How to get Your Employer to Pay for College

Whether you are going to get an online degree or go to classes on campus to get a degree one of the best ways to pay for your education is to have your employer pay for it. More companies are starting to offer their employees the benefit of paying for their education because of how important it is to get an education. If you happen to work for a company that does not offer to pay for your education do not worry. Just because they do not currently offer tuition reimbursement does not mean that they are not open to the idea. All it means is that nobody has approached them to ask about offering to pay for employees' education.

The only way that you are going to get your employer to pay for your education if they do not currently offer it is to ask them outright if they will pay for your education, or at least part of it. However, asking your employer to pay for your education can be intimidating because of how big that benefit is going to be in the end. Here are some benefits that you can use to help convince them to pay for it.

Number one: Value
Talk to your employer about how if you got your degree you would add more value to the company as an employee. The reason for this is that you would have a wider range of skills, but you will also understand your business and industry better after getting your degree. You will also be better positioned to take a leadership role if it is needed. Companies that have employees with a minimum of a four year degree have an edge over companies that have no employees with a degree. Point this out to your boss to help convince them to go in that direction.

Number two: Stay longer
If your company does things for you that make you happy chances are that you will stay at that company for the long term. Talk to your boss about staying for a minimum number of years after you have completed your degree so that the company can reap the benefits of putting you through college. You can also agree to sign an agreement that you will stay for such amount of time, but you can also stay longer just to prove that you mean what you say.

Number three: Competition
Getting an educated workforce is going to give your company an edge over the competition. The reason for this is that a business is only as good as the people who are keeping it running. Therefore, if none of you has an education chances are slim that you will be able to keep up with the new technology, which can put you out of the running. Having an educated workforce will keep you in direct competition with other companies.

Figuring out what to say to your boss is only the first step in this hard process. The hardest part of this entire process is going to be bringing up the subject with your boss. When you go to talk to your boss about tuition reimbursement, you are going to want to go in prepared. This means you want to schedule a meeting time with your boss so that you will not be interrupted. You also want to bring in the following information:

• Your company - you are going to want to know how well your company is doing in general, who your major competitors are and how well they are doing, and you want to know what steps your company has taken to get ahead of the competitors in the past. You will be able to use this information to highlight how having an educated workforce can help your company get ahead of the local competition or even regional competition.
• Your school and program - know which school you plan on going to and what you plan on majoring in. Also, include the classes that you will be taking that are relevant to your job. Have the pros and cons listed so that you can talk with your boss about talking these classes over other classes and how going to class or getting a degree online is going work better for you.
• Yourself - to convince your boss to pay for your education you are going to have to sell yourself. You want to talk about your previous performance as an employee. You also want to outline what you have contributed to the company since you have been there, and provide details on how you have saved or earned money for the company. You might have to put a dollar value on yourself to help show your boss that you are serious. Then you need to talk about how getting your degree is going to relate to your job. You want to discuss in detail how your degree can make you a better employee by enabling you to do certain things. You also want to talk about how your degree will be a benefit to the company as a whole. What you are doing is making your boss see how valuable you currently are and how valuable you can be once you get your degree.
• Benefits - using the three benefits above you want to discuss with your boss why an educated workforce is good for your company.

The worst thing that can happen when talking to your boss about paying for college is that they can say no. There are plenty of reasons why bosses say no to paying for a college education. They are afraid you will leave and take your degree to a different company once you graduate, worried your degree does not have enough to do with your current job, or perhaps having to pay for it can be costly. No matter what the boss's reasons for saying no are you want to think about every objection that they can have and come up with possible answers to those objections before you meet with your boss. Here is a look at some of the objections they might have and what you can say to address their concerns:

Number one: Commitment
Your boss might be concerned that as soon as you get your degree you will leave the company for a better offer. You need to assure your boss that you have a deep commitment to the company and that you will not leave as soon as you get your degree. One of the best ways to prove this to them is to sign an agreement that commits you to staying with the company for a certain number of years after you have completed your degree. Most companies who offer tuition reimbursement already have this in place.

Number two: Cost
Most employers are concerned about how expensive it can be to pay for a degree, what you need to do is show them that the benefits of paying for a degree outweigh the costs. Talk to them about perhaps being able to write off the expense as a training expense. Or you can talk to them about how the cost of the degree is going to be outweighed by the value that you will bring to the company after earning the degree. When talking to them about the benefits versus the costs you want to be as specific as possible.

Number three: Relates to your job
Your boss can also be concerned about you getting him or her to pay for a degree that will get you an entry level position in a new field, meaning your degree has no relation to your current job position. You need to show them specifically how your degree is going to relate to your current position, cite examples of how you can use your degree to get a better understanding of accounting or even sales.

Number four: Online program
If you have chosen to go after an online degree your boss might not think it is as valid as a degree from a university or local college. Be prepared to talk about the school's accreditation status. You also want to be able to talk about the benefits of taking the courses online. For example, taking courses online gives you more flexibility when it comes to taking classes. You will be able to attend classes, if required, and study without having to take time off from work. Going to school online gives you more freedom than taking classes in the classroom.

Your boss might not say yes to this proposal right away, but that does not mean that you should give up. You do not want to be annoying, but you do want to follow up with the suggestion in about two weeks. If your boss still says, no after two weeks try negotiating some more to see if you can get them to pay for a smaller portion of your tuition or perhaps just your books. Getting some help is better than getting none at all.