2 to 2.5 weeks and that is that. Folks complained so much that they offer a “buy an extra week” option in which you pay a discount rate for an extra week of vacation. Still, GD is not like all the other NSA defense contractors who allow negotiation with vacation time.</p>
<p>I know some of you are like “why does one need 4+ weeks?”. Well, when living in the DC/MD/VA area and 5 snowflakes falling = school closings, then you end up needing those days if you are a parent.</p>
<p>2 weeks paid vacation was pretty standard for all of the offers I got this past fall. The two companies that I decided between both offered the option to buy an extra week of vacation time. Since I’m moving from the Midwest to California, that it is a pretty nice option to have.</p>
<p>For more vacation time than the standard 2 weeks…maybe government or some of the oil industry jobs where you do three weeks on / three weeks off?</p>
<p>You could have a lot of time off if you get the right job in the oil industry. I’d look into that.</p>
<p>Amgen in Thousand Oaks, Ca. Great benefits, vacation, etc.</p>
<p>2 weeks was the standard for my offers this summer.</p>
<p>what are those oil jobs. I have heard of them before but I looked up field engineering companies like schlumberger on the internet and they only get 2 weeks/year also, even though their job is uber intense. I have heard about these jobs and this is the kind of thing I would love to do, but I have no clue what companies do stuff like this and/or what kind of jobs they are. The 3 on 3 off would honestly be my dream job. Can anyone point me in the right direction.</p>
<p>Most consulting companies give 5-6 weeks paid vacation per year. The problem is that you don’t always get to choose when to take it - you usually have to take it during gaps between projects. For the strategy firms (McKinsey, Bain, BCG), that’s not a problem since projects usually run 6 weeks, leaving many opportunities in a given year. For the implementation firms (IBM, Accenture), it can be an issue since projects run 1-2 years so you might only have 1 or 2 chances per year to use that vacation time. The vacation time does usually roll over.</p>
<p>The other advantage of consulting is that since you travel so much for your job, you can usually travel for free on your personal time (using skymiles, hotel points, and car rental points) and you usually get upgraded because of loyalty programs (first class on flights, suites in hotels, fancy cars).</p>
<p>GLOBALTRAVELER, you made me smile. I once worked for Generous Dynamics. One year we went from New Years Day till the 4th of July without a paid holiday.</p>
<p>I don’t think you’re going to find a job w/more than 2 weeks vacation per year. Better to find a job that allows you to travel, so you think you’re on vacation ;)</p>
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<p>Actually, here in our little Fort Meade/Annapolis Junction, MD area, many companies will work with you come offer time. If you have some years experience and had 3-to-4 weeks of vacation at your previous employer, your new employer will accommodate that for an adjusted salary offer.</p>
<p>It was just GD was being hard-nosed on that. I have worked for Boeing and CSC and did not have a problem.</p>
<p>Move to Europe. They get lots of vacation time over there.</p>
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<p>Try looking into some oil companies like Exxon, BP, Conocophillips etc., not just service companies. Those 3 on 3 off type jobs would most likely be upstream. Your degree is more suited for downstream but I know there are definitely lots of chemEs doing upstream work. I can’t really comment on how to get into the upstream sector as a chemE, probably just need high marks.</p>
<p>My employer has 2 weeks vacation the first year, 3 weeks until your 10th year (I think), 4 weeks until your 25th years(?), and 5 weeks after that. Honestly, most industries cannot afford vast amounts of vacation time, and if they do it is usually going to cost you.</p>
<p>Hey, i heard from my friend working in GD right now and he got every other friday off, is this true?</p>
<p>I dont have friday offs but i start with 3 weeks off, which i thought its the standard right now.</p>
<p>Also, my job requires to travel too, but lets just say it is NOT funat all!!</p>
<p>A lot of companies (mine included) offer an optional 9/80 schedule - as a result, you work 9-hr days M-R, and alternate 8-hr Fridays with days off! This doesn’t count against your vacation (since you are still working 80hrs every 2 weeks) and gets you about 3 weeks worth of vacation days… one at a time.</p>
<p>Please note that even companies that offer this cannot extend it to everyone - production lines and proposals defy such a schedule.</p>
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<p>I have a family member that works for GD AIS and she gets every other Friday off, I think it’s just that particular branch though because I got a job with Gulfstream and that is not the case.</p>
<p>Most companies don’t give you 3 weeks until you’re there 5 calendar years. However, in aerospace and some other industries there is usually a week to 10 days year end shutdown which you get in addition to vacation time. Also, if you are on salary you could get compensatory time off which is time off to compensate you for working unpaid overtime.</p>
<p>At General Dynamics, you can work a “9/80” shift, in which 9 hours a day the first week (5 days) and 9 hours a day Mon, Tues, Wed and 8 hours Thursdays of the 2nd week and you are off every other Friday.</p>
<p>One caveat to that…If your off-site customer does not work that schedule, then it is best that you work the hours like your off-site customer.</p>
<p>^ yeah 9/80s are pretty common in aerospace. Some divisions of RTN and LMT have them too.</p>
<p>I’m used to the two weeks per year at the start, also. Keep in mind that usually you start accruing time when you start, so you have NO time then, one week after six months, and two weeks after a year! If you already have travel plans for the first year, you need to bring that up before you’re hired. We always made SURE to have plans, because it’s easier to get approval before you start working than once you’re already onboard.</p>
<p>One time, my husband and I saved up our time and got approval from our immediate supervisor to take off almost three weeks to go to Europe (we figured we’d better do that before we had kids). When a higher-up boss found out, he was livid, but it was too late for him to demand that we cancel our plans. Our supervisor told us he was still glad he approved our plans - he was a great boss.</p>