UNIT 1
Do What You Are Reflection
- According to the Do What You Are Inventory, what is your (letter combination) “Personality Type”? List here your strengths and blindspots. ISTJ, some of my strengths include carefully and thoroughly researching options, completing all requests for information carefully and accurately, patiently following instructions and guidelines, and following through on all important details. Some of my blindspots include not considering choices not thought of before, focusing too much on the present and not anticipating future needs and desires, not presenting yourself as a well-rounded, multi-dimensional person, and not being excited and enthusiastic in conversations.
- Consider your college satisfiers and career satisfiers in a short paragraph. Does anything surprise you about these results? How can you consider this as you make college and career choices? I found my college and career satisfiers to be pretty accurate to who I believe I am as a person. The one thing that did surprise me about my career satisfiers results was allowing me to use my ability to remember and use important facts and details. This character trait may be a little off because I do not have a great memory when it comes to things like that. I can use these results to help me when making choices in my future by allowing me to find a place that I can strive in all of these areas.
- Look at your learning style. What aspects of this surprises you or reinforces what you already knew? Make sure to support your answer with evidence from your own academic career so far. How do you envision your learning style will make a difference as you move forward with school and career? When looking at my learning style results, the things I were already aware of were that I prefer real examples and a focus on the practical application of the learning, and clear expectations and explicit instructions. I have always done well in my classes when I knew the chapters I was learning about were applicable in my everyday life. I also tend to get better grades on projects and activities that are given to me with clear instruction and deadlines. None of the results from this section really surprised me, they were all accurate. As I have gone through high school my learning style has definitely changed. Viewing these results will help me know what areas I should focus on with my school work in order to do the best I can.
- Of the long list of careers recommended for people with your Personality Type, select five that might interest you and type here the five and at least one major needed to enter each field. Preschool teacher - early childhood education and teaching, Clinical Psychologist - psychology, Financial Advisor - finance, Chief Executive - business/commerce , Credit Analyst - accounting
Reflection
Overall, this assessment really gave me some insight on my personality. Once I established what type of personality I have, it gave me some of the different things I accel in as well as things I could work on. By learning these strengths and weaknesses, I learned what things I should focus on in school and eventually in my career in order to use my strengths to my advantage and do the best I can possibly do. After learning about my personality results, it gave me examples of careers that I would be the most successful with in relation to my personality. This was very helpful because it opened my eyes to some careers I had never considered before and what majors I would have to take in order to pursue them. It was also comforting to see some of the careers I had already been considering in the list because it suggests that I would do well in them considering my personality results.
Career Interest Profiler
- In your opinion, what are the biggest differences between career, job, and school? For you, what overlapping skills do you think you have probably already mastered (lucky you!) and how did you master them? Also, none of us is perfect, so what overlapping skills do you need to work on a little? School is a place where you build your education and experience that you will be able to take with you when pursuing your career. In my opinion, a job is something you are obligated to do. On the other hand, your career is something you have an interest in that you explore through professional experience. Some of the skills I feel like I have already mastered are my ability to work hard and to maintain a positive attitude no matter what. Some skills I feel like I still need to work on are my independence and confidence in what I am doing and the skills that I have.
- In what two areas did you score the highest? Explain some of the traits that are associated with these areas. In what two areas did you score the lowest? Explain some of the traits that are associated with these areas. I scored the highest in the social and enterprising categories. The traits associated with the social category are the ability to work with, communicate with, and teach people. The traits associated with the enterprising category are the ability to start up and carry out projects, as well as the ability to take risks and deal with business. The two areas I scored the lowest in were realistic and conventional. The traits associated with the realistic category are the ability to work with activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. The traits associated with the conventional category are the ability to follow set procedures and routines, as well as working with data and details.
- Did your scores surprise you in any way? If they did, explain why. If they were unsurprising, explain in a short anecdote from your life how this trait has already made itself clear. The only score that did surprise me was the fact that I scored low in the realistic category. I feel like I am good at dealing with problem and solution situations. I was not surprised that I scored highly in the social category. I am fairly certain I would want to do a job that requires interacting with people and i believe I would be good at it.
