Overview: Throughout this course you will learn how to apply quantitative reasoning and problem-solving strategies to a variety of staged, but real-world contexts. You will build upon the skills you already had to advance the range of contexts to which you can apply mathematical thinking and problem-solving strategies effectively.

Your final project for this course will focus in on real-world financial, statistical, and measurement-related contexts to assess your mastery of quantitative reasoning and problem solving in these areas. Specifically, you will be working your way through opportunities for employment, selecting the one that best fits your needs and wants, establishing a budget to manage your expenses, selecting the best options for managing debt, and planning for the future. You will then take the strategies you have learned in this course and apply them to your own selected problem or decision and walk your instructor through your process for solving the problem. For your problem, you can choose anything, such as deciding what credit card to get, determining how much and what type of insulation to purchase, or planning your garden, but you must run your selection by your instructor for approval.

Mastery of the skills and strategies covered in this course will help set the foundation for future coursework, future career opportunities, as well as problem solving and decision making in your personal life

Prompt: Congratulations on graduating with your bachelor’s degree from Southern New Hampshire University! A new array of opportunities is open to you, but which will you choose, and how will it impact your life? Select your discipline area of interest and examine the set of jobs you have applied to and received offer letters for to determine which one best fits your needs and wants.

Refer to the following critical elements to complete this milestone:

I. Employment Opportunity Analysis: In this section of your milestone, you will focus on the opportunities presented in the discipline area of interest to you. Compare the opportunity as instructed below:

A. Outline the characteristics that are most important to you in a job search, and explain why. B. Comparison

1. Location: Compare the jobs in terms of distance and commute and consider the impact each would have on your day-to-day life. Consider if you would be willing to commute or relocate for any of these positions. Be sure to explain the considerations and show your calculations.

2. Salary: Find the occupational area on BLS.gov and compare the salary ranges for each job. Specifically, answer the following in your comparison:

i. Calculate what a reasonable salary would be for each job opportunity using the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) website, and explain how you determined each figure.

ii. Calculate the starting income each position will provide you after taxes using an estimated flat tax rate of 30%, as well as the annual income you would make at the 5-year mark after taxes using a flat tax rate of 32%.

iii. Were you to have information about the salaries of various levels of employees in each company, what (mean, median, or mode) would you use to calculate your expected salary? Why?

 3. Benefits: Compare the benefits and retirement packages of each opportunity, calculating theoretical retirement savings if applicable. Consider the following:

i. Determine the retirement savings you will have in 5, 10, and 20 years considering the retirement options provided by each employer in the job opportunity letters. If your employer matches your contributions, assume you will put aside the maximum that the employer will match; if the employer does not have a retirement option, assume you will put aside 5% of your pre-tax salary each year. Explain how you got your results.

ii. Compare the insurance plans offered by each employer and how much you would be expected to cover. Be sure to consider your personal situation such as children who need coverage and how much the family plans will save/cost you.

Rubric

Guidelines for Submission: Your paper must be submitted as a Microsoft Word document with double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch

margins. Use the Milestone One Template to submit your work.