Off-Topic

All sound reasonable, what industry is your company in if you don't mind answering.

I would also say, just save your money in case the rough patch, becomes a dirt road and you get laid off.

Next week might be pushing it for foreign travel, but the answer to the "I have some time off, what should I do" question is always travel. Have any friends who live in cool places that you could visit on short notice?

My buddy did crown moulding throughout his house when the FAA furloughs hit last year.

It's an engineering firm (technically A/E but our recent aquisition of an arch firm was probably a large reason it led to this). On top to 3 weeks furlough, no more OT (I know uncommon regularly in this industry) and no 401 k match.

Luckly have decent savings and potential for odd jobs if and when lay off comes. If I do travel, I'll probably book trip to visit brother in mobile, or just see the fam up in md (which includes wife who goes to md for grad school).

you're in engineering and you are working 65-80 hour weeks, getting furloughed, and not getting benefits? work- you're doing it wrong.

Good luck to ya. I dig your avatar though

lol at not being able to find something to do with a week if you are a well paid person who typically works 60 plus hours.

Went through a similar situation a few years ago my company closed for the week between Christmas and New Years. I'm not wired to sit around the and that is not exactly golf/bike riding season. But I found a lot of things to get done aruond the house, we went to a lot of movies in the afternoon, and it was actually pretty damn awesome.

You got OT at an A/E firm? That's next to unheard of, is it not?

the OT is probably the reason they have to do furloughs

Not really, it was a combination of poor market sectors and piss poor managing of acquisitions.

The latter is what really screwed us.

Really? NOT working 65-80 hours a week is why I decided against a particular A/E firm.

Are you mechanical or electrical? The screen name screams fire protection, but I haven't seen a need for that at the firms I've worked in.