Nation and world digest

NATION

Taking advantage of tuition reimbursement

NEW YORK — Your employer may offer tuition reimbursement, but in these trying economic times, how do you work up the nerve to cash in on the opportunity?

Katy Piotrowski, author of the new book “The Career Coward’s Guide to Career Advancement,” says at least half of American workers are offered educational benefits from their jobs. Still, many don’t know how to pursue these opportunities or justify them to employers during an economic downturn.

Piotrowski offers these tips to approach employers about financial support for continued- education opportunities:

Lead with your employer’s interests and ask which areas they would like to see the team develop expertise; provide hard data about how your improved education will result in increased productivity, profitability and opportunities; guarantee a good grade; promise to stick around for a set period afterward; and offer to split the cost.

Immigrants returning to India and China

NEW YORK — More and more young, tech-savvy, well-educated Indian and Chinese immigrants are packing it up in the United States and heading back home, says Duke professor and Harvard researcher Vivek Wadhwa.

He conducted a survey on why recent returnees elected to go back to India and China for the Kauffman Foundation.

“The majority of people like it better back home,” Wadhwa said. “The U.S. isn’t everything anymore. ... This is great for India and China, but what we’ve done is export economic recovery.”

He estimates that though 50,000 Indian and 50,000 Chinese immigrants returned home in the past 20 years, there will be 100,00 Indians and 100,000 Chinese immigrants leaving the U.S. in the next five years.

Associated Press