Question

Develop a detailed list of the costs necessary to have the career you desire 10 years from now (e.g., student loans, training seminars, graduate school costs, or any fixed or variable costs). Next, compare these costs with the prices that organizations are paying for people with your skill set. Finally, determine your own personal break-even point for your salary level. Also, identify when you expect to reach the salary that you desire.

Answer 1

First and foremost, I cannot become a CEO of any organization without years of experience and continued education. Unless I create my own company, it will take a lot of time and money to be in the position of success I plan to be in within the next 10 years. My plan is to first get an internship next year, my senior year, to get a little experience under my belt. My hope is that this well put me in a better position as I go into the workforce after I graduate. While working, I plan to sit for my CFA exams. This could take 3-4 years. The cost for the CFA exam is roughly a $1,000 per exam. This includes the exam fees and study books. Studies show that CFA charter holders receive 41% more in salaries than those who do not have the charter. The salaries range from $65-125k. After the completion of the exam I am plan to return to school to receive my graduate degree in Accounting. After 2-3 years of grad school, I will position myself to be able to sit for the CPA exam. Companies have shown salaries of $130-210K at the lowest all the way to $1.5 million to employees with these combinations of certifications and degrees. Positions held range from Financial Managers to CFO’s. Beyond this point, I believe that my level of experience, working while in school and obtaining my degrees, I will set myself up to qualify to the CFO of an organization. I believe that at this point I will have racked up over $80K in student loan costs, but with the salary I stand to gain, I will be able to pay it off within 3 years. For me to break even, I would need to make anywhere from $120-150k salary to pay off my expense. Once I am debt free, I will be able to purchase a house and live as comfortably as I please. I estimate that I will be 38 years old when I will be making my desired salary.