I currently work full-time for the Department of Defense. I usually get three-weeks worth of paid time off every year. This has been helpful because I like to go back home to visit family for about two weeks or take a long weekend and visit friends around the country.
I will be starting my master's degree program this coming fall and I have managed to obtain a part-time graduate research assistantship (GRA). In reading the student handbook, I noticed that GRAs are required to work year-round and only allowed to observe certain holidays. There is a provision that you can work more hours over several weeks in order to get some consecutive days off.
My question is, in the graduate student lifestyle, is my dream of maintaining 2-3 vacation weeks a year completely thrown out the window? Will I be expected to stay on campus and work every single possible day? Do GRAs grant vacation hours that you can accrue?
Thank you for your time.