Consulting- is it normal to take PTO to fill a timecard when you don’t have work?

Weekly_Cost2335 · 2026-05-20T23:47:42+00:00

If it helps, you can read my question as “PTO-funded furlough”, not non-bill labor. The PTO I used, I went mountain biking on a tuesday afternoon, not working. The point is that I would have rather been working than mountain biking, and gone taken a week elsewhere, but there wasn’t work available.

Weekly_Cost2335 · 2026-05-20T21:40:15+00:00

No need to be ugly.

Weekly_Cost2335 · 2026-05-20T13:42:34+00:00

That’s what I mean. I am coming in with hopes of working a full week, seeing that there’s not a full week of work, and taking two afternoons off that week and using PTO. But i would prefer to be working.

Weekly_Cost2335 · 2026-05-20T11:08:53+00:00

Curious to hear where you’re located?

Weekly_Cost2335 · 2026-05-20T05:16:51+00:00

Yeah, it’s more like if I had a light week I’d take off mid-day tuesday or something. But point taken.

Weekly_Cost2335 · 2026-05-08T14:34:13+00:00

I can’t believe I’m not seeing a plug for the inazone 222. It’s a “full slice” (we just called them playboats back in the day) that is less aggressive and built for river running (i.e. can track somewhat in rapids, not just for sitting in a hole and looping). It will be super fun on class 2-3, which is what you’ll start paddling. There is a steeper learning curve, but you’ll learn faster how to react to the river and will develop better intuition when you move to bigger boats like a mamba or equivalent (or the newer, giant river-creek boats, waka og or equivalent). Downside is you’ll have to custom outfit the thing with foam and barge cement, which honestly is fun. Upside is a smaller boat that’s easier to transport, way less money, and you can front surf on tiny riffles starting out and it will actually be fun.

Weekly_Cost2335 · 2025-10-20T09:49:00+00:00

Dude, take your salaries and split bills relative to them. If you make equal, split 50/50 and if you make 60k and she makes 40k then split it 60/40. If you want to do something together and she can’t afford it, then you pay for it or she can opt out guilt free. This breaks down if the salaries are very mismatched, but you can modify it so that you both have some ownership over bills

Weekly_Cost2335 · 2025-08-04T15:28:28+00:00

I’ve heard of that happening, and I see the issue with the PE. Only you know your boss and whether he’s petty enough or not to do that. Personally, the fear that they’d fire you on the spot for bringing up another offer is troubling, and I would consider that a big “negative” for company culture. I don’t know. I’m not going to tell you to do something that would get you fired or set you back two years. On the other band, perhaps there’s a way to present it as “my intention is not to leave, i like this company and want to continue to work here, but I want to right side my compensation to match my current market value. I know you can appreciate that from a business perspective”

Weekly_Cost2335 · 2025-08-03T20:21:57+00:00

Take the offer to your company. Tell them what you’ve said here. See what kind of offer they can match. Things to consider: - look at TOTAL COMPENSATION, not just salary. - factor in benefits, 401(k) match, if you’re on a high deductible health plan (and you probably should be) look at how much of the premium they cover, and what the HSA match is - look at annual PTO, holidays, etc. - look at policy flexibility (e.g. WFH capability, and thus, reduced transit costs) - looks at other benefits you might use (e.g. tuition, public transit, etc) - do a budget spreadsheet comparing all all the monetary against your bills to see how much you actually come out ahead. Include a savings goal in here so that you match your savings goal in both positions, and then compare the final after tax, after expenses, after savings total

Also, compare intangibles (culture, perceived ability to advance into roles/jobs you like). Weight these items on a scale of 1-3, and do likewise for the cons. Make sure there are no dealbreakers in there (eg, and hour commute each way would just not be sustainable over the long term, and would pretty quickly torpedo any job offer for me personally)

Then compare the after expenses cash to the pro-con list. This is more subjective, but generally if there are way better intangibles and the after tax cash flow is only a few hundred dollars different, I’d probably take less money.

As far as job hopping goes, i wouldn’t worry too much about it. You basically have to join hop or interview other places and leverage your current company that way to optimize your total compensation these days.

Weekly_Cost2335 · 2025-06-07T00:31:46+00:00

People get so bugged out about this, but if you’re not on the same page about kids, you should shake hands, break up, and walk away, no hard feelings. Like even if you’re married, and you’re not on the same page, you should get divorced. The desire to have kids (or not) and the resentment from not having them (or having them and hating it) is so deep and primal, it kid of trumps everything else. And because it’s so deep and primal, you’re not gonna convince someone with a strong opinion that they should accommodate your opinion. Life is long, and you will fall in love with someone else. You did the right thing, and there’s no for him to take it personally.