- List at least five professions were recommended to you. Are these jobs that you yourself have considered pursuing? Did any of the recommendations come as a surprise to you? Counseling psychologist and Criminal justice and law enforcement teacher are two professions that were recommended to me that I have definitely considered pursuing. I am very interested in doing something in the psychology field or criminal psychology field. A preschool teacher is another profession that was recommended to me and although it is very different than the other ones, I have also considered taking this career path. A tutor and a midwife were two professions that were recommended to me that came as a surprise. I do not feel like these jobs would be a good fit for me.
- Has this quiz altered your opinion of potential future goals and aspirations? Do you think you might investigate something that you didn’t know about before? Are you surprised at the schooling required for any career or the wages associated with a career suggested? This quiz did not severely alter my opinion of my future goals and aspirations but it did provide me with some helpful information on what jobs go well with my strengths. The quiz showed me that I would excel in a job that involves helping people and interacting with them. Because of that, I may look into some teaching jobs which I would not have considered before. The jobs in the psychology field were the ones I was previously the most interested in so I was already aware of the amount of schooling required to pursue that path. However, after looking further into them, the wage associated with those jobs were a bit higher than I expected.
Reflection Taking this career interest profiler quiz provided me with helpful insight on many different things that will benefit me in the future. By answering the questions, it gave me scores in different categories that corresponded with certain character traits. By knowing what I scored well in and what I did not, it will help me know which professions I would excel in. The quiz also provided me with many possible jobs I could do in relation to my scores on the quiz. Taking the quiz made me feel confident that I will be able to find a job that is right for me. It was also helpful to see just how many jobs there are out there that I could choose from. Overall, I feel like taking the interest profiler quiz was accurate and very helpful in my career search.
Personal Essay
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Choosing French
I watched the teacher eagerly as she began passing out the papers. “Remember to have your parents sign these and have them turned in by tomorrow,” she instructed. I felt my heart start to beat a little faster as I imagined the conversation I would be having with my parents later that night. After taking introductory classes to both Spanish and French throughout my first year of middle school, it was finally time for me to pick which language I wanted to stick with. I already knew my parents’ opinions. Spanish, no matter what. We have already had the conversation time and time again about how much more useful Spanish would be when I grew up and entered the work world. There was also the fact that my grades were much better in my Spanish classes. As a drastically indecisive 11 year old, having two adults tell you which path to take usually means that’s the one you’ll be taking. This was a decision that would affect the next few years of my academic career. It would determine who I would have classes with and what teachers I would get, all drastic factors in the life of a sixth grade girl. Usually I would avoid making this decision on my own at all costs and just do what my parents told me to. But something felt different this time. I knew the love I felt for French and that I truly wanted to chose it as my language. It didn’t matter what my parents were telling me or how many of my friends were taking Spanish, I wanted to take french, and I was going to do everything in my power to get my parents to let me.
Before I knew it the final bell of the day had rung. I ran out the school doors, hopped on my bus, and rode home with the language permission paper still in my hand. By the time I got home my nerves went from hopefulness to dread. I knew it would take a lot of convincing to get my parents to sign the paper with French circled instead of Spanish. I left the paper on the kitchen counter knowing my Mom would see it when she got home, and went upstairs to finish my homework. The second I heard the garage door open I sprinted down the steps to greet my Mom. “I got my language permission paper today. I need you to sign it.” I mumbled. She picked up the paper and read it over. “Okay, we’ll fill it out when Dad gets home,” she explained. I knew what that meant. They knew I wanted to take French and I knew this would be their final attempt to try and convince me otherwise. My thoughts rushed through my head like a flood. I went back up to my room to prepare myself for the conversation I knew I would soon have.
As nighttime rolled around, I heard the garage door open again. This time it was my Dad that was arriving home. I waited for a few minutes for him to change out of his work clothes and make his way back down to the kitchen. Once I knew both of my parents were downstairs together, I creeped down the stairs and into the kitchen to join them. “Can we talk about which language I’m taking now?” I asked. My parents both looked at each other as if they had been waiting for me to ask. “Yes, come sit down,” my Dad said as he gestured to the kitchen table. “We know you want to take french Morgan, but there are so many more benefits to taking Spanish. I don’t think you taking French would be the smartest choice,” my Mom explained as my Dad nodded in agreement. “I know that’s what you think I should do. But I love French so much more and I know that it’s the class I want to take,” I argued. I was proud of myself for following through with what I knew I wanted to do. It may not have seemed like a big accomplishment to most people, but for one of the first times in my young life, I was going against my parents and standing up for what I knew would make me the happiest. I listened to each of their points, making sure to reiterate them as I explained my own. We argued for what seemed like days. I was beginning to feel like it wasn’t even worth fighting over and that I should just take Spanish to avoid anymore confrontation. Just as I began to second guess myself, my parents finally agreed on letting me chose to do what I wanted. “Fine Morgan, if this is what you really want to do I’ll sign off on it,” my Mom sighed. My heart leaped with joy. “As long as you promise to get good grades in all of your French classes,” my Dad agreed. “Of course I will!” I shouted. “Thank you!” I ran up the stairs and stuffed the signed paper into my backpack, eager to turn it into my teacher the next day.
