Curious about Guild Education

[Vle045]

How many kids do you have? It's great he's starting a first job, there's no pressure at all for him to start college, at the very least, he can take his time to accelerate & compact his education with all the ones I mentioned in the copy/paste.  

Let's say he stays at the current job for some experience for two years... Technically, he can finish his degree before he decides to change jobs to a better paying one even if he's working part time by making sure to max the alternative credits.

If you review the link for Guild, there are so many institutions he can get a degree from, he can decide later on.  If he's really undecided, he can take up to 113 credits with the freebie credits, then finish with 7 credits at Excelsior, all FREE!

I just have the one kid.  It’s nice to hear him thinking of options for his future.  He’s interested in their tuition option.  But I think he still doesn’t have a clue what he wants to do…. Or where.

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I'm glad your son got this opportunity. I've never heard of Guild; it seems pretty solid and has big names that we discuss here frequently.

Also, there is no shame in having any job! Here's a couple more food service jobs with tuition assistance:

- KFC covers 100% of WGU's tuition:
https://kfcfoundation.org/wgu/

- Starbucks covers 100% of ASU's tuition, and up to $1000 a year
https://www.starbucks.com/careers/workin...education/
https://www.starbucksbenefits.com/en/hom...bursement/

Those are nice options too.  They are a little bit limited.  Starbucks only covers a first bachelors and KFC is only WGU.  But both are fantastic.  None of these were options when I was younger.  I think it was Arby’s that also extends some tuition benefits to immediate family too. https://arbys.corporatelearning.com/

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I am curious if anyone here has some in-depth knowledge about Guild Education.  My son just got his first job and they provide debt free options through Guild.  He’s still got another year of HS, so he’s not quite ready for that yet, but it does have me curious….  I always like to know variable options.

So here are the things I am curious about.

1. If he changes jobs while using Guild, assuming the same programs are available, can he easily transfer that benefit as well?
   
2. Can you go part time?
   
3. Let’s say he works two jobs that both use Guild, can he mix and match - assuming he meets the employers’ minimum hours, etc.?
   

He is still very undecided on everything.  I just want to help him figure out options.  I think if he is undecided, it might be wise to use the benefit on at least a part time basis and collect some credits on their dime while he’s figuring it out.  He doesn’t have access to anything yet, but I would love to see Sophia or Study on there for free so he can grab those in the meantime too.  They also have a reimbursement option up to $5250 a year outside of Guild, which would be very helpful if he decides to go to community college first.

Of course, before he signs up for anything, I will help him look for any requirements, like if he has to stay for a certain amount of time afterwards or anything like that.  Just curious what options he might look for to maximize his benefits.

Guild is used at a lot of big companies, including Target, Walmart, PepsiCo, Chipotle, Lowes, Taco bell, and Discover. If you're looking for free sophia, I believe Dollar General offers it for free for full time employees.

I do know it is possible to receive this benefit part time, but the specifics are different per company.

I do not know if you can mix and max as specific programs can differ per company. For example Lowes is trade oriented. A friend working at Chipotle HQ mentioned his programs was geared more towards agriculture, though it might be different at the restaurant level. When I interviewed at Discover, the recruiter mentioned the programs being more tech focused. Because of this, I'm not sure if you would be able to "transfer" programs, but worst case scenario, you will be able to utilize the $5,250.

Thanks.  My son initially really wanted to work at Target, but didn’t get an interview there.   I suggested he expand his search so he can start getting some experience so he’s at Chipotle now.  Too soon to tell if he will like it, but in case he ever tries for Target again… or if he grabs two jobs at some point in the future, it would be interesting how that might work out for him.