It’s official, you have finally made the decision to return to school but you are starting to see dollar signs dance around your head. Don’t get discouraged from achieving your dreams and goals. You know that you most definitely do not want to get a student loan and scholarships are sometimes hard to come by. What if your company offered a tuition reimbursement program? Many large companies are on board these wonderful programs, is your company one of them? If not, consider finding out if your company would ever offer the program. If the company you work for declines the idea, consider applying to one of these companies just for the time being to take advantage of their tuition reimbursement program. Keep in mind though that many companies set limits with the program like the length of time you must stay with them. I think that this may be the only downside to tuition reimbursement programs but it’s definitely worth looking into. Here is a brief list of companies as mentioned by Nicole Klemas which do offer tuition reimbursement.
J.M Smucker Company
If you want to be a part of this jam and jelly giant, this company is good to their employees as they offer a”100 percent tuition reimbursement, with no limit.” Wow! You can’t beat that right? If you apply and land a job opportunity are you willing to relocate to Orrville, Ohio? Hey, it may be worth it just to get reimbursed for going back to school. Check out career opportunities on smuckers.com
Are you a Google geek? If you maintain a B or better in your college studies, Google will reimburse you $12,000 a year you are a full time student. I know, this one may be difficult to achieve especially if you are a working mom, how can you go to school full time too? This may not be for you but maybe you know of someone that may benefit from this opportunity. Feel free to pass this on. Google jobs are available at different office sites globally. Apply for a Google career on google.com.
Bank of America
Bank of America may not have as an impressive reimbursement program as those of Smuckers and Google but you still can get some of your education covered. If you are an undergraduate student you can expect to be reimbursed for $2,000 per calendar year. If you are a graduate student, you can see $4,000 per calendar year. Check out their career opportunities on bankofamerica.com.
Experian
Are you currently working for a credit report agency? What about Experian? Experian reimburses their employees up to $5,250 per calendar year. Learn more about landing a job on experian.com.
Boeing
This Aeronautic giant provides tuition reimbursement to their employees every year. I am not sure of the amount per year but it’s definitely worth looking into when it comes to your education. Interested in an employment opportunity with Boeing? Check out how to apply for a job at boeing.com.
Do you currently work at a hospital and would like to continue your education? Check out these top 5 hospitals that currently offer tuition reimbursment to their employees:
- Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN- One of the many other benefits to this program is relocation expenses!
- Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington, IL-They even give you $5000 forgivable loan to buy a new home.
- Kaiser Permanente’s Oakland Medical Center in in Oakland, CA- This center also offers free concierge services.
- Yakima Valley Memorial in Yakima, WA- One of the other many benefits is on-site child care.
- Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital in Palo Alto, CA-This hospital also offers on-site Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programs, can’t beat that right?
Tuition reimbursement is sounding better and better by the second doesn’t it? Does your company offer this magnificent deal to their employees? If not, would you consider proposing the idea to the current company you work for? Please feel free to share your thoughts, ideas, and experiences on the subject. Have an opinion? Share that too.
*Check out our online list of schools here on classesandcareers.com
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There has been a good bit of discussion lately on the blogs, online newspapers, and educational websites about Georgetown University’s study: What’s it Worth? The Economic Value of College Majors. The study outlines college majors, their popularity, and their earning potential after graduation. If you are trying to decide on a specific career path and online education’s flexibility and convenience appeals to you, it might be good to examine the results of the study before choosing a specific course of study.
In this article, we will examine the most popular major (Business), the major who a high number of graduates end up working in that occupation (Health), and one of the highest paying majors (Computers and Mathematics). All of these majors can be completed online with online degree-granting accredited institutions.
Business
Business is the most popular major group; it accounts for 25% of all majors. Median earnings are $60,000 for those with a Bachelor’s who majored in Business. Business Management and Administration is the most popular major; Bachelor’s degree holders with this major earn $58,000 at the median range. General Business is the second most popular major with median earnings of $60,000. Accounting is the third most popular major and earns $63,000 at the median range.
There is also great variation within these majors; the major with the lowest median earnings is Hospitality Management, while the major with the highest median earnings is Business Economics. Earnings in Business can vary widely from $40,000 all the way up to $90,000 — a difference of $50,000. About 21 percent of people with these majors obtain a graduate degree and, as a result, get an average earnings boost of 40 percent.
Of people who received an undergraduate major in business, 25 percent work in management occupations, 18 percent work in sales occupations, 18 percent work in finance occupations, 12 percent work in office occupations, and 6 percent work in business occupations. By industry, 17 percent work in financial services, 12 percent work in professional and business services, 10 percent work in retail trade, 8 percent work in manufacturing, and 7 percent work in public administration. Of people who obtained an undergraduate major in Business that are in the labor force and employed, 90 percent work full-time. About 5 percent are unemployed.
Health
Frequently, knowledge is used widely across industrial sectors, but in limited cases majors have a tight relationship with an industrial sector. This is especially the case in the health services sector. For instance: Nursing majors lead to employment in the health services industry 84 percent of the time. Of Bachelor’s degree holders who majored in Medical Assisting Services, 77 percent work in the health services industry. 82 percent of Nursing majors end up in health practice occupations, but 6 percent are found in management occupations. About 31 percent of people with these majors obtain a graduate degree and, as a result, get an average earnings boost of 50 percent. Of people who majored in Health, 69 percent work in health practice, 8 percent in managerial, and 4 percent in office occupations. By industry, 72 percent work in health services, 6 percent in retail, and 4 percent in education services. Of Health majors who are in the labor force and employed, 77 percent work full-time. About 2 percent are unemployed.
