Professional dilemma; perspectives and economic benefits

Dear all,

I would like to share my situation with you, in order to get everyone’s opinions in financial terms on the one hand, but also to capitalize on your personal experiences.

I have recently started a new job that suits me perfectly in terms of income as well as the tasks and work I am given. However, I have been planning for some time now (almost 2 years actually) to continue my studies and to start an eMBA. My goal would be to deepen my knowledge, but also to be able to link the two fields in which I have been trained so far (it + business administration). My ambition would be to occupy a function that would have more to do with the strategic domain than the operational.

This is where the dilemma comes in…

From the point of view of my employer, I am not sure that he sees any interest in my continuing this training (18 months, 1 day off every two weeks), on the other hand, I am convinced that this type of training is a catalyst and a springboard to access management positions, perhaps not in the same company, but certainly beneficial later in my professional career.

What I would like from my employer is, on the one hand, to have the time available to follow this training, and on the other hand, that this time be paid. In exchange, I would cover the costs of the training myself as well as all travel/meal/etc. expenses, and I would commit to doing my thesis for the employer on a useful subject that we would have discussed together. Finally, the indirect participation of the employer (time paid to the employee = keeping the same salary while working at 80%) would require that I have to stay 2-3 years in the company.

From a financial point of view now, I estimate that the amount to be covered would approach ~75’000.00. For my employer, assuming that the time available would be paid, this would represent an amount of ~40’000.-.

What are your experiences with this type of training, as well as the opportunities it brings?
How can I “sell” this training to my employer to make sure that he sees as much benefit (for the company) as I do? In general, is it better to continue training after obtaining a bachelor’s degree, or should you prove yourself in the field and wait for an opportunity to present itself?

I admit that I wanted to wait until the end of my trial period to discuss this with my employer. However, I have already had excellent feedback regarding the general satisfaction of the work I am doing and I am quite serene for the future. Ideally, I would like to start this training again next year. Perhaps now is the perfect time to discuss this before budgets are set for next year…

Thank you in advance for your input.

~Kaw

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Thank you for laying it all out to us. Not sure how much of your general vision you’ve shared with the employer during the hiring process.

Personally, I’ve had excellent experience with communicating a 5-year plan to my employer. I could always refer to it and when there was a delay with something the employer could not provide in year 1 or 2, they got a sense of urgency to provide me with further opportunities in the following period. There was always full alignment with my goals and what the employer needed. I ultimately got what I asked for and it sometimes took longer than anticipated.

It sounds reasonable how you see the cost split between employer and yourself but you could go for more! You could try to reason that the employer can benefit a lot from your additional skills and may want to pay for training with cash AND free days. You, on the other hand, would offer not to ask for any salary increase or look for another job for a certain time.

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Also isn’t there some tax breaks (for employee or employers) when doing extra (relevant) training?

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Thanks Dom for your inputs ! I can only provide the following clarifications:

During the hiring process, the Head of the department I work for specifically asked if I wanted to continue training by reading my file and telling him about my background. I answered positively, specifying that it was a point I would like to discuss after the trial period. I did not go into detail at that time. I did however indicate that this was one of the reasons I had left my previous position, i.e. the application for training had been submitted and I did not receive any response for over 9 months. I am sure they have noted this on their aide.

I think a 5 year plan would be great! It is true that I also want to stabilize my professional situation for a while. I don’t have kids yet, but being in my early 30’s and in a stable relationship for a long time, the question is indeed on our side. Maybe it would “reassure” the employer and show them my willingness to get involved and make the daily business evolve.

The tricky part I can imagine is asking for more budget than what is already there, which is paying for the time AND the training. I can try, but I don’t want to be too greedy. Maybe it’s better not to ask to be paid for the training, but for a xy% increase once the training is completed?

Yes, that’s right. The Federal Direct Tax Act specifies the following (Art. 33, letter j):
The costs of training and further education for professional purposes, including retraining costs, up to a maximum of 12,000 francs provided that the taxpayer meets one of the following conditions:
1. he or she has a secondary school diploma,
2. the taxpayer has reached the age of 20 and is studying for a diploma other than a lower secondary school diploma.

Just keep in mind that what you get in the end is not always what you’ve asked for. Sometimes you need to ask for more, to allow the other person to barter you down and feel a sense of accomplishment to have saved money for the company. Rarely, they offer more than what you’ve asked for… at least in my experience.

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What’s the worst that can happen if you ask? Most of the time the worst case is that you get a “No.”

Yes, you are absolutely right. And as @CryingSofa says, the “worst case scenario” would be receiving a negative response.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I’ll keep you posted on the progress. In any case, thanks for the inputs that are already giving me ideas to structure my presentation/discussion plan :smiley:!

I had a similar case (it was less expensive though, roughly 20k CHF) and we came to an agreement with my employer :

  • Costs of the training => for me
  • Keep the same salary for a reduced workload => 80% during 1 year
  • No obligation to stay in the enterprise for 2-3 years (but I stayed anyway :slight_smile: …)

In any case => investing in your development is the best possible idea, if your employer sees a benefit for them (on a short or mid or long term) then good ; otherwise there will be plenty of jobs elsewhere :wink:

Thanks for your feedback. I think playing the “same pay for a lower work rate” card can be interesting. The money is already budgeted, so it doesn’t cost the company “anything extra”.

I will create a 5 year plan as @dom.swiss mentioned.
My idea would be as follows:

  1. Propose to work at 80% while having the time off paid (= work at 80%, get paid 100%).
  2. Propose to split the cost of training 50/50.
  3. Commit to stay 3 years after graduation.
  4. Commit to do my thesis for the employer.

In the event of a refusal, to actually look for a position elsewhere. My professional development is my number one priority.
In the event that the company agrees to let me do the training but that the totality of the costs would be for me, I would play the card of “the thesis will be done with another company”, or for my own account in order to develop my activity later.

One question that remains is to know the economic impact of obtaining the paper. I think this is difficult to quantify and is extremely dependent on the field of activity and the type of company, but is a +15/+20% on the salary feasible? Not necessarily in the same company, but in general? How are these types of training perceived by employers from a purely financial angle?

In general I would say salary should be dependent on your role and not on any additional certificates.
If you want to monetarize your EMBA you should focus to get a respective role.

For me there would be a second discussion about my future development after I started the training.