“You better study for that math test,” the stereotypical concerned parent might say, “or you’re going to end up slinging coffee at Starbucks for the rest of your days!”

But now with a new announcement from the Seattle-based coffee giant, selling grande lattes might not be the the end of a barista’s educational journey. The company just announced it will reimburse employees who earn an online degree. In partnership with the well regarded Arizona State University, Starbucks is offering free tuition to the university’s 33 undergraduate and about 30 graduate online programs with no obligation to pay back anything. (Click here to tweet this news.)

Who benefits from Starbuck’s new educational program?

There are a few caveats, but the deal remains pretty sweet no matter how you look at it. To be eligible, employees need to have the grades to qualify to attend Arizona State and must work 20 hours a week or more at a company-owned Starbucks (not a franchise location).

The company particularly rewards employees who have taken some classes already and are now going back to complete their degree; students who enroll as juniors or seniors get a free ride, while workers who have less than two years of college under their belt when they enroll are eligible for a partial tuition reimbursement of around $6,500. Starbucks advisors will help employees apply for PELL grants and other forms of financial assistance as well.

What could that be worth to an ambitious barista? Arizona State tuition runs about $10,000 a year, so for a Starbucks employee who enrolls as a junior and gets a free ride through graduation, that’s worth about $20,000.

Starbucks claims it’s making the heavy investment as an effort to fight inequality and develop its workforce. “There’s no doubt, the inequality within the country has created a situation where many Americans are being left behind. The question for all of us is, should we accept that, or should we try and do something about it,” CEO Howard Schultz said in a release.

Starbucks’ workers may be the big winners of this new program, but the move is also a huge win for online education in general and Arizona State University in particular. “The company isn’t disclosing the financial terms of its agreement with Arizona State University. But the program could significantly boost the enrollment for Arizona State’s online program,” commented The Huffington Post, for instance.

What other employers will pay you to go to school?

Starbucks is far from the only big employer to offer to reimburse educational expenses, but it is one of the very few that doesn’t require employees to stick around after they complete their degrees. As InThe Capital’s Molly Greenberg notes, “this is an intriguing move made by Starbucks, as most large organizations that offer tuition reimbursement plans require their employees to stay on staff for a specified duration of time in order to also benefit from their workers’ degree.”

Who else might be willing to foot the bill for your degree? Business Insider helpfully rounded up 15 companies that provide some form of tuition assistance and details on the terms of their programs. Firms include Best Buy, Home Depot, UPS and Gap.

What do you think of Starbuck’s new educational program? Would you be more likely to work for a company that offering reimbursement for education?

Jessica Stillman is a freelance writer based in London. She writes a daily column for Inc.com, contributes regularly to Forbes and Women 2.0 and has blogged for CBS MoneyWatch and GigaOM, among others.

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The post A New Way to Earn a University Degree Without the Cost: Work at Starbucks appeared first on Brazen Life.

Most of it surrounded the issue of women, leadership, and equal pay. Though that is clearly an important discussion, Slate’s Alison Griswold raised another question: Male or female, why is the top editor of the Times paid so little?

Sure, her half-million dollars a year sounds like more than enough money to most of us, but it’s important to look at the salaries of other executives at the top of their games. In others words, Abramson’s (and her predecessor, Bill Keller’s) peers.

As Griswold points out, $500K is less than what presidents of small colleges or heads of charitable organizations make — and is peanuts compared to the salaries of television execs.

So, how can the king of journalism pay less than everyone else? One word: prestige.

Griswold concludes:

“People like Keller and Abramson presumably don’t rise to the top of their field for the money; they’d be far better off chasing huge salaries in TV. They do it because they love the work, and part of the pay is prestige and intangible rewards. Pay them more and they would what, try harder? Salary is not necessarily commensurate with performance or with on-the-job fulfillment. If you need more proof of that, just look at the paltry $400,000 made by the president of the United States.”

What job would you work for less pay, but more prestige and intangible benefits? And we’re not just referring to power and politics — the article also mentions National Park rangers, who are “paid in sunrises and sunsets.”

Whatever your answer, one thing is clear: money isn’t everything, even when it comes to salaries.

What job would you take a pay cut for?

Susan Shain is a travel blogger who loves helping people discover adventure through international travel or alternative careers.

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The post Why the Top Editor at The New York Times Doesn’t Earn as Much as Other Execs appeared first on Brazen Life.

So, what do you do when you’ve got a potentially good job offer, but the salary just isn’t good enough? Many would cut and run, but some job seekers are leveraging the negotiations to ask for other benefits instead of higher pay.

Alex Gedaninik, founder of the tech company Problemio, needed a day job while building his company but wasn’t happy with the best salary offered by a potential employer. As CBS News reports:

When he saw that they couldn’t meet him halfway, Gedaninik requested something that would dramatically improve his quality of life (both personally and professionally) but would cost the company nothing. “I asked to have a four-day workweek, in addition to being able to choose my task, because many of the tasks of this job overlapped with my business. So essentially I ended up working four days a week with some of that time still devoted to my business.”

You can check out the full article here.

Would you consider taking a lower salary in exchange for better benefits? What would you ask for instead?

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The post Think Outside the Box When It Comes to Salary Negotiation appeared first on Brazen Life.

Kind of bleak, isn’t it? While long-term unemployment isn’t something to be taken lightly, you can view it in a positive way. In fact, there are benefits to being unemployed!

Here’s how long-term unemployment actually benefit you:

1. Take advantage of your free time

Remember when you wanted to take that road trip across Canada but couldn’t take the time off? Well, now you can!

