[hectorr]

The stock photo for this article is an interesting choice. The graduate paid zero dollars for his quarter-million dollar education, and was guaranteed a job at graduation. In return, he owes them a full commitment for five years of work, and partial commitment for another three.

The organization that promised to hire him ran the admissions process, set the curriculum, and after training screened him into a particular path for at least the first stage of his new career. He was surrounded for four years by people who will be his professional peers for the entirety of his career. He knows that the likelihood of him reaching the pinnacle of his profession is increased substantially through this network.

Obviously the military is well set up to do this. I am surprised though that other industries haven't attempted to build schools to train their respective employee bases.

[ghaff]

In part, it's probably because other industries have a limited ability to toss you in the brig if you decide to give your notice after a year.

There are trucking schools, mechanics school, cooking schools (as in the article). But the trades in general tend to be more of an apprentice system.

Finally, some specialized companies do have extended in-house training. But this sort of thing is definitely less common, in part because people skip around jobs a lot more so there's going to be a lot of free-riding on a company offering expensive training.

[DashRattlesnake]

> Finally, some specialized companies do have extended in-house training. But this sort of thing is definitely less common, in part because people skip around jobs a lot more so there's going to be a lot of free-riding on a company offering expensive training.

Don't blame worker "free-riding" so much. I'd say lack of in-house training has even more to do with the fact that companies are much more eager to lay off workers based on short term financial metrics.

Worker training (and loyalty to workers) is a long term investment that doesn't fit well in a culture driven by short term results.

[cossatot]

I think it's not simply that firms don't think long-term, it's that they can't confidently project 10+ years in the future, so they prefer not to take the risk. Maybe the market will change dramatically by then, making the product obsolete, or maybe improved techniques, automation etc. will have made the position obsolete.

[hectorr]

I wonder if you could do something similar with a student loan/financial aid program. The company doesn't take on the risk of building a university, but can set curriculum and performance standards to maintain the scholarship. If it's structured as a loan, worst case you're on the hook the way anyone is for a student loan.

[stevenwoo]

You don't get automatically sent to the brig for not fulfilling your commitment, IIRC, you have to pay the retail cost of your military academy education, and if you don't do that, then you are in trouble

[nhangen]

There isn't any way to skip out that does not violate the laws of the UCMJ. Getting dishonorably discharged is the result of that process, but it's not like you can just cancel your contract, write a check, and walk out.

[hectorr]

Yep. It's amortized about $50k/year over the five years active requirement. You can also leave any time in the first two years of school without any penalty. And they don't throw you in the brig, you get a tax lien. It sucks, but it's really no worse than a student loan.

[ghaff]

Fair enough although I suspect the military is in a better position to collect than a private company would be, any signed contracts notwithstanding. (Companies can apparently recoup training costs under some conditions but it can be a complicated area.)

[greglindahl]

Here's a school run by McDonalds which teaches you how to manage a fast food restaurant: http://corporate.mcdonalds.com/mcd/corporate_careers/trainin...

[liveoneggs]

My mother's debt for nursing school was cancelled if she agreed to work in the hospital system affiliated with the school after graduation. I think it was year-for-year trade off.

[mason240]

The military can put you in jail for not fulfilling your end of the bargain. On top of that, there are no competing militaries - you can't decide in year 2 of you contract to go work for a different military, so there is a low risk on the part of the military for paying for the initial training.

[ghaff]

It may also be worth observing that in the case of that particular example, a (paid for) four-year university education is part of the packaged education and on-the-job training deal. (I assume that's a graduation at Annapolis.)