Math 123 Quantitative Reasoning Project Summer 2022

Financial Project
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.
1) Income Comparison: Research your expected income after you graduate. Assume you obtain whatever level
of education needed to enter your desired area of employment. We recommend using the annual Median
salary found at: http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_in.htm#27-0000 *You will need to click on your desired
career in order to see the Annual Median wage. If using a different source, you must cite it.

 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.
 Suppose the annual income for an unskilled worker is $24,000. Compare your expected salary with
that of the unskilled worker. Remember that absolute and relative change statements are an excellent
way to compare values.

2) 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 1/10th of your monthly income on a loan payment versus
investing 1/10th of your monthly income into a retirement account?

 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 1/10th of your monthly income as a loan
payment.

 How much interest would you pay on this loan total?

 If you were able to invest 1/10th 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?
 How much interest would you earn on this investment total?

 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.
 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.
3) Raises: Suppose your field will guarantee you a 3% raise on your annual salary each year for the next four
years.

 Explain how you would determine what your new annual salary will be given these four years of
raises.

 Your reflection paper should contain at least one statement comparing your initial salary with the
salary after 4 years of raises.
Math 123 Quantitative Reasoning Project Summer 2022

Project Checklist:
 Paper must contain at least two meaningful relative change statements.
 Explanation of career choice and the salary for this career.
 Comparison of your expected salary vs. unskilled worker.
 Research and citation for a loan APR.
 Determination of loan value.
 Determination of interest paid on the loan.
 Explanation of how loan value and interest values were determined.
 Determination of retirement value.
 Determination of interest earned on the retirement account.
 Explanation of how retirement value and interest values were determined.
 Comparison of the loan amount and retirement amount.
 Determination of new salary after raises.
 Explanation of how you determined the new salary.
 Comparison of new salary with initial salary.
 Include in paper citations for any websites or other resources used.
 Paper should be elegant and coherent with a logical organization.
 Paper should be free of grammatical and mechanical errors.
 An organized spreadsheet with clearly labeled values.
 Completed project should be submitted via Ivy Learn on time in a readable format file.
In addition to addressing the statements above, your project should:
 Contain your name, course name and project name.
 Be well organized and easy to follow.
 The paper should be in paragraph form (not just bulleted answers!).
 Be clear to by someone who is not familiar with the project.
 Provide support for your statements e.g. explain how values were found.
 Give specific values (i. e. quantify statements).
 Use appropriate representations (tables, color, formatting) that helps the reader understand the
project.
 Contain a variety of comparison statements, including the use of relative change sentences.
 Project should be your original individual work. Copying someone else’s work is cheating. Sharing
your work with someone else is cheating.
 Tips: Start early. Ask instructor or tutors for help. Refer to course materials (book, videos). Complete
as much as you can, a partial submission is better than no submission. Writing tutors are also
available for assistance.
Math 123 Quantitative Reasoning Project Summer 2022

 Submit both an Excel and Word file following your instructor’s directions for submission.