[pct-l] What do you guys do for money?

[David Thibault]

I'm an Engineer and have taken 2 Leaves of absence for 6 months each.  I
can't truly say there were no career consequences but they were minimal.  I
worked with my employer to ensure my leaving would have as small an impact
as possible.  I generally work projects that last from a few weeks to
several years, with most being about 9 months of duration.  I arrange my
work so that I'm finishing a project coincident with starting a hike.  For a
thru that could mean spring or late summer as I am open to which direction I
go.

Lots of employers are not too great about this but I suspect (and hope) that
with gen Y's hitting the workforce - taking time off or working a more
project based work style will develop.   I am sure there are many jobs that
just can't have people leave and come back but they are not nearly as many
as most companies would think.  It's really a cultural thing most of the
time.

I still run into people that don't think, I can take time off to pursue
personel goals and interests and still be committed to my job.

>From my point of view, these are sad folks that have given up on dreaming
and living life to its fullest.

There are jobs that are more project based out there or of shorter duration
(i.e. Nursing does lots of contracting, many types of consulting, etc).

Or you could just become hiker trash and be on ski patrol in the winter,
hike in the summer, and live a life of extremely modest income.   Although
this one is 'probably' impossible if a family is desired.


Day-Late






>
> Some employers are no more married to the idea of having their employees
> work 9-5, 40 hours per week, 50 weeks per year than most of us hikers are.
>  I'm a computer programmer with a pretty traditional employer that gives
> two
> weeks vacation in years 0-5, 3 weeks at 5-10, and 4 weeks for years 10-15.
>  But when I suggested that I would give back 15% of my salary in exchange
> for six weeks off every summer, they agreed *and* agreed to make the
> relationship permanent.  I keep my health insurance and its actually a good
> deal for the company too because I miss only about 12% of the work year but
> am giving back 15%.  So I hike 2 weeks every July, 2 weeks in August, and
> 2 weeks in September.  That gets me about 600 miles for the summer alone
> and
> a huge dose of sanity.
>
> Point being that if you make it to the companies advantage to give you time
> off, it might just work out. My employer believes - rightly - that this
> unique arrangement will more than likely lead to loyalty on my part and
> cost
> savings on their part.
>
>
>