Between all the classes, clubs, athletic events and regretful nights in Tigerland, I sometimes forget why I’m in college — to get a job after graduation.
However, unless you’re an overachiever who uses the services at the Olinde Career Center, no one is teaching you what to look for when you start getting those lucrative job offers.
While you may think salary should be the only deciding factor in a job offer, other employee benefits, such as health care and retirement plans, could make a lower- paying job the better offer.
Health care plans have always been the essential piece of employee benefits plans. With the recent passing of the Affordable Care Act, it’s now legally required that any company with more than 50 employees substantially pay for the health insurance of those employees.
Most companies must pay at least 50 percent of employee premiums to receive tax credits. However, according to Zanebenefits.com, employers on average pay 83 percent of premiums for single coverage plans and 72 percent of premiums for family plans.
When comparing company health plans, there are several components to consider, including the type of coverage and how much your copay and deductible will be. The percent of premiums paid by a potential employer will most likely be your deciding factor. For example, the difference between a company paying 50 percent of premiums on a family plan compared to 80 percent could be $10,000.
The second essential part of an employee benefits plan is retirement. These are the 401(k)’s you might have heard about — or as I like to call them, an adult trigger word which makes me want to never leave college.
Most retirement plans will consist of either a 401(k) or a profit sharing plan. Few companies today offer pensions, and, in reality, you will most likely use a 401(k). Government entities will have different options, including pensions, depending on the office.
If you are going to save for retirement — and you should — then you also need to understand how contributions work.
Companies will contribute to your retirement either through a percentage of your salary or by matching a percentage of your contributions. Comparing retirement benefits is as easy as comparing the percent of money each company will contribute to your retirement plan. The more money your company is willing to give you, the better.
Be sure to consider the vacation, paid leaves and sick/personal days offered by a company. While you shouldn’t be looking for jobs based on how many days you can be absent, it’s still important to consider. While it’s not likely you will receive tons of job offers with crazy benefits immediately after graduation, it’s still necessary to understand how benefits packages should influence your decisions.
You should see now that it’s possible a benefits package could be over $10,000 in value a year in addition to salary. We call this total compensation. As our society continues to move toward blurring the line between work and life, understanding how to assess and compare total compensation packages as opposed to just base salary, will be vital.
Jay is a 22-year-old finance
senior from St. Simons Island, Georgia.

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