There has been some talk of the various cadet programs recently, so I thought that it would be beneficial to also point out the benefits of the Tuition Reimbursement Program.
The big one is that Tuition Reimbursement is paid directly to your lender. For example, if your loan payment is $700 per month and you earn $400 in Tuition Reimbursement, you will only need to pay $300 to your lender that month. The biggest advantage of this is that in most cases, this payment is tax free, whereas the various signing bonuses offered by the airlines are taxed.
When you join Tuition Reimbursement, you are offered a conditional offer of employment with an airline. Even if the airline stops hiring, you still have a job and will be able to start training when you have 1,500 hours. The airline will have known that you are coming and planned accordingly.
Tuition Reimbursement doesn’t get a lot of discussion on here and I feel like it should as it really is a great program for new pilots.
I have been stalking the forum here for some time, lots of excellent topics on here and I have been learning a lot just reading through it all. I am currently in the Navy and I plan on starting ATP San Diego in May when my enlistment is up. I am happy that you started this one to kind of clarify, because I was thinking what’s the point of choosing Tuition reimbursement if I would get the same money anyways as a bonus, but the points you just made is a lot of food for thought.