Kip Turner came to AT&T at age 18 without a bachelor’s degree and learned on the job for his career as an engineer.
Courtesy of AT&T
When Kip Turner first applied to AT&T in 1973, he didn’t expect he would spend his entire career with them.
Turner was 18 at the time and had just completed a year at Arkansas State University studying animal science. But after seeing all the schooling it takes to become a veterinarian, he realized he needed a job “to even think about it” and dropped out.
His part-time job as a lumber truck driver wasn’t enough, so he asked his father, a Southwestern Bell Telephone employee, if he knew of any openings in the telecommunications field.
In the summer of 1973, Turner drove to Little Rock for an interview and worked as a station installer for AT&T.
Turner, now 68, has spent the last 50 years of his career with the company and is expected to retire in the next few years.
Turner tells CNBC Make It that in his 50 years at AT&T, he has held about eight positions, each lasting between two and seven years, with the exception of his most recent position as senior product development engineer, which he has held since 2009.
Based on his own experience, he likes to advise younger professionals not to let educational requirements stop them from applying for jobs that interest them. Turner came to AT&T without a bachelor’s degree and learned everything on the job.
Kip Turner, 68, joined AT&T shortly after high school and has been with the company throughout his 50-year career.
Courtesy of AT&T
“I have probably attended 150 different training courses across the country, from basic troubleshooting to microwave radio engineering, fiber optic synchronization, microwave engineering maintenance and maintenance support,” Turner says.
While many of these courses come with college credit, Turner says his biggest regret in his career is not taking advantage of AT&T’s educational benefits to go back to college. “I would have liked to have completed an engineering degree,” he says.
Currently, AT&T offers eligible employees up to $30,000 in tuition reimbursement and partners with Notre Dame, the University of Oklahoma, Champlain College, North Carolina A&T and other universities for select programs, allowing employees to graduate for $30,000 US dollars or less. The courses are also available 100% online.
To this end, another important piece of advice for young employees is to “take advantage of all the training and education opportunities” a company offers, “whether it’s internal, whether it’s tuition reimbursement, whether it gives you time to go back “School,” says Turner. “I wish I had used it all those years ago.”
Tuition subsidies are increasingly becoming an everyday work benefit: According to a survey by the Society for Human Resource Management, 48% of employers said they offer tuition assistance as a benefit. A separate 2021 survey by Willis Towers Watson found that 80% of large employers offer tuition reimbursement.
Although Turner still has access to these college benefits, “I’ve been so busy lately with my personal and business life. I don’t know when I might find time to go back to school,” he says. “There will be a lot of catching up to do. I have some colleagues who have gone back to school, they are a little younger than me and they have admitted that it is hard.”
His on-the-job learning will keep him busy until he retires around age 70 or beyond, he says. His role has changed in recent years to support the public sector and defense account team, which “has taken me to some interesting places,” including building a wireless system on a decommissioned Navy destroyer in California.
“The things I learned specific to AT&T wireless and cellular technology by handling the equipment were invaluable,” Turner says. “It took a little longer, but it was invaluable.”
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