first time poster

Hello everybody,

I need some advice. I will start graduate school in Fall 08 at an out of state public school- getting my M.S. in Food Science degree. I didn't recieve an assistantship like I had hoped so I am trying to get creative so I don't have to take out all my expenses in loans. Tuition alone will be $25000 a year (2 years).
Here's the part where I need help. Currently I work at a small-mid sized food manufacturing company. As of now they do not offer tuition assistance to their employees, but I know several bigger companies will assist their employees with furthering their education in exchange for a contract to work for them for x years after graduation. I want to approach the owner of the company with such an idea. Any advice from you business/financial minded people on what points I could make to show that it could be a win/win situation?

allie

I can't see what you could possibly say that would make them think giving you $25k a year, while you leave the state as well as their employ, on a promise to return one day, someday, whenever you graduate, is a good idea.

The way these deals typically work is this -- You continue to work for them, you get the tuition, you sign the contract to work for them for X years after graduation, the contract stipulates that if you don't, you owe them the tuition in full plus interest, etc. Also, since they have you by the throat, they typically pay you less than the going rate for a person with that degree, and there's not much you can do about it.

Most employees want the benefit of what you're learning to be part of their working with you the whole time -- that is, you work for them while in college, and they begin to benefit from your expertise almost immediately. You're asking them to cut you loose AND pay for college. Only parents do that, not employers.

Good Luck. I strongly suggest looking into financial aid, work/study, or internship opportunities the department offers to help with tuition. ALSO, if that $25k is the out-of-state rate, I STRONGLY urge you to become a resident of that state at once -- the second you get there, get that state's driver's license, tag for your car, voter's registration card, etc. The next year, you should be eligible for the in-state rate, which will help significantly.

I know of one case (my brother) who convinced his employer to substitute employer-paid medical benefits for a monthly payment toward to Masters tuition costs while going part-time. After completing the degree, the substitution went toward his relatively small student loans he accumulated PRIOR to being employed and had gone to school full time for his bachelors degree.

It was a high risk strategy to forgo the medical benefits, but he was still phsychologically invincible as a young, very healthy and single individual.

Usually you need to make these types of agreements BEFORE you apply and attend a college. You are trying to do this the opposite way and I believe this will be very difficult. I think your best bet is to get a graduate plus loan and just pay it off. Since you are the one approaching the company and are desparate, since you didn't think this through ahead of time. I am sure you will get the short end of the deal. In this way you would probably get paid less by the employer in the long run than you would pay back in loans.

Just pure opinion and my skepticism though. Its worth a shot. Just make sure you look at the salaries for the potential lost each year based on what you would expect to make without such an offer. Then weight it against the cost of the loan and interest (you can assume drastically lower total interest if you were to pay off the student loans early).