As I fell asleep that night I thought about the conversation I had with my parents, and how proud I felt for standing up for for what I wanted. I couldn’t believe my parents listened to me. Little did I know that handing in my paper the next day would be the start of an amazing journey, and a decision that would change my life forever. I went through the rest of middle school getting amazing grades in French. As I graduated into highschool, I loved the language so much I decided to double up and take it twice my freshman year. Moving into my sophomore year, I was a level above everyone else in my grade. I had maintained A’s in my high school French classes as well, which landed me a spot in the French National Honors society. I even joined the French club and went with them on a trip to France, the beautiful country I had been learning about. Throughout my French experience, I accomplished a lot, met many interesting people, and formed long lasting bonds with my favorite teachers. I always think back to how it all started with that conversation my parents and I had and the final decision of me taking French. I would have had a completely different experience if I had just gave in to my parents and took Spanish. My decision to stand up for myself on that significant day in 6th grade led to years of happiness, and a new found confidence to trust my intuition and make my own choices.
I watched the teacher eagerly as she began passing out the papers. “Remember to have your parents sign these and have them turned in by tomorrow,” she instructed. I felt my heart start to beat a little faster as I imagined the conversation I would be having with my parents later that night. After taking introductory classes to both Spanish and French throughout my first year of middle school, it was finally time for me to pick which language I wanted to stick with. I already knew my parents’ opinions. Spanish, no matter what. We have already had the conversation time and time again about how much more useful Spanish would be when I grew up and entered the work world. There was also the fact that my grades were much better in my Spanish classes. As a drastically indecisive 11 year old, having two adults tell you which path to take usually means that’s the one you’ll be taking. This was a decision that would affect the next few years of my academic career. It would determine who I would have classes with and what teachers I would get, all drastic factors in the life of a sixth grade girl. Usually I would avoid making this decision on my own at all costs and just do what my parents told me to. But something felt different this time. I knew the love I felt for French and that I truly wanted to chose it as my language. It didn’t matter what my parents were telling me or how many of my friends were taking Spanish, I wanted to take french, and I was going to do everything in my power to get my parents to let me.
Before I knew it the final bell of the day had rung. I ran out the school doors, hopped on my bus, and rode home with the language permission paper still in my hand. By the time I got home my nerves went from hopefulness to dread. I knew it would take a lot of convincing to get my parents to sign the paper with French circled instead of Spanish. I left the paper on the kitchen counter knowing my Mom would see it when she got home, and went upstairs to finish my homework. The second I heard the garage door open I sprinted down the steps to greet my Mom. “I got my language permission paper today. I need you to sign it.” I mumbled. She picked up the paper and read it over. “Okay, we’ll fill it out when Dad gets home,” she explained. I knew what that meant. They knew I wanted to take French and I knew this would be their final attempt to try and convince me otherwise. My thoughts rushed through my head like a flood. I went back up to my room to prepare myself for the conversation I knew I would soon have.
As nighttime rolled around, I heard the garage door open again. This time it was my Dad that was arriving home. I waited for a few minutes for him to change out of his work clothes and make his way back down to the kitchen. Once I knew both of my parents were downstairs together, I creeped down the stairs and into the kitchen to join them. “Can we talk about which language I’m taking now?” I asked. My parents both looked at each other as if they had been waiting for me to ask. “Yes, come sit down,” my Dad said as he gestured to the kitchen table. “We know you want to take french Morgan, but there are so many more benefits to taking Spanish. I don’t think you taking French would be the smartest choice,” my Mom explained as my Dad nodded in agreement. “I know that’s what you think I should do. But I love French so much more and I know that it’s the class I want to take,” I argued. I was proud of myself for following through with what I knew I wanted to do. It may not have seemed like a big accomplishment to most people, but for one of the first times in my young life, I was going against my parents and standing up for what I knew would make me the happiest. I listened to each of their points, making sure to reiterate them as I explained my own. We argued for what seemed like days. I was beginning to feel like it wasn’t even worth fighting over and that I should just take Spanish to avoid anymore confrontation. Just as I began to second guess myself, my parents finally agreed on letting me chose to do what I wanted. “Fine Morgan, if this is what you really want to do I’ll sign off on it,” my Mom sighed. My heart leaped with joy. “As long as you promise to get good grades in all of your French classes,” my Dad agreed. “Of course I will!” I shouted. “Thank you!” I ran up the stairs and stuffed the signed paper into my backpack, eager to turn it into my teacher the next day.