Computers and Mathematics
This group includes the following majors: Applied Mathematics, Communication Technologies, Computer Administration Management and Security, Computer and Information Systems, Computer Engineering, Computer Networking and Telecommunications, Computer Programming and Data Processing, Computer Science, Information Sciences, Mathematics, Mathematics and Computer Science. Mathematics and Computer Science have median earnings of $98,000. Computers and Mathematics account for 5.1 percent of all majors. Median earnings for those with only a Bachelor’s degree who majored in Computers and Mathematics are $70,000. Earnings in Computers and Mathematics can vary widely, from $48,000 to $100,000 — a difference of $52,000. The major with the highest median earnings is Mathematics and Computer Science, and the major with the lowest median is Communication Technologies. About 32 percent of people with these majors obtain a graduate degree and, as a result, get an average earnings boost of 31 percent.
Of people who majored in Computers and Mathematics, 46 percent work in computers,16 percent in management, 7 percent in office jobs, 6 percent in sales, and 4 percent in business occupations. By industry, 26 percent work in professional and business services, 12 percent in financial services, 11 percent in manufacturing, 7 percent in information services, and 7 percent in education services. Of those with a Bachelor’s in Computers and Mathematics who are in the labor force and employed, 91 percent of those people work full-time. About 6 percent are unemployed.
If you are interested in researching other majors covered in the study, The Chronicle of Higher Education created an interactive tool that lets you look at all the degrees and their median earnings. Get free information from a list of online schools at Classesandcareers.com.
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A recent study by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) shows that most job applicants (with equal experience) have the same chance of getting hired whether their degree was earned online or traditionally. Which is good news for those seeking first time or secondary degrees via the Internet. Online education is known for catering to the busy professional looking to get ahead by increasing his or her marketability with a degree. And for that very reason there are now a variety of majors you can earn online.
However, because of the nature of technology and specific student goals some degrees actually lend themselves more to online education than others. Therefore, even if you have the luxury of selecting how you get your college degree (via online or brick-and-mortar schools) you may want to go the online route, depending on your circumstances. For example, if you’re considering going back to school to get a business degree, online education may be a better option for you. Why? Because in this case online education holds some very specific advantages over brick-and-mortar schools, as shown in these four benefits to getting your business degree online:
- Flexibility
- Speed
- Economical
- Variety
Traditionally, if you went to a brick-and-mortar college to earn a degree you had to quit your fulltime job, because college became your fulltime job. As you can image this scenario wreaks havoc on your finances, especially if you have a family to support. Earning a business degree online however, allows you to not only keep your career going, it also encourages you to incorporate your coursework into your job (and vice versa), depending on your job and area of study. For example, if you’re working on an MBA online in management and you currently manage a department, there may be aspects of your job that could actually give you college credit. By allowing yourself to continue working WHILE going to school online, you’re not putting your career on hold just to get a degree, and thus your bank account won’t take as big of a hit.
One might argue that you don’t have to give up your day job to go to a brick-and-mortar college. There were (and still are) higher education programs that allow you to earn your degree by attending night class on-campus. However, the average bachelor’s degree requires 120 units of coursework; at the rate of one course per semester it could take you literally 10 years of night school just to get your degree.
But an online education program allows you to earn your business degree at a faster pace by taking the same coursework, but at an accelerated rate. And in many cases any previous credits you have from a prior college (or military training) could count toward your degree (which isn’t as common in brick-and-mortar schools). Plus (as mentioned before) your on-the-job experiences could count toward your online business degree, as well. So depending on your area of business study, how many classes you take per semester, your current job duties, and previous transferrable college credits you could finish a four-year business degree in two years or less IF you complete it online.
Although it’s not as common for employers to pay for their employees’ educations, it’s still not unheard of. If your business degree applies directly to your job, then your employer might actually pay for your college degree. However, be aware that most companies require an employment commitment of at least one year (sometimes longer) after you complete your degree if your employer pays for it. In the case of business degrees specifically, employers are more apt to pay for an applicable online degree over its brick-and-mortar counterpart, because in almost every case the online student finishes his or her degree quicker. And if the employer is paying, that means it will cost the company less money.
Among the top four most common online education programs (business, health care, engineering/computers, and education) the business major is the most popular online degree. This means you have your choice of many online schools that offer a variety of degrees, starting with the two-year Associate of Arts (AA) degree and going all the way up to a doctorate degree, depending on the school you select. You also have a wide range of study, including business administration, management, accounting, sales, marketing, information systems, project management and more! True, you have all that in brick-and-mortar schools as well. But the point being you don’t have to give up the convenience of online education just to get the specific business degree you want.
Everyone is different and there’s no guarantee that online education is right for you. However, if you take a hard look at your circumstances and evaluate your current situation, you may find that a earning a business degree online will get you to where you want to be. At the very least it will get a degree you previously didn’t have, and there’s nothing wrong with that!
Get free information about an online business degree from classesandcareers.com!
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