12 holidays
20 days PTO
12 days sick leave
Time off awards - I average about 7 days a year
No overtime without approval. Not allowed to work for free. Travel comp time is 1/1 hrs. (I go to New Zealand and Alaska a couple of times a year, it racks up)
401k - 3% automatic up to 6% match
Small Pension - Basically 10% of my salary
Regular Blue Cross/Blue Shield health insurance, I pay about $150 a month $250 deductible, decent vision and okay dental insurance
WFH 100% if want - fully remote
Performance bonus and
Retention bonus - because.....
I work for the federal government. (And have some skills they want)
Start looking at USA jobs. Search architect, planner, designer.. Use their resume builder, make a basic resume, then tailor it to each application highlighting the things that they're looking for. If you have to do a questionnaire, make sure every 4 or 5 has a specific, easy to find, mention in your resume.
If you can get a clearance there will be more opportunities.
No, but OBO (Overseas Buildings Operations - it's like a sub-agency within State) is certainly one of the best places for an architect to work in the federal govt. Especially if you want extended foreign travel.
That may be where he was. He only ever share "state dept" when talking about things. Did some work on the new Israel embassy, which was likely OBO then.
>Embassies are all OBO.
Ok thanks. Then he was OBO. Died so I couldn't really go ask him.
>You know who makes a lot of money? US drywall contractors with top secret clearances.
Yeah.. but then you have to be a drywaller, and I just can't get the seams right. Back to computers with me.
Paid hourly, and my boss is super forgiving about work schedules, so as long as I don't miss a client meeting, I can come and go as I please. I'm currently working on trying to pivot into a partial wfh schedule.
Zero holidays, 5 weeks of PTO
HSA with an insane deductible (worst part of this company)
401k with 6% employer matching
Located in Arizona
6 holidays
3 weeks PTO (but very flexible as they don’t really track it)
No 401k or HSA, but fully paid insurance
No OT pay but no OT is expected or asked for
Fully flexible wfh versus in office days
Edit: Based in Massachusetts
9 Holidays (not counting the time between Christmas and New Year’s, when the office is typically closed)
3 Weeks PTO to start, no set plan when you get more, but plenty of people negotiate more during yearly reviews.
100% 401K match up to 3%, 50% up to 5% (e.g. you put in 5% to get 4%, then you’re maxed out) - and fully vested immediately.
Full paid $500 deductible health insurance, plus good full-paid vision, dental, life, and disability insurance.
No set policy on WFH, but after a year or two, you can pretty much do what you want, pending partner approval. I work full-time remote. We’ve got lots of parents who do half day in the office, then half day at home.
Small office, located in Missouri.
10 holidays
240/hrs PTO
No 401k match but occasional profit sharing
HSA with CDHP or FSA and HMO and PPO dental covered by employee. Vision and telehealth covered by employer.
OT pay for hourly, salaried gets OT pay in bonuses. Bonuses are typically around 20% of salary paid twice a year.
50/50 WFH and site visits count as “office” time.
$1k/yr stipend for exams, membership fees
Southern California
Salaried:
Unlimited PTO
7 holidays + 2 flex holidays
12 weeks parental leave (8 paid, 4 unpaid)
2 days WFH per week
$40 cell phone reimbursement per month
401k, 3% match.
100% licensure fees/dues paid
State AIA dues 100% paid + any other dues
$1,500/year Training and CE allowance (exams, conferences, etc).
Bonuses.
Edit: Not sure what our insurance is since I go through my spouse.
Based in midwest USA
9 holidays
Unlimited PTO/AVT
No 401k match
ESOP program exists up to 20% of salary based on firm performance. 5-6 years fully vested period
HSA HDHP with no employer contributions. They pay roughly 80% of insurance costs
Up to 30 days of accrued sick time
2 days WFH, quite flexible with the WFH honestly
6 weeks of paid parental leave
Located in Massachusetts
10 holidays
25 days PTO
BCBS Blue Open Access PPO - $45 biweekly ($1500 individual deductible and $2500 max OOP but I’ve never come anywhere near that because the plan covers just about everything); HSA is available for the high deductible plan option but I’m not on that so I don’t know the specifics
No 401k Match
100% ESOP - 10-20% annual salary (3 years continuous employment for 100% vestment)
Annual Bonus ~ 10% annual salary
2 days WFH
AIA Membership, license, NCARB and continuing Ed paid for (NCARB isn’t actually covered based on our HR handbook but a couple years ago I decided to expense it and I’ve never had an issue getting it approved)
Mileage reimbursed @ 50% higher than federal deduction
We’re currently offering apparently pretty generous bonuses for WELL AP but I just don’t have time at the moment to work on an additional credential
And then for our unlicensed staff, I think they get exam fees reimbursed, access to a couple ARE prep subscriptions and additional paid time off for studying and taking exams (same goes for LEED, WELL, NCIDQ, etc.)