As I fell asleep that night I thought about the conversation I had with my parents, and how proud I felt for standing up for for what I wanted. I couldn’t believe my parents listened to me. Little did I know that handing in my paper the next day would be the start of an amazing journey, and a decision that would change my life forever. I went through the rest of middle school getting amazing grades in French. As I graduated into highschool, I loved the language so much I decided to double up and take it twice my freshman year. Moving into my sophomore year, I was a level above everyone else in my grade. I had maintained A’s in my high school French classes as well, which landed me a spot in the French National Honors society. I even joined the French club and went with them on a trip to France, the beautiful country I had been learning about. Throughout my French experience, I accomplished a lot, met many interesting people, and formed long lasting bonds with my favorite teachers. I always think back to how it all started with that conversation my parents and I had and the final decision of me taking French. I would have had a completely different experience if I had just gave in to my parents and took Spanish. My decision to stand up for myself on that significant day in 6th grade led to years of happiness, and a new found confidence to trust my intuition and make my own choices.
UNIT 2
Career Exploration Paper
Dear Mr. Yohannan,
Over the past couple of days, I have been doing research on three careers that interest me. After taking a number of personality and values assessments, I have become aware of what types of jobs I should be focusing on. I have learned that I prefer an independant, structured working style and that I would accel in a job that involves helping people. The first career I researched, a clinical psychologist would cater to this. This job would allow me to have one on one time with someone and be able to use my skills and education to help them. For my first few years in this occupation I would imagine myself joining a mental health business that was already in operation in order to build my education and experience in the field. Over the next ten years of this career, my goal would be to open up my own mental health counseling business where I could be the head psychologist to counsel my own patients and manage my own schedule and employees. Through personality tests, I have learned that although I prefer to get work done independently, I would also succeed in careers that deal with solving peoples problems and this career would be perfect for that. I have also had an interest in psychology and the functions of the human mind for as long as I can remember which leads me to believe that this career would be a great choice for me.
The second career I chose to research was a preschool teacher. This would cater to my preference of an independant, structured working style in the sense that I would be able to build out my lesson plans individually and then bring them into the classroom to educate my students. I would see myself being a teacher’s assistant or substitute teacher in a preschool classroom for the first few years of this occupation. After gaining more education and experience, my goal would be to be the head teacher in my own classroom over the next ten years of working toward this career. I have always had an interest in working with children and learning how they develop at a preschool age. Being able to help them and their parents through their developmental process would be a very gratifying experience for me. I believe my personality would work well with this career because it allows me to help people but it also gives me room for creativity when planning lessons which in my opinion would keep this job from getting boring. Overall, I believe this career would suit me well in the future.
The final career that I had researched was a human resources specialist. This is yet another career that would allow me to work in an independent and structured environment. This is also a career that would allow me to work in a variety of different companies and environments which is a big appeal to me. My first five years in this occupation would consist of internships and eventually an actual position at a relatively smaller company. My ten year goal for this career would be to work up to a position at a larger company that I am interested in with higher pay and benefits to working there. This is another example of a job where my tendency to accel at helping people would lead me to be successful. This career involves heavy human interaction which is a good match for my personality.
