I don't think companies pay for you to go do an MS or a PhD full-time on company dime. At that time AT&T was a monopoly and may have had money to burn on this. There also may not have been expectations of hyper-growth from the stock market that exist today.
AT&T still pays for various MS courses (mostly MSCS, MS data science and cybersecurity) you can do on a part-time basis. It's quite easy to get the tuition reimbursement for it.
In general, nobody needs to pay someone to do a PhD, at least in a scientific or engineering field -- even in the US, the country where education generally costs the most -- typically PhD students get free tuition as well as a living stipend. Masters students, granted typically don't get this benefit -- but in the US that's typically a terminal degree -- unlike in many countries you don't do a Masters and then a PhD -- you do one or the other.
Aren't those stipends skewed toward Ph.D students intending to pursue an academic career? I seem to recall hearing rumors that admitting that one's intent was to go into industry after getting a Ph.D would be viewed unfavorably in grad school applications and by advisors. Perhaps it's only at R1 universities?
Not in the US. Most PhDs in the US I believe just go over to big tech, not into academia. Bell Labs had the unique situation where a lot of their researchers moved between academia and industry. I don't think that occurs a whole lot anymore.
True, I think technically I got one when I passed my prelims -- they do that so if people end up dropping out before completing their dissertation they have something at least. But what I mean is in the US dedicated Masters programs are largely set up for people in industry to advance their careers and the schools see the program as a way to raise funds.
I don't disagree. When I got my Masters in engineering I had zero plans to continue to a PhD which would have been fairly uncommon where I went to engineering grad school in any case. I did eventually end up with another Masters but, in that case, a PhD would also have been uncommon unless I was on an academia track which I wasn't.
AT&T still pays for various MS courses (mostly MSCS, MS data science and cybersecurity) you can do on a part-time basis. It's quite easy to get the tuition reimbursement for it.