US vacation times are nuts. Honestly I don't understand how people can cope with only total of few weeks of vacation per year for decades and additionally do over 40h per week constantly.
Hehe, a 'few weeks'. It's far more common to get 0 or 1 paid week if you don't have an office job, and even then you usually have to be with a company for at least 3 years to get more than 2 weeks, which is becoming less and less desirable if you want to advance in your career now that pensions are virtually extinct.
Unemployment is our only real vacation, and those who go through extended periods of that know it feels like anything but.
Software developers might have it better, although not always. Here in the midwest I have yet to interview anywhere that offered more than 2 weeks of vacation for a new hire.
Wow. That's low. Boston area e-commerce and we offer all employees (SWE or not) 19 days in year 1 and add a day per year of tenure until reaching 24 days. Add to this the 8-9 company holidays (too lazy to look it up) and a 4-week paid sabbatical every five years and you approach European levels of leave.
I think our sabbatical program isn't common, but the rest of the policy seems fairly standard for the area.
Edit: We also accrue sick time at some pace (maybe 5 per year that don't roll over; I honestly have no idea as I've never tracked nor taken a sick day (in the HR systems); of course, I've stayed home while sick when warranted) and have paid parental leave (6 weeks paid for primary and 2 weeks paid for secondary caregiver).
For a comparisson, in an SF based org with 2/3 remote engineers we have 14 regular holidays, most of which can be taken +- 2 weeks of official date, plus 5 days at the end of the year. Start with 12 days PTO (negotiable), 15 at 1 year, 20 at 5 years and 25 at 10 years. All employees acrue 9 sick days per year. Additionally can take 2 paid days off to volunteer at a non profit or educational institution. There is also a sabbatical program, but it's unpaid and for up to 2 months. This can be taken every 3 years. Parental leave is 12 weeks of 100% pay.
If taking all possible days, in the first year you have 42 days off, up to 55 by year 10
Software developers only have it better if they work for the government or one of the top firms that happens to have a laid back policy (e.g. Microsoft, instead of Amazon).
No wonder people burn out.