After viewing the results of my Career Interest Profiler and other personality assessments, I gained a solid understanding of what types of jobs I should pursue in order to be the happiest and most successful. After completing my research on all three of these careers, I have determined that any one of them would be a great fit for me in the future. The one career that interests me the most and that I plan on pursuing is a clinical psychologist. That is something I have found interesting for a long time and I believe it will stay interesting for me if I were to pursue it for the rest of my adult life. This career peaks my interests while also corresponding with my career and personality test results. My plan for pursuing this career would be to go to college majoring in psychology and eventually working towards earning my PhD. After schooling I plan on pursuing internships or entry level positions and working my way up to the opportunity of opening my own psychology business. This career would require a lot of schooling and years of experience in the field to achieve my goal but I do believe that it would be worth it. Although clinical psychology is what I am most focused on now, completing this research on different careers has opened my eyes to the different possible careers I could purse if I were to change my mind, or later discover that this career path was not the right fit for me.
Sincerely,
Morgan Rogers
Over the past couple of days, I have been doing research on three careers that interest me. After taking a number of personality and values assessments, I have become aware of what types of jobs I should be focusing on. I have learned that I prefer an independant, structured working style and that I would accel in a job that involves helping people. The first career I researched, a clinical psychologist would cater to this. This job would allow me to have one on one time with someone and be able to use my skills and education to help them. For my first few years in this occupation I would imagine myself joining a mental health business that was already in operation in order to build my education and experience in the field. Over the next ten years of this career, my goal would be to open up my own mental health counseling business where I could be the head psychologist to counsel my own patients and manage my own schedule and employees. Through personality tests, I have learned that although I prefer to get work done independently, I would also succeed in careers that deal with solving peoples problems and this career would be perfect for that. I have also had an interest in psychology and the functions of the human mind for as long as I can remember which leads me to believe that this career would be a great choice for me.
The second career I chose to research was a preschool teacher. This would cater to my preference of an independant, structured working style in the sense that I would be able to build out my lesson plans individually and then bring them into the classroom to educate my students. I would see myself being a teacher’s assistant or substitute teacher in a preschool classroom for the first few years of this occupation. After gaining more education and experience, my goal would be to be the head teacher in my own classroom over the next ten years of working toward this career. I have always had an interest in working with children and learning how they develop at a preschool age. Being able to help them and their parents through their developmental process would be a very gratifying experience for me. I believe my personality would work well with this career because it allows me to help people but it also gives me room for creativity when planning lessons which in my opinion would keep this job from getting boring. Overall, I believe this career would suit me well in the future.
The final career that I had researched was a human resources specialist. This is yet another career that would allow me to work in an independent and structured environment. This is also a career that would allow me to work in a variety of different companies and environments which is a big appeal to me. My first five years in this occupation would consist of internships and eventually an actual position at a relatively smaller company. My ten year goal for this career would be to work up to a position at a larger company that I am interested in with higher pay and benefits to working there. This is another example of a job where my tendency to accel at helping people would lead me to be successful. This career involves heavy human interaction which is a good match for my personality.
After viewing the results of my Career Interest Profiler and other personality assessments, I gained a solid understanding of what types of jobs I should pursue in order to be the happiest and most successful. After completing my research on all three of these careers, I have determined that any one of them would be a great fit for me in the future. The one career that interests me the most and that I plan on pursuing is a clinical psychologist. That is something I have found interesting for a long time and I believe it will stay interesting for me if I were to pursue it for the rest of my adult life. This career peaks my interests while also corresponding with my career and personality test results. My plan for pursuing this career would be to go to college majoring in psychology and eventually working towards earning my PhD. After schooling I plan on pursuing internships or entry level positions and working my way up to the opportunity of opening my own psychology business. This career would require a lot of schooling and years of experience in the field to achieve my goal but I do believe that it would be worth it. Although clinical psychology is what I am most focused on now, completing this research on different careers has opened my eyes to the different possible careers I could purse if I were to change my mind, or later discover that this career path was not the right fit for me.
Sincerely,
Morgan Rogers
UNIT 3
Budget
Net Salary
1. How did you choose your career?
I chose the career of a clinical psychologist because it is something I have been
interested in for a long time. This was the career that I researched for my career
research project. I also felt like this was a good career for this activity because it has a
good salary even for starting positions.
2. Now that you’ve seen your preliminary budget, reflect on your career choice and the
lifestyle you may be able to live as a result. What might be the benefits or challenges?
I think the career I chose benefitted me a lot in this activity. It has a good starting salary
that easily supported my lifestyle. All of the lifestyle choices I made also helped me in
the long run. I made sacrifices in certain areas like choosing to lease a less expensive
car and not getting a home phone. These definitely benefited me in the long run
because it left me with more money left over. A challenge that might come with my
lifestyle choices are when it is time for me to look for a bigger more expensive living
situation which I plan to do as soon as I can. However, a benefit of my career choice is
that there is plenty of opportunity to gain experience and work up to a higher salary.
