Personally, I take time off between jobs as a rule. After childhood, it's the only way breaks over 3 weeks are possible.
This assumes demand for engineers is still high. It's been awhile since I've done this.
This assumes demand for engineers is still high. It's been awhile since I've done this.
Using "EU" as a blanket term is misleading, as always.
It's not given by the law. By the same token, you can have 4 or more weeks of vacation in the US - if the employer agrees.
In practice, most of the employees do not even ask for 4 weeks at one. Most of them want a week during Christmas, a week during winter for skying, a week in the summer, etc. In some cases, the company can make you to take mandatory vacation at the time when they need it, and of course it is taken out of your four weeks. Car makers, for example, often shut down the entire plant in the summer and everyone gets their vacation then.
So the vacation time is not that clear-cut, not even in EU.