What's the best strategy for going back to school to advance your career? First, go to school online so you can more easily manage balancing school and your life. Second, get someone else to pay your tuition so you can avoid or minimize student loan debt.
Believe it or not, a surprising number of companies are willing to foot the bill for you.So how you can find those companies? Inc.com has created a searchable tool to help readers find top-ranked companies that offer tuition reimbursement.
Inc. just released its annual list of the The 346 Best Places to Work in 2019.
But this year's list isn't just your regular old list. This year, Inc. has created a searchable tool to help readers investigate companies in their industries and their desired geographic locations. But there's more ...
The tool also allows you to search by other categories, including benefits such as tuition reimbursement.
Tuition reimbursement is a popular benefit
The good news: Out of the 346 companies featured, 140 offer tuition reimbursement. Nearly half! Surprised? Don't be.
That's right in line with data from the Society of Human Resources Management, which reports that up to 54% of companies offer some kind of tuition reimbursement.
It turns out, companies get a double benefit from tuition reimbursement:
- It allows them to ensure they have a top-notch workforce by investing in their current employees, rather than spending money on recruitment.
- They get a tax benefit, which can substantially lower the company's yearly tax burden.
Search by industry
Inc.'s tool allows you to search by industry, benefits, company size, or state.
The Inc. tool shows top-ranked companies in industries including:
- IT Services
- Software
- Advertising & Marketing
- Consumer Products & Services
- Energy
- Health
- Business Products & Services
- Accelerated Growth
- Financial Services
- Engineering
While the tool only shows companies that made Inc.'s list, it's a great resource for finding excellent employers with great benefits. Of course, it's also worthwhile to search out other companies on LinkedIn, Glassdoor, and other search engines.
And don't forget: When you're applying for a new job, be sure to ask about tuition reimbursement policies.
What's next?
If you're thinking about going back to school for your master's degree, check out our Ultimate Guide to Getting a Free Online Master's Degree.