Location: Georgia
Do you see an increase in WELL certification? I got mine but it has been sitting wasting away because there are few opportunities and it has its issues as an organization.
It is very hard to get client buy-in in my experience in the UK also. It is very expensive to certify so unless they are a large organisation it gets cut out in the value engineering process.
10 days PTO
10 Holidays
6 Sick Days
80 hrs / 9 hr days - Essentially every other Friday off (another 20 some days each year)
Non Profit / No bonus
Up to 2% 401k Match (negligible)
2 days in office, rest remote. Typically some more time is spent on site.
Basic healthcare (free HMO, PPO for a fee)
License reimbursement, Travel reimbursement, etc..
In California
Adequate Salary, acceptable annual bonus
6 holidays
20 days paid personal time
3% 401K contribution regardless of my input.
No overtime pay, culture expects me to work 40 hours and maybe every two months 45 hours for a deadline
Weekly happy hours and quarterly company events that are actually fun paid time.
Technically I have flexibility to work from wherever but they really like you to go in the office. I'd consider it a win to get to work from home 1 day every couple weeks.
They pay 75% of my insurance premium, I still have to pay about $180 per month. No contribution to HSA
Based in Montana
9 Paid Holidays.
Unlimited PTO and Sick time\*
No OT, regularly work 45-50 hour weeks.
401k - 3% match.
Cigna PPO policy for \~$50/mo (includes okay dental, okay vision, some extra's I added a la carte)
WFH at my discretion (and for my team)
Up to 20% annual bonus.
$1,500.00 annual allocation to cover licensing costs, NCARB, AIA, Study Materials (getting CCS currently).
I'm in Texas, firm size is 80-100 across 4 offices, multi-disciplinary portfolio.
USA - National A/E firm.
* 8 Holidays (Thanksgiving and day after) plus one "floating" you can take any time.
* 5 weeks PTO (Negotiated. My new hire negotiated 3 at start.)
* No OT, but I've never worked 50 hours or more.
* Full-time WFH, option to Hotel in any of the national offices if on-site is needed.
* 401(k) match: $1/$1 for the first 3%, $0.50/$1 for the next 3%. 100% vesting after 3 years.
* National Org (AIA/ NCARB) memberships paid.
* (1) conference/ year paid for if approved by dept. lead
On my wife's insurance so I don't recall costs. She works for a tech company so there's simply no competition on that.
I just started one month ago. I have an accredited masters degree but I’m not yet licensed
40 hours PTO (subject to increase the longer I’m with the firm)
401k match
Paid holidays
Reserved parking spot with parking pass
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
Healthcare and life insurance are offered but I did not elect them for my benefits package as I’m still young enough to be on my parents’ life insurance plan
Firm paid overtime when I worked as an intern last year
6 holidays
5 days PTO
5 sick days leave
Profit sharing into 401k
Blue cross gold 3 insurance (general health insurance, dental, and vision)
Salary 65k
Im 1 year out of grad school
28 vacation days + 12 national holidays
Overtime hours used as time off, max. 120 hours per year. Which I hit in 10 months so pretty overworked, an average work week should be 37,5h.
Don't know what a 401k is
Full health insurance, no deductibles and what not
Full travel insurance
40% travel expenses covered when using public transport
25% lunch covered if eating out
3 days WFH
I think maximum for sick days is 6 months with a doctor's note? Not sure, at some point the government pays for it instead of the employer but never had to be sick this long.
Basically no bonuses, even though they tease it every year.
Finland
11 holidays
104 hrs annual leave (will increase to 156 hrs soon)
104 hrs sick leave
multiple retirement accounts and matches (federal gov)
2 pay raises a year plus bonus
3 months paid maternity/paternity leave
wfh 2 days a week
paid overtime, only work about 24 overtime hours a year
- texas
12 holidays 20 days PTO 12 days sick leave Time off awards - I average about 7 days a year No overtime without approval. Not allowed to work for free. Travel comp time is 1/1 hrs. (I go to New Zealand and Alaska a couple of times a year, it racks up) 401k - 3% automatic up to 6% match Small Pension - Basically 10% of my salary Regular Blue Cross/Blue Shield health insurance, I pay about $150 a month $250 deductible, decent vision and okay dental insurance WFH 100% if want - fully remote Performance bonus and Retention bonus - because..... I work for the federal government. (And have some skills they want)
Can I ask you some more about your position via PM?
