Studying to improve your skills and knowledge isn’t just something that college students do as they seek to better themselves for the future.  Even when you start work you can find yourself hankering after new skills and taking a new course can be the best way to achieve what you want to.

But how do you go about paying for that course?  One good solution is to see if your company runs a tuition reimbursement program.  This means you can enjoy learning and studying for the degree course you want, without having to pay for any of your studies yourself.  Not all companies run these, but it should definitely be your first port of call if you want to take a course of this nature.

For starters you should speak to your boss and explain what you want to study and why.  The only way your company will fund your studies is if the course is related to your current line of work.  Don’t expect to get funded for a nursing course if you happen to be working for a computer company for example!

You may find your company already has a program like this in place, in which case all you have to do is find out more about it.  But even if they don’t you could still get the funding you want; all you have to do is focus on selling the benefits of the funding to your company.

For instance it could be that you are currently in one job position but you would like to move up the ladder and help the company develop in the future.  But without the right training this could be next to impossible.  By going on a degree course you would be studying towards a better position within the company.  You can also use the knowledge you would gain from that course to benefit the company in many other ways as well.

Once your company sees that you have the future of the company in your interests as well as your own thoughts and ideas, they may be more willing to fund you and your studies.  As such it can be an investment in their future as well as your own.  Employee loyalty can be a problem in many businesses, and by investing in someone who really wants to get ahead, the business owners will see that they will get a return on their money.

There is also the fact that they are guaranteed to have you working for them for the duration of the course, and possibly a lot longer as well.  If you feel you now have prospects for advancement in the business because you are working towards a new qualification, you are more likely to stay with the company.  Without those qualifications, you may feel as if you have reached a dead end and that will result in you leaving for another job.

So ask your company now whether they provide a tuition reimbursement program.  It could be the best question you ever ask them.