Life is full of making decisions. Soon I will be making some of my most impactful decisions. What will I do after I graduate? How will my decision affect me financially? These questions are not easy to answer with so many options. For my Economics class, I’m learning about risks, opportunity costs, and how they affect an individual as well as a collective. My classmates and I went to Lyft and learned more about the market of a ride-share company. We also went to the Chicago Ideas week and listened to professionals talk about algorithms and big data. These experiences were both connected with this class and gave me insight on our economy as a bigger picture.
As a senior, I have a few ideas of what I want to do and how to get there but for this Action project, I focused on 2 completely different career and educational pathways so I can have some ideas on what's accessible and possible for me.
If you want to look at my choices more in depth, click here, or you can continue reading.
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| Econ AP1, MW, 2019 |
For both pathways, I made some assumptions.
If I were to go to Scripps college for an undergraduate degree in neuroscience, I assumed that:
- I will receive $35,00 in financial aid and $5,000 in scholarships.
- I will stay on campus all 4 years
With these assumptions, the cost of attending this school would be $168,264
(Year 1- $33,642
Year 2- $41,778
Year 3- $44,869
Year 4- $47,975)
To pay off the loans, it would take 16 years and my true cost, including the compounding interest would end up being $201,123, including $32,859 of interest. Here's a link to the full chart.
Becoming a psychiatrist
Assuming that I would become a psychiatrist, I calculated my lifetime earnings.
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| MW, LIFETIME EARNINGS, 2019 |
This shows my salary going up as the years go by. The blue, red, and yellow lines represent my entry, middle, and senior level salaries. The cost of living increases so it only makes sense that my pay will increase too. In total, my lifetime earnings would be
Here is the supply of demand of psychiatrist
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| MW, Psych SD, 2019 |
This shows the employment and wage rise that is expected in the next 10 years as well as where it is now.
If I were to go to The New School, I assumed that:
-I would receive money from multiple sources (scholarships and student aid options) adding up to around $50,000
-I will stay enrolled into this school until I graduate
-I will stay on campus for all 5 years
- I will be attending the BA/BFA Lang/Parsons program
With these assumptions, the cost of attending this school would be $140,194
(Year 1- $23,642
Year 2- $25,778
Year 3- $27,975
Year 4- $30,236
Year 5- $32,563)
To pay off loans for The New School, it would take 16 years as well. This leaves me with the true cost of $191,193 including $50,999 in interest paid. Here's a link to the full chart.
Becoming an Art Director
If I become an Art Director, here is my intended salary and lifetime earnings.
Here is the supply and demand of Art Directors.
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| MW, SD Art Director, 2019 |
The growth rate is 1%, so the change is very small, the two lines represent that 1% growth for the next 10 years.
While doing this AP, I was able to get more insight on one of the career paths. I talked to a doctor, who happens to be a friend of my mom's. The doctor that I talked to wasn't a psychiatrist exactly but I wanted to know if they enjoyed their life as a doctor and if they would ever go through all of those years of school again? "I absolutely would go through everything again, even though it wasn't fun, it was rewarding. I love being a doctor now." Dr. ED told me. I then asked him for advice and he left me with "You need to be disciplined, Study hard, be positive, and always remember why you started"
With this information, I don't have a final decision of what I would want to do. Both paths have pros and cons. Ultimately my biggest takeaway was the amount of money an education costs. With both paths, the school costs aren't that much different but my salary cost had a substantial difference.
I compiled some pros and cons of each path
The New School, Art Director
The pros of this pathway:
Graduate with 2 degree's
Be in a city that will be easy to get this career after graduating
The cons of this pathway:
Really expensive true cost
Scripps college, Psychiatrist
The Pro's
High Lifetime earnings
More education options
The Cons
Longtime payment
Longer school time
I believe either path I would be okay with but I would for sure have to try to get more money in scholarships. Before this action project, I didn’t know most of these things that I’m displaying. Not only did this project give me the opportunity to explore my options and get a sense of what I want to do, financially and educationally wise. Researching different pathways left me with more confidence in what I can do after I graduate.
1 . ) “29-1066 Psychiatrists.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 29 Mar. 2019, https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes291066.htm.
2.) “Art Directors : Occupational Outlook Handbook:” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/arts-
3.) “Scripps College Overview.” College Factual, 13 Sept. 2019, https://www.collegefactual.
4.) “The New School Overview.” College Factual, 13 Sept. 2019, https://www.collegefactual.
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