Student blogger Carrie on writing off student debt in exchange for a fixed term of employment, US-style...
Over the Crimbo holidays I was delightfully alerted to a tiny snippet of information in a mass email received by my dad. He’s very supportive of my studies and when I told him I was going to be writing for Platform he promised to keep his eyes peeled for relevant things I could write about.
Now, this tiny snippet said:
“Monday on Fox news they learned that the staffers of Congress family members are exempt from having to pay back student loans.”
I beg your pardon?? Why? I was pretty shocked when I read this but after a bit of delving I found an article which explained it a bit better:
“[...] the Committee on House Administration did establish the Student Loan Repayment Program to provide House employing offices an additional tool with which to recruit and retain qualified staff in the service of the House. In general, the program enables participating House employing offices to authorize repayment of qualifying student loans on behalf of eligible employees who agree in writing to remain in their employment for a period of one year.”
Now that makes more sense. A lot of employers in the UK currently offer a similar kind of thing; “we’ll pay your tuition fees for uni if you agree to work for us for three years” kind of thing. But do any offer to write off student loans? And, more importantly, do you think they’ll STILL continue to offer such schemes when tuition fees rise?
Comments
I think the opportunity of having your student loans paid off in exchange for a fixed term contract would be a fantastic, if unlikely, option in the UK. To be debt free and have guaranteed employment? Fantastic! Back to reality though (sadly)... I think it's important that companies invest in their staff and support their career development. It does cost money, and will sadly cost increasingly more money, but hopefully coughing up to improve the workforce and keep staff motivated will pay for itself.
I couldn't agree more Robyn, I've been on both sides of this fence now. I've paid for my own education with the OU, but when I first started in my job they offered to pay my way through a foundation degree on a day-release basis and I think in-job training which is paid for by employers is fantastic. It gives employers the opportunity to take on staff at a lower level and train them to whatever specific needs they have.
However... To quote one of my favourite films (see if anyone gets the reference) you could end up with the scenario whereby:
"If we give you a job JUST to give you experience, you'll take that experience and get a better job. And then that experience will benefit someone else".
Catch twenty two.
I linked through to this via my Facebook account and got this very interesting comment, I thought it deserved to be put up on here too:
"Problem with the "subsidised student" is that studies and availability of courses depends on the market. Imagine: Study of medicine 'funded' by national drug companies. Vested interest determining the curriculum. Not so good. But that's how US of A works. Results: little free thinking, arts and humanities on their knees."
Very true, I wouldn't want to train my staff up only for them to move on and use their skills somewhere else. We can't win! I guess we'd have to hope that staff development and investment breeds loyalty and happiness in the workplace.
Well it worked that way for me, the company paid for my Foundation Degree in quantity surveying, paid for my driving lessons, and have since paid for my sign language and mental health awareness courses (I've sourced them all and the company gets training grants for them all but they were still supportive of my training) and it's fostered a degree of loyalty in me.
I say a degree because there are still days where I feel like looking elsewhere but the company has been good to me and would be good to me again if it were relevant to my job so I realise I've actually got it quite cushy.
you are writing very well.i like your thoughts.i like to read informative blogs and this blog is also so good and helpful.thanks for taking time to discus this topic.. Craigslist Wyoming
Debt is a way of life in America. Credit cards can hit you with more interest charges and fees than most payday loans. Americans consume an enormous chunk of personal debt over their lifetimes, through mortgages, cars, and in the last twenty years, credit cards. The interest can pile up quick, along with the total debt burden, and it can stick around for a very long time. If you're not careful, even several dozen payday loans wouldn't pay off your debt. If you want to avoid late fees and more interest, you can use payday loans if you come up short. It doesn't have to be. The only thing you should into debt for is a house. Everything else can be paid with cash. Maybe you can't buy a 40K car with cash. Great. That means you shouldn't be buying a 40K car. Maybe you have to buy a car for 15K. If you can't save money every month, you need either a change in the income or a change in the outgoing. Constantly going deeper into debt is not the solution.
As the methods we make cash becomes increasingly technological, so do the ways thieves take it from us. Card skimmer frauds, utilizing fake card readers to steal valuable banking info, are increasing. But there are some things you can do to minimize your chance of falling prey to one of these scammers. You may need a short term loan to pay the bills if you have your money stolen.