Savings Strategy
3. How much did you decide to save (in savings and in retirement), and why did you make
these choices?
I made the choice to put 15% of my savings towards both my savings and my
retirement. At first I had put only 10% of my salary to both of these categories. After
finishing my chart I still had a substantial amount of money left so I changed it to 15%. I
made this choice because I would much rather save my money to be able to retire
earlier and have money saved in case of emergencies instead of spending it on extra
food or clothes that I don’t really need.
4. After seeing how your final budget turned out, do you think you should be saving more or
less than you originally chose?
I think the amount of money I have saved right now is perfect. I have a good amount of
money left over while still putting 15% of my monthly savings away for future use.
However, if I did want to put even more money towards my savings and retirement I still
have money left to do so.
Spending Habits
5. When you look at your overall spending, which category are you spending the least on?
Does this surprise you?
I am spending the least amount of money on my health costs. I am paying for all of my
different health insurances and grooming/hygiene products. This did not surprise me
because I chose to skip out on a gym membership. I also do not get a haircut that often
so I based my spending on haircuts off of getting an average priced haircut every 4
months.
6. Which category are you spending the most on? Does this surprise you?
I am spending the most of my money on my living costs. This does not surprise me
because there are many expensive factors that go into this category. I need to worry
about insurance, gas, electricity, and internet all on top of my rent for the actual
property.
7. What is one area where you know you could spend less? How would you change your
budget?
I know that if I really wanted to I could spend less on the food category. I am currently
spending $40 a month on eating out once a week which I could definitely cut out entirely
and just eat at home. I also chose the low cost end of my groceries but I know that I
could live off of the thrifty budget if I needed to by getting cheaper food and buying it in
bulk.
8. What is one area where you wish you could spend more on? What would need to happen
for that to be possible?
Because I have money left over, I could spend more in any of my different categories. If I
had to choose what to put it toward it would be savings so that I can work up to buying a
bigger house. I would also put it toward discretionary spending so that I could have more
money to use on things like clothes or concerts.
Surplus or Deficit
9. In the end, does your budget end with a surplus or a deficit?
My budget ends with a surplus. I have $884 left to spend after budgeting all of my
necessary expenses.
10. What decisions did you make about your budget led to that final outcome?
During this activity I made decisions that would be beneficial in the long term for me
instead of immediately. For example I chose to cut back on my costs for food and
leisurely spending and instead put that extra money towards my savings, retirement,
and insurance costs. Doing so led to my final outcome and having that much money left
over to put towards whatever I wanted to.
Summary
11. Name two lessons you learned by completing this salary-based budget.
One thing I learned during this activity was that your insurance costs go up each time
you are involved in an incident that requires you to take money from your insurance
company. I also learned that because there are so many monthly expenses to live,
sometimes it is necessary to cut back on things you could live without such as food or 5
star housing in order to pay for everything you need to.
1. How did you choose your career?
I chose the career of a clinical psychologist because it is something I have been
interested in for a long time. This was the career that I researched for my career
research project. I also felt like this was a good career for this activity because it has a
good salary even for starting positions.
2. Now that you’ve seen your preliminary budget, reflect on your career choice and the
lifestyle you may be able to live as a result. What might be the benefits or challenges?
I think the career I chose benefitted me a lot in this activity. It has a good starting salary
that easily supported my lifestyle. All of the lifestyle choices I made also helped me in
the long run. I made sacrifices in certain areas like choosing to lease a less expensive
car and not getting a home phone. These definitely benefited me in the long run
because it left me with more money left over. A challenge that might come with my
lifestyle choices are when it is time for me to look for a bigger more expensive living
situation which I plan to do as soon as I can. However, a benefit of my career choice is
that there is plenty of opportunity to gain experience and work up to a higher salary.
Savings Strategy
3. How much did you decide to save (in savings and in retirement), and why did you make
these choices?
I made the choice to put 15% of my savings towards both my savings and my
retirement. At first I had put only 10% of my salary to both of these categories. After
finishing my chart I still had a substantial amount of money left so I changed it to 15%. I
made this choice because I would much rather save my money to be able to retire
earlier and have money saved in case of emergencies instead of spending it on extra
food or clothes that I don’t really need.