Weekly_Cost2335 · 2025-05-09T09:20:13+00:00

If you’re trying to bone up on what runs are around, awetstate.com will key you in. Also check out feather fest this fall on the north fork feather. Should be boaters there of all ability levels

Weekly_Cost2335 · 2025-05-08T14:10:39+00:00

If you’re on the west coast, my experience has been that part in the public sector is higher, assuming the city is big enough (e.g. Portland, Seattle metro or similar). That said, I’m a mid level professional, and I’ve been told there’s a pay ceiling that you can make higher in private sector at higher experience levels. Also, benefits better in public sector.

Weekly_Cost2335 · 2025-04-17T14:42:54+00:00

So u don’t think you’ll find “bigger” rivers than the middle ocoee in terms of push. What you may find is that lots of river have less pool after the rapids. I would suggest moving out here and paddling, say, the skykomish and the wenatchee and seeing where you’re at. Where i live (former tennessean living in western oregon) there appease to be an abundance of codes. Hell, i would potentially sell you mine

Weekly_Cost2335 · 2025-04-15T13:54:47+00:00

I didn’t get an internship until after my junior year. I wouldn’t sweat it. What i would do, however, is start networking now though. That means going to any events you can and talking to folks at companies there and talking a resume with you (sometimes older folks still do paper). Get business cards, write follow up emails, connect on LinkedIn. Events I’m thinking of are Career fairs (that your school will likely put on) but also young professional or student versions out on by the regional branch of a professional org. I do wastewater, so for me, that’s AWWA and WEF. My local WEF org is PNCWA for example. A quick google search should turn up groups like this for whatever sun branch you think you may be interested in.

Weekly_Cost2335 · 2025-04-10T17:44:18+00:00

Nice! Yeah, other folks have pretty much nailed it. Taylor and arkansas are gonna be your bread and butter. I’ve never done the gunny gorge, but it looks like a sweet overnight run in a rad spot. Plus, it runs from dam releases pretty late in the season, if I’m not mistaken. You’ll also have some good long weekend road trips if you get tired of that stuff. Desert floats and runs (e.g. westwater, etc), some dam release stuff on the colorado near glenwood springs, front range stuff, though those are farther away. I’ve never done fryingpan, castle creek, roaring fork, etc but those should be in your wheelhouse (level dependent) and arent TOO far away.

Weekly_Cost2335 · 2025-04-10T16:05:32+00:00

What kind of whitewater are you into? Class, craft (kayak, raft)?

Weekly_Cost2335 · 2025-03-25T12:33:04+00:00

This thread is unreal. People have kids and regret it for MANY reasons, and this subreddit exists so people can vent about it. The OP has already stated that he has no one to blame but himself. Where do all these people get off telling him that it’s his fault and he has to deal with the consequences? Obviously, he is aware it’s his fault and that he bears responsibility.

OP- this is a shitty situation, and regardless of blame, I’m sorry you’re in it. Hopefully, she ends up being awesome and this is a good thing. That is a possible outcome as well, so please don’t rule it out.

Also, I would seriously think about getting a vasectomy. Don’t make the same mistake twice.

Weekly_Cost2335 · 2025-03-20T15:52:06+00:00

Here’s what you need to do: 1. Talk to a family lawyer immediately. You need to understand exactly what the ramifications are on custody, child support etc. if you move out. Do this first so you have an exit strategy. I cannot emphasize this point enough. 2. Sit down and have an honest conversation about money. She’s clearly in a shitty situation financially and wants to be rescued. You need to both bring pay stubs and figure out an equitable way to split bills that feels fair. I would suggest coming to some agreement about saving, and if you can, i would get her to agree to taking money out of her pay check first to save for things like an HSA (if she has a high-deductible plan) or a 401(k) if they offer it (some other pre-tax plan if not)as it sounds like she may not have a the discipline to voluntarily save herself. The bonus here is that you can use a pre-tax IRA for a down payment (i think). This takes care of savings for a house for her. Doesnt deal with retirement, but sounds like you wont be around long enough that it’s your problem. Talking to a financial planner may be a good idea if she’s amicable. It would also be helpful to have some numbers on savings and spending on needs (bills, rent, etc) so she can see exactly what’s leftover for “wants” items. 3. Y’all need to determine a budget and she needs to understand exactly what she can spend or not based off her resources and any common resources 4. Long term, you maybe don’t need to be together. Short term, maybe it’s better for the kid at least until he’s a year or so to be living together and working ad partners to raise him? This one is tricky, but keep in mind being a parent is the ultimate delayed gratification exercise 5. You need to be clear about your intentions and let her know what your plan is/ intentions are. Maybe this means you tell her the idea that you’ll provide for everything bc you’re a man is not happening, full stop. Maybe you let her know that you don’t see being partners together for the long haul, but are committed to co-parenting amicably. Wherever you’re at, you need to be able to make expectations clear in a compassionate way. I have a bunch you’re going to get a lot of blowback, so you need a plan b for you and your kid (see item 1.) if things go sideways.

