Are you one of the three-percenters?

With the year winding down this week, I took time to catch up on some research, and came across this article, “Get a Degree on Your Company’s Dime,” by Tara Weiss on Forbes.com.

Here’s the pair of statistics she quoted that just blew my mind: 80% of medium and large companies offer some sort of tuition reimbursement program for employees who want to pursue an advanced degree. But only 3% of employees actually take companies up on this perk.

Now, here’s how to look at the tuition reimbursement thing, depending on where you are with your executive career.

First, if you’re already with a company and you’re thinking about testing the waters with your resume: Some companies require you to pay back the tuition benefit if you leave within a certain period after you get your degree.

It might, in fact, be worth it! Just be sure to factor it in – you don’t want any rude money surprises when you’re in the middle of a career transition.

Second, when you’re evaluating companies you’d like to work for, and getting an advanced degree would help get you promoted faster and paid more in a new company, find out what tuition benefits they offer. It also shows your personal initiative – a quality employers tend to reward.

And finally, if you think an advanced degree may be in your future, start planning for it now:

• Research the schools of interest
• Determine which ones you’ll ultimately target
• Find out what standardized tests you may need to take as part of the application process
• Look into other financial aid avenues as appropriate
• Define your goals, and even a mission statement, to guide you in accomplishing what you want for your career by entering graduate school in the first place

2007 may be just about to start, but September 2007 school sessions usually require applications to be filed early in the year. So the time to get crackin’ is now!
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