4. After seeing how your final budget turned out, do you think you should be saving more or
less than you originally chose?
I think the amount of money I have saved right now is perfect. I have a good amount of
money left over while still putting 15% of my monthly savings away for future use.
However, if I did want to put even more money towards my savings and retirement I still
have money left to do so.
Spending Habits
5. When you look at your overall spending, which category are you spending the least on?
Does this surprise you?
I am spending the least amount of money on my health costs. I am paying for all of my
different health insurances and grooming/hygiene products. This did not surprise me
because I chose to skip out on a gym membership. I also do not get a haircut that often
so I based my spending on haircuts off of getting an average priced haircut every 4
months.
6. Which category are you spending the most on? Does this surprise you?
I am spending the most of my money on my living costs. This does not surprise me
because there are many expensive factors that go into this category. I need to worry
about insurance, gas, electricity, and internet all on top of my rent for the actual
property.
7. What is one area where you know you could spend less? How would you change your
budget?
I know that if I really wanted to I could spend less on the food category. I am currently
spending $40 a month on eating out once a week which I could definitely cut out entirely
and just eat at home. I also chose the low cost end of my groceries but I know that I
could live off of the thrifty budget if I needed to by getting cheaper food and buying it in
bulk.
8. What is one area where you wish you could spend more on? What would need to happen
for that to be possible?
Because I have money left over, I could spend more in any of my different categories. If I
had to choose what to put it toward it would be savings so that I can work up to buying a
bigger house. I would also put it toward discretionary spending so that I could have more
money to use on things like clothes or concerts.
Surplus or Deficit
9. In the end, does your budget end with a surplus or a deficit?
My budget ends with a surplus. I have $884 left to spend after budgeting all of my
necessary expenses.
10. What decisions did you make about your budget led to that final outcome?
During this activity I made decisions that would be beneficial in the long term for me
instead of immediately. For example I chose to cut back on my costs for food and
leisurely spending and instead put that extra money towards my savings, retirement,
and insurance costs. Doing so led to my final outcome and having that much money left
over to put towards whatever I wanted to.
Summary
11. Name two lessons you learned by completing this salary-based budget.
One thing I learned during this activity was that your insurance costs go up each time
you are involved in an incident that requires you to take money from your insurance
company. I also learned that because there are so many monthly expenses to live,
sometimes it is necessary to cut back on things you could live without such as food or 5
star housing in order to pay for everything you need to.
UNIT 4
College Search Cover Letter
Dear Mr. Yohanan,
During my college search project I research St. Joseph's University and
Villanova University. These are both schools that I am interested in and am
considering applying to. I chose these colleges because both of them are the exact
size and distance that I am looking for in a school. They also both have their own
qualities that appeal to me. As of right now I have been considering either doing
something in the business field or psychology field. Both of these schools offer a
large variety of business majors. St. Joe’s is one of the leading schools with their
business program. Both schools also offer different psychology majors and have
wonderful psychology programs as well. Both of these schools are a little under 1
hour away from my house. Staying relatively close to home is something that is
very important to me when going off to college. I like the idea of being able to live
away from home and be independent but at the same time being close enough to
get home quickly whenever you need to. According to my personality and values
survey, family ties are very important to me. Being close to home will make it easy
for my family to visit whenever they can. Both of these schools are private, religious
universities. I am very interested in the community service aspect that both schools
stress. My assessments also stated that I work well with people and that I am good
at helping others. Going to either of these schools would allow me different
opportunities to help others and explore that part of myself.
I also like the area that both of these schools are in. They have plenty of
things to do around them. They are also both very close to Philadelphia which would
give me a lot of opportunities to explore the city as well as possibly find job
opportunities within it. As of right now I would probably go into both of these
schools undecided. I have a general idea of what I want to do but I would like to
take more classes to determine exactly what career path I would like to take. Both
of these schools are fairly expensive. Villanova is more expensive and typically
gives less money out in scholarships or grants. If i were to go to that school I
would probably need to take a loan out to help. Although I think my family would
be able to afford it, it would be a struggle. St. Joe’s is also an expensive school.
Although it is much less than Villanova and they are known to give out more money
in scholarships and grants.
