MU123: You are making an investment in your education: Quantitative Reasoning Math Assignment, OU, UK

As an Ivy Tech student, you are making an investment in your education. This project will look at how that investment will pay off if you graduate and get a job in your desired field.

• Income Comparison: Research your expected income after you graduate. Assume you obtain whatever level of education needed to enter your desired area of employment.
  1. Your reflection paper should explain what your desired area of employment is and what the median annual salary for that position is. Explain why you chose this field and what education is required.
  2. Suppose the annual income for an unskilled worker is $25,000. Compare your expected salary with that of the unskilled worker. Remember that absolute and relative change statements are an excellent way to compare values.
• Spending vs. Saving: With your post-graduation income, you have disposable income to spend or invest as you like. Explore what would happen if you spent 1/10^th of your monthly income on a loan payment versus investing 1/10^th of your monthly income into a retirement account?
  1. Research and choose a current fixed rate APR for a loan for a length of your choice then use Excel to determine how large of a loan you would receive using 1/10^th of your monthly income as a loan payment.
     1. How much interest would you pay on this loan total?
  2. If you were able to invest 1/10^th of your monthly income into a retirement account with the same rate APR and length of time as you would have for the loan above, what would the balance on the account be at the end?
     1. How much interest would you earn on this investment total?
  3. Compare the outcomes for the loan value and the retirement value. Remember that absolute and relative change statements are an excellent way to compare values.
  4. Explain how you calculated the values used in this section including any Excel functions. Remember to cite what source you used to find loan rates.
• Raises: Suppose your field will guarantee you a 4% raise on your annual salary each year for the next three years.
  1. Explain how you would determine what your new annual salary will be given these three years of raises.
  2. Your reflection paper should contain at least one statement comparing your initial salary with the salary after 3 years of raises.