Career By Design

Hello everyone,

Given the current situation, many professionals are finding themselves with an abundance of accrued vacation time but nothing to spend it on.
Being that many companies do not roll over all their vacation time;

What are some creative ways to use your vacation?

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Daniel Bressler EIT, A.M.ASCE
Junior Engineer
Brooklyn NY
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If your company has a PTO donation program you can donate some PTO to a coworker that is only able to work part time or had to take two weeks off because of a positive COVID test.

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Dustin Leduc A.M.ASCE
Field Engineer
Sambatek
Shakopee MN
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I think short vacations are still great for mental break and recharge. I would go hiking or camping a few days during the week to avoid the crowds

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Tung Nguyen, PhD
Water Resources Engineer
Sacramento, CA
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You could use it for a volunteer opportunity.  Every town is different regarding what volunteer opportunities are available right now, but I know in my area Habitat for Humanity is back to building houses and always in need of volunteers.

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Nancy Streu EIT, A.M.ASCE
Civil Engineer
Muscatine Power & Water
Muscatine IA
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One idea would be to find a learning opportunity for a hobby and do that from home as a staycation. There are tons of options out there now for learning a new craft or skill through kits, subscriptions, video lessons, etc.

This weekend I worked on catching up on some watercolor tutorials. If I had PTO that needed to be used, I might take a few days and dedicate them to watercolor.

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Heidi Wallace EI,P.E.,M.ASCE
P.E.
Tulsa OK
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