Your College Tuition Paid, In-Full as an Amazon Employee

Move over Target, another iconic brand, Amazon, is now hoping to lure more front-line workers to their workforce. One of the latest job recruitment moves within the U.S. labor market is the effort to provide lucrative employee benefits. Education, and the ability to earn a college degree at zero cost, being some of these impressive employment opportunities. The past few months have revealed to us just how much the American workforce is evolving; students can benefit from these impressive changes and rewarding jobs. Last week Amazon announced enhancements to its Career Choice program. Now offering to pay nearly one million U.S. Amazon employees’ college tuition, at 100 percent, according to Forbes. This includes funds to help Amazon employees pay for their books and fees—often an overlooked cost to attend college.

Amazon Adds Employee Benefits, Similar to Full-Ride Scholarships

A lucrative component to their offer to pay full college tuition for its employees’ college degree is Amazon’s promise to “...pay employee’s tuition and fees in advance rather than offering reimbursement after coursework completion...” Many students face the challenge of producing money to pay for school upfront and don’t necessarily have the income to wait for a reimbursement. Their offer is also available to use, quickly. Amazon employees can begin to use their college-paying benefits just three months after being hired. According to Amazon, “This makes all 400,000 who joined the company since the start of the pandemic eligible to access Amazon-funded education opportunities.” Amazon also adds their paid-education benefit has no limit, meaning employees can choose to enhance their education and skill set as long as they are Amazon employees. The education benefits don’t just include college. Amazon employees also have access to full funds to complete their GED and English as a Second Language (ESL) certifications. In addition to bumping their average starting wage to $18 per hour, and paying full tuition for its employees’ college education, Amazon has broadened job opportunities via permanent warehouse and logistic facilities throughout the U.S. According to CNN Business, this is part of their business strategy to hire 125,000 workers before the holiday shopping season begins.

How Students Can Optimize Job Perks to Pay for College

If you’re a student looking for a job, you’re likely using some of the money you make to help you save and/or pay for school. This is a wise idea! However, be sure to consider the school and student-life balance that can occur when holding a job as a student. Right now, it is a great time to be a working student as more companies are shifting their recruitment plans to enhance their workforce and fill in the labor shortage gap they’re currently facing. Here’s how you can use this to your advantage:

1. Find companies that are offering to help you pay for a college degree. Walmart, Target, McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Amazon...these are just a few of the companies out there that consider paying for your college education important. Amazon has a portion of its job site dedicated to student programs. These opportunities include internships, virtual events and more.
2. Research the educational offers these businesses are offering. Read the fine print. Some may only pay a set amount toward your degree; others may offer to pay up to a specific amount each year. Uncover which companies have the best benefits overall to help you earn a degree at little or no cost.
3. See which of these companies are located close to you. You don’t want to add a long commute to your daily schedule. For many students, this takes too much time out of their day. From your research, consider working for the businesses that are near you, your school/or college campus. According to Reuters, Amazon will soon have 100 logistics facilities launching in the U.S. and have recently opened 250 similar facilities earlier this year; there could be an Amazon facility coming close to you, too.

Continue to Apply for Scholarships

Finding a job that offers amazing tuition reimbursement is nice, but this is just the start. You should continue to apply for scholarships to help you supplement the cost of college. Even if your tuition is paid for, 100 percent, you can still benefit from scholarships and financial aid. A common misconception is that scholarships are only for tuition. While this may be true for some scholarships, this is not true for others. You can often use scholarships to help you pay for books, room and board, supplies, and other related higher education expenses. Create a free Fastweb profile to find scholarships that match you! Using your profile to look for scholarships saves you time and makes the scholarship application process a whole lot easier.