First of all, I think it's an unhealthy myth that if you like your job you should never want to take a break or vacation. That said, neither of these things ar

First of all, I think it's an unhealthy myth that if you like your job you should never want to take a break or vacation. That said, neither of these things are really vacation. A conference IS your job as an academic, it's a forum for sharing information among peers and an opportunity for networking and collaboration. Traditionally a sabbatical is still an academic setting, just not with the professor's traditional duties. Some people may just use it as a vacation but it's associated with more than that, see https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/8557/what-is-an-academic-sabbatical https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/8557/what-is-an...