BUS 401 Week 3 Assignment – Return on Investment

Return on Investment

BUS 401: Principles of Finance

Attaining a college degree has never been a dream for me, but throughout my adult life I have learned what it means to have a higher education and the benefits that come with obtaining one. I took my first college course at nineteen, but I wasn’t mature and ready to fully embrace college until I joined the Air Force. When I realized how much my civilian counterpart made; a job that I’ve been doing for nearly a decade and only made about half of what he made, my drive for completing college was set in stone. That moment made me truly understand the cost of education and the lack thereof. Organizations are much more willing to hire individuals with college degrees much quicker than people without. Having a college education makes a person marketable and gives them a competitive edge in the job industry, and my choice to pursue a degree in Operations Management is an investment that I have full expectations will yield positive results.

I am thankful that my service in the Air Force afforded me access to utilize the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill for school funding. Using the G.I. Bill has financially paved the way for me to continue my education without financial worry because the bill pays for my education. A four-year, in-state public college to is expected to run about $222,000, assuming 5% annual growth in the cost of college (Huang & Clark 2014). The G.I. Bill takes away that tremendous amount of pressure off my shoulders by paying the tuition and fees in full, provided I make a passing grade. The education benefits from the G.I. Bill, combined with military service led men to increase their investments in education, particularly at the college and university levels (Rumery, Patel, & Richard, 2018). While the bill covered tuition and fees, there were out of pocket costs that are necessary for me to pursue my higher education. The first and most vital purchase I was required to make was a laptop to utilize for schoolwork. Secondly, since my adult daily life is extremely busy, and I am not able to attend school in-residence, I would require internet to attend an online university. Even though it’s not a necessity, it is a requirement to have internet in my home to access the online student portal, connect with my instructors, counselors and fellow classmates and most importantly submit my assignments. I believe that I can quantify some of my overhead expenses that I pay as an expense of school because those things are needed to ensure I can do my schoolwork. Though I have financial assistance, the total cost of my courses will add up to roughly $28,000. After the incorporation of those other expenses, the estimated amount of financial investment I have made towards my degree should run approximately around $42,000 to $46,000 dollars.

While post-secondary education costs a substantial amount of money, the academic delay of gratification is rewarded by a higher salary in many cases. The average adult with a bachelor’s degree will earn about $1.42 million over the course of their lives, while a typical high-school graduate with no higher education will earn about $770,000. That difference narrows after factoring expenses to attend college, and the four years of potential earnings that an average college graduate sacrifices while attending school (Cohn, 2011). Since college is generally expensive, it’s vital to figure out what goals are intended when entering knowing in the long run the return on the investment can be great with a proper educational background.

Throughout the course of my military career and some of my civilian career, I have had the opportunity to assist in running operations and coordinating with fellow co-workers to ensure tasks were completed and in a timely manner. I am pursuing a degree in Operations Management and Analysis to give me more of a competitive edge among my peers as well as learn more about the field of study I have chosen as a career. Once I graduate I hope to see the return on my investment as most positions I desire require a bachelor’s degree. My military experience with operations already gives me a competitive edge and I have full expectation of career advancement upon completion of my degree.

Return on Investment is a great business tool used to assess the success or failure of any investment by evaluating an investment and comparing the efficiency of several different investments. ROI measures the amount of return on an investment relative to the investment’s cost (Wainwright, 2012). The formula for this is: ROI= Gains from Investment – Gains of Investment/ Cost of Investment. I would look at the highest salary in the career ladder progression position I anticipate attaining to calculate the ROI for my education. That example should be along the lines of 90,000/42,000=2.14, in other words my return of investment is 2% and $90,000 used as my gain. It will take me three years from the current year of me being hired to reach my full performance salary, and with no school debt to pay off I will be free and clear once I obtain my bachelor’s degree.

Investing in post-secondary education is a smart and sensible decisions anyone who desires to make more money in the long run to pursue. Depending on your choice of degree and the median salary one can earn with the same, pursuing a degree is a wise decision. In Operations Management, degrees distinguish candidates from one another and having that educational background under your belt gets your foot in the door to financial success.

References

Cohn, D. (2011). Lifetime Earnings of College Graduates. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from

http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2011/05/16/lifetime-earnings-of-college-graduates/

HUANG, N. S., & CLARK, J. B. (2014). The Best College-Savings Plans. Kiplinger’s Personal

Finance, 88(10), 53-56.

Rumery, Z. R., Patel, N., & Richard, P. (2018). The Association Between the Use of the

Education Benefits from the G.I. Bill and Veterans’ Health. Military Medicine, 183(5/6), e241–e248. https://doi-org.proxy-library.ashford.edu/10.1093/milmed/usx102

Wainwright, S. (2012) Principles of Accounting Vol 2. Bridgepoint Education

(Electronic Version)