Project Assignment
We all know that we cannot plan for every possible event in our future. However, for the purpose of this project you are going to develop an experimental plan for the first 10 years of your life following graduation. How things really happen in the future may or may not work out as planned, but at least you can think about this as an interesting real-world application of Engineering Economy. The first part of the project involves simply documenting year by year events that you think have a reasonable probability of occurrence in your life. For example, at year 0 (immediately following graduation), perhaps you will enter the engineering workforce or maybe you are thinking of delaying entry into the engineering workforce by a few years to join the Peace Corps. Are you thinking of additional graduate school later while working? Many engineers decide to obtain additional education in their field or at least attend short courses in particular areas from time to time to stay current. Do you plan to buy a house? How often will you buy a car? What about a car for the kids? What about a vacation home or a boat? How many children will you have and when? Do you anticipate caring for an elderly relative? There are many, many questions to think about over the next 10 years. You can be creative – this is not meant to be a hard and fast plan. For the purpose of financial calculations, you need to be as realistic as possible. Estimates of salary increases, including big jumps when completing additional education can be obtained from the library and the internet.
