The average American worker gets 8.9 vacation days a year, barely enough time to attend two out-of-town summer weddings, a family reunion, and still fit in a few long weekends at the shore. Your job description likely plays the biggest part in deciding how many days you get paid to fly the coop. White-shoe professions typically score more days than blue-collar ones. For example, office managers get 12.9 days versus, say, the 7 awarded to construction workers. For those weighing the plusses and minuses of a career change—and taking vacation days into account—here are the factors that will determine how many days off you’ll earn. By Sarah Wexler