Company paying off student loans 16

[redkardz]

Hi everyone. I'll soon be graduating with a BSME. I've accumulated alot of debt in student loans over the years and I was wandering how common it is for companies to agree to pay off those loans for engineers. I was never comfortable bringin up the subject during interviews but now that I'm getting offers I would like to bring it up but I need to know what to expect. Any advice on this matter would be appreciated.

 

[HgTX]

The kind of work that tends to come with student loan forgiveness is "service" work--military, teaching in hard-to-staff school districts, things like that. That's the government using any tool it can to get people to do the kind of job not enough people want to do, with as little cash payout directly to the employee as possible (because the taxpayer won't support high salaries but for whatever reason is okay with "debt forgiveness"). In cases like that, covering student loans is a reasonable expectation. Anywhere else, it's a rare situation indeed.

You really can't compare what the military offers to what the civilian sector offers. The military also gives you housing and food, and will pay for your schooling AFTER you leave them; are you going to expect that kind of perk from your civilian employer because "other professions" do it and if they really cared about you and wanted you to be happy they'd do it too? The military is not "other professions".

Hg

Eng-Tips policies: faq731-376

 

[Lion06]

I worked all through school and graduated with zero student loans. Should I get a higher salary since I didn't ask to have loans paid off?
No Way!
I can't imagine that is going to happen.
What other professions have you heard of this in? I can see maybe for a region of the country that is seriously hurting for a profession and have to offer some serious incentive, but I can't imagine it's the norm.
I have a very close friend who is doing residency in surgery. She is being offered more to work in Alabama than in Mew York simply because they need her specialization down there. Nothing about paying off student loans, though.

 

[IRstuff]

The Marines are a special case. Their purpose is to attract well-qualified applicants that otherwise wouldn't give the military a second glance, much less a first one. Likewise, the military will reimburse you for medical school costs IF you sign up for 4 or 6 year hitch.

And while that sounds competitive, it really still isn't, since the base pay is substantially lower than what you'd get for a comparable job without the tuition payoff. From a strict return on YOUR investment perspective, it's less than breakeven, compared to a commercial sector job, unless you assume that you'll stay in 20 years, at which time, you can retire and double dip.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[KENAT]

Maybe for medical but generally when you take into account the free or at least subsidized accomodation, clothing, food etc that you can get in the military, depending how you play things, a lot of military folk do OK.

I know in the UK when I was trying to get into the RAF financially it was very attractive. Sure the base pay would be on the low side but the accomodation etc. and the various bonus pays for various things added up.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[cksh]

I have heard of companies paying off loans. I even worked for an engineering company where they helped pay off the general managers x-wife but I won't get into that

Personally I don't see anything wrong with wanting a company to pay off loans. Its all part of the negotiating. Maybe there are too many oldschoolers around here Everything is negotiable nowadays. Company car, signing bonus, laptop to work from home, extra vacation days you name it. Even working from home one day a week. My wife's company is going to let them work from home one day a week because of gas prices.

Why would it be any different then your salary? What if you don't have loans? Should you get a higher salary? Should of thought of that before you signed your acceptance letter Maybe they will have you sign a contract. We will give you a cash bonus for x amount of years of service. A signing bonus with stipulations.

Now, would I ask for them to pay them off? Nope (and I have ~70k). Only because everyone who posted here pretty much sums up the attitudes of most employers. I would do your research. If you are starting at 60k with little or no xp you would be pressing your luck.

Sorry for the rant but if you don't ask for it up front your probably not getting it later Maybe its because I have usually worked for smaller companies (owned by large corporations) that I have seen some incredible stuff paid for on the companies tab.

I used to have my lunch bought for me just about everyday. 10 bucks a day adds up. Could of paid my loans at the time (before I went back for my BS that is)

Some companies are willing to pay tuition reimbursement. Thats even worse IMHO. I have friends who have gotten 30k+ from their company. What if they quit? Is it worth to go chasing after the person? With loans the government comes after you and garnishes your paycheck. The compnay wouldn't be any worse off helping to pay after they graduate. Then there is incentive for them to stay

Just something to think about from a disgruntled automotive engineer

 

[cvg]

of course, everything has always been negotiable. However, paying of student loans for a entry level person (as stated by the original post) is highly unlikely it would ever be done. Same with a company car, signing bonus or laptop. Rarely done for your entry level engineers. If you feel like you want to ask for it, go for it. However, don't be too upset when they show you the door and don't call back. For the journeyman engineer, by all means ask for the moon and if you are good enough you will be justly compensated.

 

[DWHA]

Even if they would give an option to pay off loans, I would decline.

For simplicity say: You have 40k in dept, the job offer is 50k + 10k for student loan over 4 years. After 4 years your loan is paid off & they now give you 60k. The employer may try to say that you making 60k now is a 10k raise.

Whereas, if you just take 60k, after 4 years you will not run into that issue.

I would take the best offer I recieved (not just based on salary) and take it. Pay off my loans my self.

 

[MechEng2005]

While I agree with the "everything is negotiable," it could be tricky. Also, I would personally prefer to negotiate for a salary than for a benefit of student loan repayment. Many companies seem to give raises as a percentage of your current salary (both performance based and inflation based). I'd take a higher salary, which will cause a larger increase at raises if I could get it over a benefit of set amount.

