Of all the many benefits that employers can offer their employees, one that is usually underappreciated—but potentially most valuable— is tuition reimbursement. Not all companies offer help with college, of course, and recent economic belt-tightening has reduced the numbers, but still, two of three American companies offer assistance for undergraduate education (down from 78% in 2004), and 56% offer assistance for grad school.
Wouldn't you love to take some classes, or maybe get a graduate degree, and have it all be totally free? J.M. Smucker, the Ohio-based jelly company, reimburses their employees for 100% of the cost of their tuition with no limit, and Google reimburses up to $12,000 per calendar year for a full-time load (which is a big commitment with a fulltime job, too), as long as you get at least a B grade.
It's no coincidence that these are named top companies to work for. According to Great Place to Work Institute the group that compiles the FORTUNE's 100 Best Companies to Work For list, Smucker is #47 and Google is #4 on the list. McDonald's tuition assistance program will reimburse up to $5,250 a year (which is the maximum IRS exemption), and $2,000 for part-time employees, which in effect adds two dollars an hour to someone's earnings. UPS has a program called Earn and Learn where students can have their tuition, expenses and transportation paid for if they work a part-time schedule; since 1999, UPS has paid out more than $47 million in tuition assistance alone.
These companies are all very different, but they all understand that their competitive edge comes from the caliber of their employees, and that companies where people are happy attract and retain their talent, and so the company is much more successful. Win-win.
Companies know the value in growing their talent in-house, too. They recognize that when their people are learning, they're thinking and focusing on improvement. Your company's investment in your education today is an investment in their company tomorrow. And you get to keep what you learned and build your career with it. Again, it's a win-win.
How does tuition reimbursement work? It depends.
The rules, limits and criteria for each company's plan will vary. Some companies only reimburse for courses that are specifically work-related. Most require that you complete the course with at least a passing grade. A recent Quant Network article outlines specific tuition assistance plans for the financial industry; they say Morgan Stanley has a generous $10,000 maximum, and Citigroup which will pay $3,000 per year.
Some companies not only pay for advanced degrees, but allow for paid time off for the blocks of time needed for intensive programs. Senior-level employees are often given paid leave for executive education programs, and I've interviewed candidates whose company sent them away to grad school and had their new upgraded job waiting for them when they returned. Rare, but possible.
If you're one of the lucky ones who works for a company with a tuition assistance program, I'm going to strongly encourage you—very strongly— to take advantage of it. They offering to pay you, in tax-free dollars, to expand your mind, improve your resume, and put some new life into your career. This is definitely something to say 'yes' to.
There's a lot to gain from taking classes using your company's tuition reimbursement benefits:
Ongoing education is a good idea no matter how you look at it, but if you work for a company that will pay you back for your investment in yourself, then there is no excuse not to do it.
If you're worried about being the only seasoned worker in a seat of kids, don't. More over-50s are going back to school to sharpen their skills, move their career forward, or just for fun, and the demographic of night classes skews older.
Figure out how your company's rules work and find some classes that both meet their criteria, with content that makes you feel excited, and maybe a little scared, to take on. That feeling of being a little scared lets you know that you're stretching yourself, and that is what makes life interesting.
You may only have the time and bandwidth to take one course at a time, and that's fine. On the other hand, if you find yourself thinking you might like to scrap the job entirely and go to college full-time, the website CollegeTransfer.net walks you through the decision process, including considering your support systems, your learning style and whether the long-term payoff is worth it if it means racking up student loans (hint: if you're mid-career or later, it might not be).
But if you're one of the lucky one who can get reimbursed for going to school on your employer's dime, don't waste it. Go find a class, meet some people, get some new ideas, and feel the thrill of learning just for the fun of it.
In the end, your employer wins, and so do you.