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8 Reasons It's Great To Work At The Apple Store
Apple's retail arm is a force to be reckoned with.
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It's by far the most profitable retail store in the country, it sells in-demand products, and its employees are among the most friendly and approachable there are.
Every job has its benefits, just as it has its inherent stresses. Let's take a look at the former.
Apple's "Employee Purchase Program" gets its workers access to the company's products at a more agreeable price.
Once a year, employees can get a 25% discount on a computer. They can also get a 25% discount on each model of iPod and iPad. Most Apple software is discounted 50%. Third-party stuff is 10% off and AppleCare comes with a 25% discount.
After 90 days on the job, you can get $500 off the price of a Mac (everything except the Mini) or $250 off an iPad.
Under the current Apple discount program, on their first day of employment, staffers are eligible for a 25 percent discount on one of the following products: iMac, Mac mini, Mac Pro, MacBook Air or MacBook Pro. The same discount is also available on one each of the various iPod models, an iPad, Airport base station and Apple display, and a “reasonable quantify” of Apple accessories. There is also a 50 percent discount on most Apple software and 10 percent on third-party accessories, both in reasonable quantities. AppleCare is also available for a 25 percent discount.
Friends and family of an Apple employee are also eligible for a discount on products, most limited to three products at a 15 percent discount. No employee product discounts are available for the Apple TV or iPhone.
After an employee has been on the job for 90 days, the new EPP+ program becomes effective. The program was announced by Apple CEO Tim Cook last January, and is just now taking effect. The program lets an employee chose one of two discounts: $500 off the price of a Mac (mini excluded) or $250 off an iPad. Once the discount is used, an employee is not eligible for this discount again for three years.
Based on the cost of the various iPad models, the new discount ranges from 30 percent to 50 percent. The discount on an iMac, for example, would range from 20 percent to 41 percent.
Full-time employees see all the benefits that you would expect, like medical and dental coverage. And for those falling on especially hard times, Apple has partners around the country to get its employees free therapy and access to other beneficial programs.
If you want to expand your muscle inside the Apple-verse, you can easily get training on professional-grade apps like Final Cut Pro or Logic, and even get certified to teach the programs to customers.
Given the retail industry's notoriously low pay, Apple does quite right by its sales staff. After criticism that it was shortchanging its employees, the company doled out raises last year, some as high as 25%.
Apple retail employees have access to a pretty cool way to buy company stock. By way of payroll deductions, employees can auto-buy company stock at 85% of the lower fair market value at the beginning and end of the six-month offering periods.
In short, they'll compare the stock price today versus six months ago. Employees can buy shares at 85% of the lowest of the two prices.
If you work in Apple retail, your store will find a way to make sure you get a product you want on its launch day while skipping those absurd lines.
As long as your shirt and nametag are Apple-issued, almost anything else goes. Go nuts with hats, flip flops, mohawks, and facial piercings.
One thing the company is a little testy about, however – Apple logos on non-official clothing items.
Apple is the most profitable retail store in the world. There's a subtle coolness inherent to being a gear in that powerful of a machine.
Click here to see the best self-teaching resources for computer programming >
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