- MechEng2005

 

[ischgl99]

DWHA hit the nail on the head, companies look at total compensation when making an offer. If they are paying off some of your debt, you will loose something elsewhere, most likely in lower salary and it will not be adjusted upwards when the debt is paid off. You want the highest salary possible when starting out since all raises are based on that and not the extra benefits you get.

I would like to emphasize some of the comments amde here, make sure you are truly in a competitive market when asking for these extra perks because it could very easily kill your chances of getting a better offer. Offers can easily be recinded from people asking for way too much.

 

[BillBirch]

Since we have established that it is unusual for employers to pay off student loans,and you feel that employees who are "worth it" should be given special consideration, you should certainly brush up on your spelling to distinguish yourself. No offence, but these little things do stand out to employers. It indicates personal discipline and attention to details.

 

[redkardz]

BillBirch - I will consider at least trying to get the right letters from now on since....

"Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe."

But if I fail, it is because I grew up with spell check, and I've yet to find that button on this site.

 

[KENAT]

Spell check on Eng Tips, write your post in Word (or equivalent) then paste it in here.

That's Eng tips use 101.

(Note, I do not always follow my own avdice;-))

To succeed in Engineering you'll have to learn to think around problems like this. I don’t take kindly to people that do sloppy work and then blame it on their software application or other tools. After all, a bad workman…

Some more advice, some of your posts come across as just a touch arrogant and others as a touch naïve. Work on both of these areas if you want to have an easier time of it in industry.

That said, you didn’t ask for this type of advice so probably won’t appreciate it, I really should learn to keep my thoughts to myself.


KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[redkardz]

KENET - I appreciate all advice. I also know my weaknesses. I struggle with writing and part of that problem is my tone. While looking for jobs, I immediately passed on anything that stressed excellent writing skills. I excel in other areas; just the way it is.

I suppose I'll copy/paste from now on, but with how fast people reply to some of these threads I've been trying to post my thoughts as quick as possible.

I've also been slightly, okay absolutely, addicted to this forum since I found it. Most of that time has been spent searching and reading. Tons of great info here.

 

[Zapster]

I use Mozilla Firefox and I have dynamic spell checking as I type in the eng-tips' message box (must be part of the Mozilla software). Note that it does little for look alike words or my grammar.

 

[KENAT]

redkardz, I did poorly in English at school (it probably shows here sometimes) however written comunication is a crucial skill, at least from my experience. While I still don't rate myself that highly in this category (I tend to be too verbose) generally my quality of written communication is now much better than most of my colleagues.

By avoiding jobs that require writing skills you may limit your choices. Do whatever you can to improve it, not just technical writing (although this should probably be your primary focus) but less formal media such as email too.

There were posts vaguely about this topic somewhere in the last few weeks. Also forum1010 has some good stuff in amongst the banter.

Maybe

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[csd72]

redkardz,

Zapster had the best suggestion. It is actually a plugin or add on that you download from the mozilla website.

The language issue is actually a very important thing. You could be the most knowledgable engineer in the world, but no-one is going to trust what you say if it is filled with spelling mistakes. Thats just human nature.

 

[vpl]

Now that Redkardz has been pretty well beaten down, I have to mention that the Federal Agency for which I work has been known to offer to repay student loans in order to get students to sign on with us. They've also done that with lawyers.

Something about not being able to get people to join otherwise...

Patricia Lougheed

Please see FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies for tips on how to make the best use of the Eng-Tips Forums.

 

[redkardz]

Point(s) taken.

 

[tickle]

Technical writing is largely about saying what you want clearly.

My first rule is consistency. If you name something use that name throughout and only that name, not something that is like that name.

Try having a look at the style guide if your company has one.

Read through some English grammar guide books. (one of the best is Bill Bryson's that is written in real English with some mess ups by the most respected organisations).

http://dictionary.reference.com/writing/

provides some links.

My personal rules (and they seem to fit in with the style guides I have seen); only have one point per sentence, use bullet points alot, define boundary points well, (eg the pressue will be 3 bananas at the entrance to the heat exchanger), try not to use it them etc particularly when it could be confused.

 

[Senselessticker]

Consider the whole issue of tax benefits vs. investment benefits of a job... Remember that your student loan interest is most likely tax deductable (assuming your in the US).

What's your financial strategy? Pay off debt quickly or manage the debt? As you consider offers from companies, the absolute most important thing to consider (besides your gut feeling about the company and the boss you will have) is #1 LOCATION and #2 BENEFITS. Most engineers are horrible at retirement planning (and I've NEVER been able to figure out why...), but anyway... do the math on your offers for 401k matching vs. signing bonus and/or student loan pay-off options. The driving factor will be the tax benefit. If your student loan interest is relatively low (most are), its almost like free money... Take the tax break from the interest you pay, stretch out the loan for as long as you can with a low payment and use the extra $$$ to max out your 401k, IRA, etc... Assuming the market doesn't completely fold...in the end... the interest you're eating on the loan will fall below the line after you consider all the tax benefits abd gains from dumping into your 401k and IRA (assumig you can contribute to a traditional IRA that is).

And while your doing all that you are also investing in your own job stability by keeping the bank in business and also driving the economy... and if there's any profession that wants the bank to have money and the economy to grow.... its engineering...