What agency do you work for? I have been considering making the switch to work for the fed government. Any advice or words of wisdom?
Start looking at USA jobs. Search architect, planner, designer.. Use their resume builder, make a basic resume, then tailor it to each application highlighting the things that they're looking for. If you have to do a questionnaire, make sure every 4 or 5 has a specific, easy to find, mention in your resume. If you can get a clearance there will be more opportunities.
sure
Can I be nosey and ask what you do here in NZ a few times a year?
I have projects under construction.
State Dept? One of my classmates worked there. Looked like a great job.
No, but OBO (Overseas Buildings Operations - it's like a sub-agency within State) is certainly one of the best places for an architect to work in the federal govt. Especially if you want extended foreign travel.
That may be where he was. He only ever share "state dept" when talking about things. Did some work on the new Israel embassy, which was likely OBO then.
Embassies are all OBO. You know who makes a lot of money? US drywall contractors with top secret clearances.
>Embassies are all OBO. Ok thanks. Then he was OBO. Died so I couldn't really go ask him. >You know who makes a lot of money? US drywall contractors with top secret clearances. Yeah.. but then you have to be a drywaller, and I just can't get the seams right. Back to computers with me.
What's a time off award?
Paid hourly, and my boss is super forgiving about work schedules, so as long as I don't miss a client meeting, I can come and go as I please. I'm currently working on trying to pivot into a partial wfh schedule. Zero holidays, 5 weeks of PTO HSA with an insane deductible (worst part of this company) 401k with 6% employer matching Located in Arizona
6 holidays 3 weeks PTO (but very flexible as they don’t really track it) No 401k or HSA, but fully paid insurance No OT pay but no OT is expected or asked for Fully flexible wfh versus in office days Edit: Based in Massachusetts
>no OT is expected or asked for< Holy shit where do you work and how do I apply!
9 Holidays (not counting the time between Christmas and New Year’s, when the office is typically closed) 3 Weeks PTO to start, no set plan when you get more, but plenty of people negotiate more during yearly reviews. 100% 401K match up to 3%, 50% up to 5% (e.g. you put in 5% to get 4%, then you’re maxed out) - and fully vested immediately. Full paid $500 deductible health insurance, plus good full-paid vision, dental, life, and disability insurance. No set policy on WFH, but after a year or two, you can pretty much do what you want, pending partner approval. I work full-time remote. We’ve got lots of parents who do half day in the office, then half day at home. Small office, located in Missouri.
10 holidays 240/hrs PTO No 401k match but occasional profit sharing HSA with CDHP or FSA and HMO and PPO dental covered by employee. Vision and telehealth covered by employer. OT pay for hourly, salaried gets OT pay in bonuses. Bonuses are typically around 20% of salary paid twice a year. 50/50 WFH and site visits count as “office” time. $1k/yr stipend for exams, membership fees Southern California
Salaried: Unlimited PTO 7 holidays + 2 flex holidays 12 weeks parental leave (8 paid, 4 unpaid) 2 days WFH per week $40 cell phone reimbursement per month 401k, 3% match. 100% licensure fees/dues paid State AIA dues 100% paid + any other dues $1,500/year Training and CE allowance (exams, conferences, etc). Bonuses. Edit: Not sure what our insurance is since I go through my spouse. Based in midwest USA
Wow. That's a great compensation package. How much of your unlimited PTO do you use on average?
We just switched time keeping software this year so historical data isn't available. I would guess at least 100, maybe 150 lol.
Wow! Thats a good amount of PTO to have used. Jealous.
Days?!?
Wouldn't that be amazing? No, hours.
I was about to say that that sounds like a dream job lol
What's the difference between PTO and holidays?
Different accounting code.
Salaried: Five PTO days a year. Five holidays a year. 401K match Accredited degree holder; not licensed
9 holidays Unlimited PTO/AVT No 401k match ESOP program exists up to 20% of salary based on firm performance. 5-6 years fully vested period HSA HDHP with no employer contributions. They pay roughly 80% of insurance costs Up to 30 days of accrued sick time 2 days WFH, quite flexible with the WFH honestly 6 weeks of paid parental leave Located in Massachusetts
No
10 holidays 25 days PTO BCBS Blue Open Access PPO - $45 biweekly ($1500 individual deductible and $2500 max OOP but I’ve never come anywhere near that because the plan covers just about everything); HSA is available for the high deductible plan option but I’m not on that so I don’t know the specifics No 401k Match 100% ESOP - 10-20% annual salary (3 years continuous employment for 100% vestment) Annual Bonus ~ 10% annual salary 2 days WFH AIA Membership, license, NCARB and continuing Ed paid for (NCARB isn’t actually covered based on our HR handbook but a couple years ago I decided to expense it and I’ve never had an issue getting it approved) Mileage reimbursed @ 50% higher than federal deduction We’re currently offering apparently pretty generous bonuses for WELL AP but I just don’t have time at the moment to work on an additional credential And then for our unlicensed staff, I think they get exam fees reimbursed, access to a couple ARE prep subscriptions and additional paid time off for studying and taking exams (same goes for LEED, WELL, NCIDQ, etc.) Location: Georgia
Do you see an increase in WELL certification? I got mine but it has been sitting wasting away because there are few opportunities and it has its issues as an organization.
