Companies paying for Graduate School.

[Craig]

Maybe this should go in the Rant Room, but ...

I've been a several companies and none of them really seemed interested in any continual education for their employees that wasn't directly work related. So while they'll shell out the bucks for "training" in useless 1-week (or less) classes on relatively obscure software packages, they don't seem interested in their employees taking graduate classes toward a MS or MBA degree.

Really how much do they expect to get when they send us half way across the country (or even overseas) to take some class that's less than a week where we are just following examples in a 3-ring binder. Is it that much better than letting us go to the bookstore and buying a book. Oftentimes, I have even gone to training for things I have never used (like when I was at the consulting firm).

Isn't the investment in a graduate degree a better investment to the company as it both ties us down to the employer long-term and helps us expand and practice on more general skills that are appicable toward improving process in the current and future projects. Also, the employee would be doing the graduate coursework on their own time, not the companies.

So, do employers really value a buzzword next to a 2-day training class over the long term investment of a Masters degree ? From my observation, this definitely seems to be the case many times.

[Ryan]

alot of places, not all. especially hospitals. i plan on going back for my masters, and the organization offers tuition reimbursement and in some cases will just pay it up front. :dance:
dont know why more places dont do this..

[DaBestSpooner]

UPS pays full tuition cus they only hire from within for management, you gotta start out as a driver first, but drivers get paid well 60's-70's.

American Express only pays 5000 a semester as long as you maintain a B average

My current employer doesnt cover grad school, but I get up to 2000 per half year for technical courses, full reinbursement of technical books and online courses

[kimpossible]

My husband actually got his MBA courtesy of his company. They promptly and consistently covered 60% of his tuition while allowing him to work remotely so he could take classes on campus. Additionally, he's been offered programs for patent law and phD from the same company. They've been very good about delivering on what they promise regarding further education while continuing to work.

[amietron]

my dad works at hitachi, and i think he said they offer 3-4 thousand dollars per semester. i don't really know anything else about the program. =\

[Chris]

Most of the company have scale back these type of program due to the economy and company being force to save money. More of the bigger companies would have these incentives depending on what type of company.

[luv]

I think Northern Trust does really well with tuition reimbursement. I guess I would be afraid that my employee would jump ship after spending thousands on him/her. (Employment loyalty not exactly at an all-time high these last couple years.)

I just got accepted into grad school -- now i have to find a way to work for the school (for like $7.00/hr) to waive the tuition. Since the economy is really shitty i highly doubt there are many companies willing to spend on their employees even if it may be better in the long term.

[amietron]

congrats on being accepted into grad school, ms. luv!

[luv]

Thank You!!

:rolleyes:

[artsfartsyjanet]

I suppose UPS offers tuition reimbursement or what not, but because they promote from within... it doesn't leave much room for upward mobility for women in that company. They've been slapped with multiple lawsuits about that. And their idea of leadership is ONLY a tall white male. Research it yourself if you want.

[ellsworth81]

well, some companies are reluctant to cover your tuition for an MBA because 1) after using them to subsidize your costs you can bounce and they get none of the benefit (unless there's some kind of golden handcuff that commits you to the company) 2) or a grad. degree really offers no added value to the company (depending on the company and industry).

[iris]

The Big 5 finance firms still offer to pay for grad school as long as you show promise and loyalty to the company. They expect you to come back and work for them for a while and they'll make you sign a contract.

For most companies, even if they don't have a program, you can lay out a presentation indicating which classes you want to take and how it will benefit the company. Visit HR and some will actually consider it.