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Part three in the series of "vacation question" posts. Click here for part two . Another reader's question: Is it common for juniors to take extra unpaid time off to study for CKE, SOA, and UFE? If so, on average how many unpaid days/weeks do people take for each of those tests? Using paid time off (PTO) is both common, and essential. Most companies will give you some paid time off to study, in addition to your vacation time. So you're looking at anywhere between 20 and 50 paid days off to study - most likely a number somewhere in the middle of that range. At the upper end, 50 days translates to 10 5-day weeks. Most juniors take a week or two off for the CKE - the Christmas holidays help you save some of that precious PTO. I never knew the joy of travel during my UFE writing year. But then I didn't show up to work for an entire month the following spring - guess when I took this photo? - so I feel like things balanced out nicely. The SOA is the next big 'sink'...
This is part two, continuing a series of three posts. Previous post . A reader asks: I assume it's next to impossible to take vacation during the busy season, so that leaves April to October, and maybe mid-late December open for vacation requests? But as a junior staff accountant, how hard is it to get vacation during this period, with so many things going on (CKE/SOA/UFE exams)? From your experience, are there any legitimate "tricks" that would maximize one's chances of getting vacation requests approved (e.g. submitting requests at a certain time)? First off, if you're going to take time off during your first year, it means unpaid time off unless you have the Most Generous Employer Ever . I'll explain why tomorrow in part three, but in a nutshell, all your vacation time will be "spent" on study leave, so if you want to take a vacation it's doable, but it'll cost you. If you insist on submitting a vacation request for your first year, do it...