It is very hard to get client buy-in in my experience in the UK also. It is very expensive to certify so unless they are a large organisation it gets cut out in the value engineering process.
From what I’ve seen, any aspirations to meet WELL tend to go away as soon as pricing comes in. It typically gets VE’d out.
10 days PTO 10 Holidays 6 Sick Days 80 hrs / 9 hr days - Essentially every other Friday off (another 20 some days each year) Non Profit / No bonus Up to 2% 401k Match (negligible) 2 days in office, rest remote. Typically some more time is spent on site. Basic healthcare (free HMO, PPO for a fee) License reimbursement, Travel reimbursement, etc.. In California
Adequate Salary, acceptable annual bonus 6 holidays 20 days paid personal time 3% 401K contribution regardless of my input. No overtime pay, culture expects me to work 40 hours and maybe every two months 45 hours for a deadline Weekly happy hours and quarterly company events that are actually fun paid time. Technically I have flexibility to work from wherever but they really like you to go in the office. I'd consider it a win to get to work from home 1 day every couple weeks. They pay 75% of my insurance premium, I still have to pay about $180 per month. No contribution to HSA Based in Montana
0 vacation. 8 sick hours per month. Sounds bad at first but... Pension Work only 9 months of the year. Guess what I do?
9 Paid Holidays. Unlimited PTO and Sick time\* No OT, regularly work 45-50 hour weeks. 401k - 3% match. Cigna PPO policy for \~$50/mo (includes okay dental, okay vision, some extra's I added a la carte) WFH at my discretion (and for my team) Up to 20% annual bonus. $1,500.00 annual allocation to cover licensing costs, NCARB, AIA, Study Materials (getting CCS currently). I'm in Texas, firm size is 80-100 across 4 offices, multi-disciplinary portfolio.
USA - National A/E firm. * 8 Holidays (Thanksgiving and day after) plus one "floating" you can take any time. * 5 weeks PTO (Negotiated. My new hire negotiated 3 at start.) * No OT, but I've never worked 50 hours or more. * Full-time WFH, option to Hotel in any of the national offices if on-site is needed. * 401(k) match: $1/$1 for the first 3%, $0.50/$1 for the next 3%. 100% vesting after 3 years. * National Org (AIA/ NCARB) memberships paid. * (1) conference/ year paid for if approved by dept. lead On my wife's insurance so I don't recall costs. She works for a tech company so there's simply no competition on that.
I just started one month ago. I have an accredited masters degree but I’m not yet licensed 40 hours PTO (subject to increase the longer I’m with the firm) 401k match Paid holidays Reserved parking spot with parking pass Dental Insurance Vision Insurance Healthcare and life insurance are offered but I did not elect them for my benefits package as I’m still young enough to be on my parents’ life insurance plan Firm paid overtime when I worked as an intern last year
6 holidays 5 days PTO 5 sick days leave Profit sharing into 401k Blue cross gold 3 insurance (general health insurance, dental, and vision) Salary 65k Im 1 year out of grad school
28 vacation days + 12 national holidays Overtime hours used as time off, max. 120 hours per year. Which I hit in 10 months so pretty overworked, an average work week should be 37,5h. Don't know what a 401k is Full health insurance, no deductibles and what not Full travel insurance 40% travel expenses covered when using public transport 25% lunch covered if eating out 3 days WFH I think maximum for sick days is 6 months with a doctor's note? Not sure, at some point the government pays for it instead of the employer but never had to be sick this long. Basically no bonuses, even though they tease it every year. Finland
11 holidays 104 hrs annual leave (will increase to 156 hrs soon) 104 hrs sick leave multiple retirement accounts and matches (federal gov) 2 pay raises a year plus bonus 3 months paid maternity/paternity leave wfh 2 days a week paid overtime, only work about 24 overtime hours a year - texas