Returning to previous employer: How it affects placement?

J

Jose Cespedes

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11/21/17
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Greetings,

I work in the public sector of a Latin American country. Let's say that my employer will be paying for my education. In return, I would have to sign a contract that stipulates that I will have to return and work for twice the amount of time I spend studying abroad. It is not my intention to hide this or evade it. I am explicitly expressing it in my applications.

In this case, I am guaranteed to "place"...but at what cost?
The salary that I will have once I return will likely be between 65K-80K. Purchasing power, Cost of Living and Standards of Living are nowhere near the level of living and working in the USA. I can't begin to name reasons why these aren't comparable.

Would this essentially hurt the placement stats of a program should I be admitted?
Is this something that would play a role when deciding whether to admit one person or not? Do selection committees/panels have this in mind?
Is there any positive one can take from this situation?

I am sure I am not the only applicant with these concerns, so I apologize if this has been answered before. I searched the forums and couldn't find answers.
 
Jose Cespedes said:
Would this essentially hurt the placement stats of a program should I be admitted?
Is this something that would play a role when deciding whether to admit one person or not? Do selection committees/panels have this in mind?
Is there any positive one can take from this situation?
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why? You are a guaranteed job filled. So, if you are the only one person accepted that year, placement for that program would be 100%. I would argue you might have a better chance than somebody with the same credentials as you.
However, I don't think it would have any impact in you being accepted or not.
 
Alright. I understand the perspective on the quantity of students placed in the labor force. The placement percentage.

What I'm asking about is the the parameter of average salary. Is this criteria not important at all?

With programs having average starting salaries upwards of $100K... a $65K placement will lower the average. Ceteris paribus you would prefer someone with a higher potential salary to start after graduating (albeit placement is not completely guaranteed). If median salary was the only indicator, then yes I would understand that being in this situation would not be detrimental.
 
Jose Cespedes said:
Alright. I understand the perspective on the quantity of students placed in the labor force. The placement percentage.

What I'm asking about is the the parameter of average salary. Is this criteria not important at all?

With programs having average starting salaries upwards of $100K... a $65K placement will lower the average. Ceteris paribus you would prefer someone with a higher potential salary to start after graduating (albeit placement is not completely guaranteed). If median salary was the only indicator, then yes I would understand that being in this situation would not be detrimental.
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starting salary is not as important because it depends of a lot of things beyond the program's control.
 
Jose Cespedes said:
The salary that I will have once I return will likely be between 65K-80K
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Perhaps you can renegotiate your salary to beyond this since you have acquired more education? Is this type of work going to be your field of interest ? Your interests may change after going to school. Lastly, it seems you favor working a job in the US. Maybe blowing the deal and getting a student loan is another option.
 
For the University of Michigan, this is not something we take into account when making admissions decisions, because typically it's not something that's very apparent in the application. We only really find out when the student shows up and doesn't need to find a job. However, it would certainly not hinder your chances of admission even if we did know. From our perspective, this is one less student we need to worry about placing, and historically (for us at least) students sponsored by an employer or government do particularly well in their courses for a number of reasons (not distracted by job search or financial worries, more prior work experience and maturity). We would certainly not reject a student simply because they already have a job lined up.
 
umqfrm said:
... From our perspective, this is one less student we need to worry about placing, ...
We would certainly not reject a student simply because they already have a job lined up.
Click to expand...

Amen brother!
 
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