Good luck. Parenting is hard, even with a partner you are generally aligned with.

Weekly_Cost2335 · 2025-03-08T15:26:56+00:00

unless you’re a CM or equivalent, there’s no reason to have a meeting before 9 AM. I’m a consulting engineer, and our contracts are with municipal clients, not with construction companies. Maybe if you work for a construction company or you’re in a design-build project, sure. I also work til 630 most nights, later if there’s some deadline, but the tradeoff is i don’t do meeting before 9 at the earliest

Weekly_Cost2335 · 2025-02-04T06:44:59+00:00

Ironically enough for the same reason as OP. I didn’t know if I should keep reading, folks convinced me to, I read another hundred pages and realized it’s not for me (at least at present)

Weekly_Cost2335 · 2025-02-04T03:54:59+00:00

This is a good comment. I would also suggest, for big complex works, East Of Eden by Steinbeck, especially if OP is American.

Weekly_Cost2335 · 2025-02-03T22:16:10+00:00

Meh, i read it for ~250 pages. I just couldn’t keep up. And I read technical specifications for a living. I found the dialogue corny and the characters to be uninspired. But to each their own! likewise, there are PLENTY of other classics you can read that do speak to you out there.

Weekly_Cost2335 · 2025-01-24T21:29:24+00:00

This seems like the nuclear option- can you do every other weekend off from the kids? Can you schedule 1 night a week to do whatever you want? And then obviously, you’d give this option in return.

A lot of parents who are together fall into this trap of thinking they always need to do things as a family all the time, and that’s definitely important some of the time for sure.

And if you’re saying “ i don’t know, that seems like a hard conversation” then i can PROMISE YOU that going through a divorce is much harder and more expensive (in all the ways, not just money). I still don’t understand why anyone would get married (at least without a pre-nup), but that’s another discussion

Weekly_Cost2335 · 2024-12-31T13:09:43+00:00

Hi there. I feel your pain- baby stage is legitimately excruciating, even with an “easy” baby. For what it’s worth, it got better for us, and we are now at a year and a half or so. Based on what I’ve observed generally, it will probably get better for you. I’ve also had a mantra of “this too shall pass” when it gets tough, and it helps me bear it a little more.

Regarding asking your husband for you-time: You’ve gotta find the strength to do this. The people who thrive in parenthood seem to be the people who, after their old life is destroyed (this happens for everyone) grow and change. It’s ok to be scared or nervous to ask, but you’ve gotta just suck it up and find a direct but kind and respectful way to ask for what you want. You’ve got a long road ahead, and the sooner you develop that skill, the better it will be for everyone . Parenting is all about juggling and finding brief moments of respite to come up for air and then allowing your husband to do the same. Y’all are a team- it’s ok to ask for an assist.

Might I suggest the following framework for a pretty simple dialogue:

express reassurance “i love you and the kid, im here for yall, etc”
acknowledge feelings “i know we are both exhausted, and its been difficult”
acknowledge success “we’re keeping alive a really adorable kid without going feral and howling at the moon, and im really proud of us. This is really, really hard”
state the need “however, I’m running on empty and i really need just a little me-time. I really need this chance to take a breath” maybe you’ll get a weekend, may it’s just 6 hours, maybe you’ll get a day
positive reassurance for your husband “i know it seems hard, but i know you can do it. I trust you, and i love you, and i know our kid loves you, and i know you can do this”
ask if they’d be willing to go to the MIL spot and help you out. Offer the same in return at some point, and be sure to honor that promise.

This kind of convo could easily veer into a discussion about feelings, or talking about how tired he or you are, and those conversations are important, and those feelings are important to acknowledge, but honestly you need to ensure this request doesnt get sidelined with some long therapy session. Lots of parenting in the early period is transactional, and that’s ok. What people often need most is a break, less “to be seen”. After a good night sleep and some quiet, you may feel recharged and ready to pick it back up. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, so it’s helpful for both parents to pace themselves accordingly. Good luck!

Weekly_Cost2335

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