Slice profile picture
Slice profile picture

Slice

Business Development Representative

Valued Contributor
Fire Starter
Contributor
+1

MBA paid by company... still exist?

Does anyone have any experience of people in sales roles (BDR, AE, Director, etc.) getting an MBA or any post-grad education paid for by the company they're employed by? Would appreciate any thoughts or knowledge on this topic, cheers!

🥎 Training
💡 Education/Resources
🎯 Career Development
27

26 comments

Sort by:
jefe
Arsonist
6
🍁
This used to be a lot bigger many years ago. Haven’t heard of it in awhile, and I think it’d be a hard sell for sales.
CuriousFox
WR Officer
6
🦊
I'm sure many will pay a percentage toward school.
Pachacuti
Politicker
5
They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy
I would never pay for a sales guy to get an MBA. Way over educated for selling.
SalesPharaoh
Big Shot
0
Senior Account Executive
You'd pay for it to get them in leadership not for selling. To teach them how to run an organisation with multiple departments not just thr sales part. They learn how to read financial statements what does it mean etc...it's useless for sales.
UserNotFound
Politicker
4
Account Executive
My company does it! But I'm in publishing which is pretty unique.
Kosta_Konfucius
Politicker
3
Sales Rep
Completely paid for, I dont think I have heard of that at any of the places I have worked at. At least for sales people
Sunbunny31
Politicker
3
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
Some companies offer free or offset MBA. Not sure if that's a benefit that will vanish with belt tightening, however.
Wellss
Tycoon
3
Channel sales
One of my friends got a job at PepsiCo after graduation and she said they paid for her to get her masters. Idk if they covered the whole thing or just part of it. Either way, seems like someone larger orgs would do
coletrain
Politicker
3
Account Executive
For the average sales rep, not a chance but it does exist at some places for ENT. If a company decides to do it, there typically will be a clawback if you leave before a certain point after getting the MBA
antiASKHOLE
Tycoon
3
Bravado's Resident Asshole
I don't see this anymore.
TennisandSales
Politicker
3
Head Of Sales
i havnt seen any in a while, especially in sales. I see some course work reimbursement but it always has to be "career related" so idk what that really means
bandabanda
Tycoon
3
Senior AE Mid Market
Yes, my company does a professional development stipend. Tis quite dope.
commishcapo
Opinionated
2
Commercial Account Exec
Prob not very +ev for companies anymore considering it’s unnecessary for sales
UserNotFound
Politicker
2
Account Executive
+ev??? What sorta hip-with-the-frat-boys lingo is this? (my mid-30s midwestern mom way of saying, WTF does that mean)
commishcapo
Opinionated
2
Commercial Account Exec
I have no idea but I saw someone use it on twitter and thought it looked cool. I’m prob not even using it correctly
Diablo
Politicker
2
Sr. AE
I have one friend who did it but he is a consultant in a well know consultancy firm. My company certainly doesn’t have one.
BlueJays2591
Politicker
2
Federal Business Dev Director
We had 5500/year to put towards it, but not fully paid for
JDialz
Politicker
1
Chief Operating Officer
We pay for designations through American College of Financial Services
SalesPharaoh
Big Shot
1
Senior Account Executive
Now companies will be for more specualized programs...for example banks will pay for credit courses, CFA etc...sales dept will pay for sales training.
BrianTracysLoveChild
Fire Starter
1
Account Manager
An MBA outright? I haven't seen it. Continuing education yes, but, not enough to cover a full MBA in the near term.

If it does exist, it would be like a unicorn - very rare, hard to believe if seen, and few if any actually see it.
km22
Opinionated
0
Account Executive
I was at an org that paid for half but you had to sign to stay for another two to three years so you didn’t need to pay it back.
CallMeMaybe
Opinionated
0
Director of Sales
I have seen it before, typically only with big companies. A friend was Head of Sales for one of the largest o&g companies. they paid an MBA at oxford.

Also, sometimes provinces/states give companies credit for continuing education. I bet if you check for your company they can access some dinero for ya there
BourbonKing
Valued Contributor
0
VP of Sales
Our company offers tuition assistance up to $5,250 per calendar year.
activity
Politicker
0
VP, Business Development
I don't think I've heard of a paid MBA in a long time. An MBA to most sales pros really doesn't mean anything at the end of the day. I've met people who don't have a college degree that were 100x the reps than someone even with an MBA.
Mendizo
Opinionated
0
Sr. Director
As others have said, some companies offer this or some semblance of this. The companies I've worked at recently have two flavors:

1. A certain amount of money per year for education, which can be applied to things like MBA's. Some MBA programs are cagey and will maximize this, by starting their program or cohort at the tail end of year 1, then ending at the tail beginning of year 3 or even year 4, basically getting you 4 years' worth of company dollars versus 2. My company offered $10k per year, with manager approval (which means you would need to demonstrate this would benefit your work).

2. Company coverage for your program overall (as opposed to a set dollar amount per year); this is less common from what I've seen in Sales, just given the mixed track record of "do you really need an MBA to succeed in Sales" type thinking. The ask is usually that you commit to the company for X years in return for them paying for your degree.
Arzola
Valued Contributor
-1
Business administration
Probably they will pay with percentage

Related posts

5

If the company was a classroom, who'd be the backbenchers?

Question
🐱
😂
🏹
6
Pick the backbencher
31 people voted
8

How to tell my boss I know I am paid the least, without exposing the team?

Advice
☁️
💰
13
17
Members only

Why are top executives paid that much? Are they overpaid?

Discussion
🐱
🏢
📲
27
Bravado is a community of trusted sales professionals endorsed by their customers.
Apple Store logo
Products
The War Room Jobs Salary Guide Tech Sales U
Company
About Us How It Works Blog Bug Bounty
Contact
Press Careers
© 2024 Bravado Inc. All rights reserved.
Privacy Policy Legal and Privacy Center Sales Jobs
If you are hired as a contract sales rep by a Bravado customer, we may ask you to prove access to the employee email account provided to you by that customer. This data will be shared with customers to track your sales productivity; customers can use this data to confirm you meet the minimum activity requirements to pay out your ramp stipend and commission.