After researching both schools, I have learned that Villanova is more of a
reach school where St. Joe’s is more of a middle of the road/safety school. Villanova
has many more admission requirements including an ACT, College Prep Program,
Essay, GPA, Recommendations, SAT, School Record, and Test Scores. On the other
hand, St. Joe’s only requirements are an Essay, GPA, Recommendations, and School
Record. If I were to apply to St. Joe’s the only thing I need to do between now and
application time is to finalize my college essay and have that as well as my GPA,
recommendations, and test scores sent out from guidance. However, if I were to
apply to Villanova the things I would have to do between now and application time
would include finalizing my essay, improving my SAT scores, taking the ACT,
completing the College Prep Program, and have my GPA, recommendations, and
test scores sent out from guidance.
Overall, this research project taught me exactly what I need to do to get
ready for application time and and what things I should look into when considering a
school. Both Villanova and Saint Joe’s appeal to me because of their size, distance,
beautiful campus, location, and academic programs. I have learned a lot about both
schools including details I probably would have never otherwise looked into. I have
learned that I have a very strong interest in St. Joe’s and that my chances of getting
in are relatively high. I also have a strong interest in Villanova but I know I will need
to work very hard to get into that school and to find ways to make it easier on my
family when paying for it. During application time and deciding where I want to go, I
will need to decide whether or not all of that is worth it.
Best regards,
Morgan Rogers
During my college search project I research St. Joseph's University and
Villanova University. These are both schools that I am interested in and am
considering applying to. I chose these colleges because both of them are the exact
size and distance that I am looking for in a school. They also both have their own
qualities that appeal to me. As of right now I have been considering either doing
something in the business field or psychology field. Both of these schools offer a
large variety of business majors. St. Joe’s is one of the leading schools with their
business program. Both schools also offer different psychology majors and have
wonderful psychology programs as well. Both of these schools are a little under 1
hour away from my house. Staying relatively close to home is something that is
very important to me when going off to college. I like the idea of being able to live
away from home and be independent but at the same time being close enough to
get home quickly whenever you need to. According to my personality and values
survey, family ties are very important to me. Being close to home will make it easy
for my family to visit whenever they can. Both of these schools are private, religious
universities. I am very interested in the community service aspect that both schools
stress. My assessments also stated that I work well with people and that I am good
at helping others. Going to either of these schools would allow me different
opportunities to help others and explore that part of myself.
I also like the area that both of these schools are in. They have plenty of
things to do around them. They are also both very close to Philadelphia which would
give me a lot of opportunities to explore the city as well as possibly find job
opportunities within it. As of right now I would probably go into both of these
schools undecided. I have a general idea of what I want to do but I would like to
take more classes to determine exactly what career path I would like to take. Both
of these schools are fairly expensive. Villanova is more expensive and typically
gives less money out in scholarships or grants. If i were to go to that school I
would probably need to take a loan out to help. Although I think my family would
be able to afford it, it would be a struggle. St. Joe’s is also an expensive school.
Although it is much less than Villanova and they are known to give out more money
in scholarships and grants.
After researching both schools, I have learned that Villanova is more of a
reach school where St. Joe’s is more of a middle of the road/safety school. Villanova
has many more admission requirements including an ACT, College Prep Program,
Essay, GPA, Recommendations, SAT, School Record, and Test Scores. On the other
hand, St. Joe’s only requirements are an Essay, GPA, Recommendations, and School
Record. If I were to apply to St. Joe’s the only thing I need to do between now and
application time is to finalize my college essay and have that as well as my GPA,
recommendations, and test scores sent out from guidance. However, if I were to
apply to Villanova the things I would have to do between now and application time
would include finalizing my essay, improving my SAT scores, taking the ACT,
completing the College Prep Program, and have my GPA, recommendations, and
test scores sent out from guidance.
Overall, this research project taught me exactly what I need to do to get
ready for application time and and what things I should look into when considering a
school. Both Villanova and Saint Joe’s appeal to me because of their size, distance,
beautiful campus, location, and academic programs. I have learned a lot about both
schools including details I probably would have never otherwise looked into. I have
learned that I have a very strong interest in St. Joe’s and that my chances of getting
in are relatively high. I also have a strong interest in Villanova but I know I will need
to work very hard to get into that school and to find ways to make it easier on my
family when paying for it. During application time and deciding where I want to go, I
will need to decide whether or not all of that is worth it.
Best regards,
Morgan Rogers
UNIT 5
Job Shadowing Presentation