My son is on his way to college and I am a proud, proud father. Of course before I get too excited my little guy is only five-months old but since I have dedicated my career to higher education I am already thinking about him heading off to college. What will he study? What school will he attend? How will we pay for it? Will he want to go to an ‘elite’ school? Will he want to go to a football school? Will he go to the local community college? Will he need to know Spanish by the time he enters college? Will he even go to college? What will higher education look like in 2031?
There are far too many unknowns 18 years in the future so in the meantime my family will do the only thing possible at this point, start saving. But how much do we save for college? In my attempt to figure this out, I went to FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and used their college savings calculator.
To save for college in 2031, I used the following variables:
- $25,000 in today’s dollars for one year of college;
- 18 years until enrollment;
- 4.5% annual return;
- 3% annual inflation rate;
- 4 years for an undergraduate degree.
By the time my son enrolls in college in 2031 the annual cost will have risen, according to FINRA from $25,000 to $42,500 in 2031. This calculator states we will need to save $5,237 per year, or $436 per month. If we have another child, we will need to double this number to $876 per month and if our children (one real and one hypothetical) want to attend an ‘elite’ school we need to double our savings again to $1,752 per month.
Where to start? Saving $436 per month for one child is ‘doable’. I say this because I have steady employment and my wife has an extremely flexible, in-demand job. But here is the kicker: I do not know what is going to happen over the next 18 years. Consider the following:
- Will I still be with my current employer?
- Will my career continue to advance?
- Will I get reasonable/modest pay raises?
- How will my retirement perform?
- Will I get laid-off and have to start over?
- Will we have to move to a different state for some reason?
- Will my family have any medical emergencies?
- Will my family have any unexpected expenses?
- Should we send our son (our children) to private primary and secondary school?
In addition to the above: my wife and I have college loan debt; I will need a new(ish) car once every five to eight years (this is a must living in Arizona); and we want to take modest family vacations once in awhile to stay sane and have a little fun.
With the above unknowns I go back to the original action plan; we better start saving. The only thing I can do is my best at work, make good decisions for myself, and with my wife as my sidekick (and me as her’s), make the best possible choices for our family.
Everything else is having a little faith that life will work out over the next 18 years.
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Least stressful job of 2013...Part III
So what does this mean; the CareerCast rankings and Part I and Part II of my conversation? Of the eleven job demands that Careercast uses to rate the most stressful jobs, five do not apply to university professor: physical demands, environmental conditions, hazards encountered, own life at risk, and life of another at risk. Of the remaining job demands the most stressful by far is competitiveness followed by deadlines, working in the public eye, and meeting the public.
When discussing stress, many university professors will often say the following: four years for undergrad, two years for a masters, three to five years for a doctorate, and possible post-doc appointments before they even get their first legit job. I am sorry to say but the average person does not care or understand how many years of education has been accumulated although they will be impressed when it is brought up. Attaining a basket of degrees is an intensely personal journey that is a job requirement for university professors but it is not a stress factor when factored into a full time, tenured position.
Now the comparisons; is the job of university professor as stressful as being:
- An enlisted military personnel?
- A firefighter?
- A cop?
- A corporate executive?
- An airline pilot?
- A medical doctor?
- A surgeon?
- A nurse?
- An oil rig worker?
- A correctional officer?
- A paramedic?
- CPS worker?
- A home health care provider?
No.
Being a university professor is stressful but for different reasons than the stresses associated with the above jobs. University professors do not have to worry that their actions might kill someone or greatly endanger people. University professors do not have to worry that mistakes made on the job might cost the university millions of dollars. University professors do not have to worry that their actions might lead to disaster.
The stress of maintaining an academic profile that is competitive on the national and international international market is stressful beyond reproach. Example, in Arizona, does a lawyer or doctor have to be one of the three best in the entire state just to get a job? No; there are thousands of lawyers and doctors in Arizona but there are only three professors of bassoon in Arizona. If you do not get a job in Arizona you have to move onto a different state.
This leads to self-doubt and a mindset that nothing is ever good enough, “my writing is never good enough, my CV is lacking, I need to publish more, I need to finish my book (or second or third), my degrees are not from good enough schools.” And the list goes on and on.
But with these stresses, university professors have great freedoms; besides academic freedom university professors have the freedom to create and be inquisitive their entire lives. Being able to use words to create ideas that can inform and influence students and others is a gift. Being able to be inquisitive, stay inquisitive no matter what happens, to use your inquisitive nature to fix problems, and to be inquisitive throughout your life; this is freedom incarnate.
When discussing stress, many university professors will often say the following: four years for undergrad, two years for a masters, three to five years for a doctorate, and possible post-doc appointments before they even get their first legit job. I am sorry to say but the average person does not care or understand how many years of education has been accumulated although they will be impressed when it is brought up. Attaining a basket of degrees is an intensely personal journey that is a job requirement for university professors but it is not a stress factor when factored into a full time, tenured position.
Now the comparisons; is the job of university professor as stressful as being:
- An enlisted military personnel?
- A firefighter?
- A cop?
- A corporate executive?
- An airline pilot?
- A medical doctor?
- A surgeon?
- A nurse?
- An oil rig worker?
- A correctional officer?
- A paramedic?
- CPS worker?
- A home health care provider?
No.
Being a university professor is stressful but for different reasons than the stresses associated with the above jobs. University professors do not have to worry that their actions might kill someone or greatly endanger people. University professors do not have to worry that mistakes made on the job might cost the university millions of dollars. University professors do not have to worry that their actions might lead to disaster.
The stress of maintaining an academic profile that is competitive on the national and international international market is stressful beyond reproach. Example, in Arizona, does a lawyer or doctor have to be one of the three best in the entire state just to get a job? No; there are thousands of lawyers and doctors in Arizona but there are only three professors of bassoon in Arizona. If you do not get a job in Arizona you have to move onto a different state.
This leads to self-doubt and a mindset that nothing is ever good enough, “my writing is never good enough, my CV is lacking, I need to publish more, I need to finish my book (or second or third), my degrees are not from good enough schools.” And the list goes on and on.
But with these stresses, university professors have great freedoms; besides academic freedom university professors have the freedom to create and be inquisitive their entire lives. Being able to use words to create ideas that can inform and influence students and others is a gift. Being able to be inquisitive, stay inquisitive no matter what happens, to use your inquisitive nature to fix problems, and to be inquisitive throughout your life; this is freedom incarnate.
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