You’ve always had something you’ve dreamed of doing, right? Go on, grab a pen and paper. Sit down for five minutes and write whatever comes to mind. It’s not the time to drop all your other responsibilities or recklessly spend your money, but do what you can.

2. Learn to surrender

Some of us have been sending out resumes and going to job fairs for more than a few months. There’s not much you can do except to try to build your skills and wait. Then wait some more. Being forced to wait teaches you that you aren’t always going to be in control of your life. That’s okay, because people with jobs aren’t always in control of their lives, either.

3. Be empathic

Millions of Americans are unemployed. Many have to support their families, and they might be facing challenges that are even more difficult than what you’ve got on your plate. Now that you’re unemployed, too, it should be easier to understand what they are going through.

4. Learn to identify yourself in different ways

Some people solely define themselves by what their profession is. What happens when you don’t have that awesome job anymore? Being unemployed forces you to look deep inside yourself to figure out who you really are.

5. Find patience

It takes time to land another job or start your own business. Jobs don’t just magically pop up overnight. Nobody is going to randomly come up to you on the street and ask you to work for them.

If you’re like me, you handed out hundreds of resumes and went to numerous job interviews before landing a job. The last job interview I had involved three interviews across two months. If I hadn’t been patient about the whole process, I probably would have given up.

6. Get creative

Some people find creative ways to earn an income or to get the attention of employers if they’ve been unemployed long-term. Many have taken the leap into freelance work or even decided to pursue the business ideas that they’ve tucked away for years.

A friend of mine decided to make a DVD where he gave advice to different companies on how they could improve their businesses. He was hired within a week.

7. Practice gratitude

No matter how dire your situation, there is always something to be thankful for. You’ve always got it better than someone else.

Take the time to really think about the great things you have going on in your life. Do you have a wonderful and supportive spouse? Do you have a roof over your head and enough food to eat? Make a point to find something to be grateful for!

Even if you’ve been unemployed for more than a few months, don’t lose hope. Sit back, relax and reflect on how you’ve grown personally through this experience. Just because you might not be getting ahead in your career doesn’t mean you haven’t grown in other parts of your life.

Sarah Li Cain is an international educator and freelance writer who blogs about reclaiming her fearlessness in life and wants to help others do the same. You can also follow her on Twitter @slicain.

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The post Practical Ways to Use Unemployment to Your Advantage appeared first on Brazen Life.

Here are just a few of the benefits you should take into account to start giving college credit where it’s due, according to the College Board’s newly updated study “Education Pays: The Benefits of Higher Education for Individuals and Society”:

Improved Self-Esteem

There’s just something about a college grad that makes her stand a little bit straighter and a little bit taller. It likely has to do with the boost to one’s self-esteem and confidence that comes with making it through a higher education program.

Studies conducted by the College Board and others like it have found that those who have completed additional schooling are not only more well-equipped to handle mental challenges, but also report a higher level of satisfaction when doing so.

Since earning a college degree has long been considered a rite of passage, there’s an extra sense of accomplishment when you reach the finish line. You’ve accomplished something that no one can ever take away from you.

Sure, you can lose the physical piece of paper, and you may move on from the job your degree helped you attain, but you’ll never lose the work behind the journey you undertook to get your diploma. Even when tough times fall, you know you have what it takes to start something and finish it successfully, and that is priceless.

Healthy Choices

In addition to the mental boost that comes with higher education, college grads are healthier overall. Higher socioeconomic status (measured by total family income, level of education attained and professional career status) is directly correlated with better physical health and life expectancy.

This correlation seems obvious when you consider that those who earn more money have greater access to health care and healthier food options. But what you may not have considered is that higher education means the ability and desire to make better choices when it comes to habits—eating and otherwise.

For example, those with extended educations are less likely to smoke and more likely to exercise. When you put greater emphasis on taking care of your mind with additional schooling, you naturally put greater emphasis on taking care of your body, too. It’s truly as simple as: when you know better, you do better.

Higher Job Satisfaction

While we’re on the subject of bettering ourselves, one common reason people seek higher education is to get out of a dead-end job. Having a degree often means having an actual career rather than punching the clock to pay the bills.

That’s all fine and good, you may say, but having a career means nothing if you can’t keep it—a task many are finding difficult as of late. Fortunately, a diploma gives you the upper hand when it comes to economy-driven layoffs.

Graduates not only have higher job retention rates during a recession, but also an easier time finding re-employment due to higher marketability than their non-graduate colleagues. That means less stress overall during tough economic times.

Passing on the Legacy

Finally, one of the greatest benefits to having a college education is passing on the legacy to your children. Children of a college grad are more likely to have a better quality of life and pursue extended education themselves. Those children also have a much easier time getting into good schools because their parents have emphasized the importance of an education to them. They also tend to have better grades and test scores.

As experts often state, children of college grads—even those who don’t attend college themselves—are more motivated to reach for their dreams. They know that their parents pushed through adversity to earn their degrees, and they apply that same philosophy to going after what they want in life—a bar that is placed that much higher by having college-educated parents.

Although financial enrichment is one of the main reasons people choose to pursue higher education, there are many other benefits to obtaining that degree. You better yourself through improved self-confidence and enhanced decision-making ability, which also betters the lives of your family members and others around you.

What are some of the hidden benefits to a college degree that you have found? Are there life lessons you learned along the way that you would have missed if you passed on higher education?

Lizzie Wann is the Content Director for Bridgepoint Education. She oversees all website content and works closely with New Media, Career Services and Student Services for Ashford University.

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The post Why Your College Degree Has More Value Than You Think appeared first on Brazen Life.