hypothetical scenario
 

the following is purely hypothetical. it has no relation to any living person and is purely fictional (a daydream, if you will).

let's say you had a decision to make. the two choices are: go to school for a 4-year degree, all expenses paid; collect a windfall to the tune of $400k. you can only choose one, as choosing one will negate the other. also, you would be expected to work in the field you choose to be educated in; the windfall would be enough to retire on if invested wisely (also, you can't work after the windfall and going to school would be a waste of time since you'd be unable to use that education).

which do you choose and why?

What's the age of the hypothetical individual? in the current economy?

Money.

Education. In this economy, investing doesn't guarantee you enough money to live off of. You would need far more than 400k to generate enough interest to cash in on a regular basis for living expenses.

I'd go with the cash and a job like what i'm doing...If I could collect 400k and keep my job...I'd be set

WINNER! :axe: first person to say something that goes outside the boundries of the set rules

give me the money. ill move to amsterdam

400k, buy a lot of cocaine and make profit.

notice above i said if you take the windfall, you can't work.

for argument's sake, the person is an adult between 25-40.

and while you're in jail, you lose all of the windfall? not very smart.

but an education does guarantee you enough money to live off of? that's quite a stretch. i know college graduates working at mcdonald's.

as i see it, 400k in a nominal interest, fairly risky money market fund returning 10% is 40k per year. if you don't spend all of it, then you are adding to the principal every year instead of depleting it.

let's throw another variable in, since amsterdam came up. you do have the option of moving to another country, where the cost of living is considerably less than it is here. say, 25% of what it takes to live here, for the sake of the argument. mexico, in addition to other countries, falls into this category, so don't think it's far fetched to live in a country where it costs only 25% of what it costs to live here.

Since we're going outside of the rules, might as well go big...If I could collect 400k and hit the lottery for 6-8 million...I'd be set.:rofl:

You can't catch me Im the ginger beard man!

WTF?

Since the school is paid for I would get a good education and then hope to find a solid job. If you had to pay for the school, it would be a different story.

thats why i said ill move to amsterdam. i'll volunteer my free hours to working in a coffee shop. :nod:

Tough call. 400k is only "OK" in NJ as far as housing. If I went that route I've move to out west where the cost of living is way lower.

@ 25-40 I'd go for school.. wait, I did.

I'm with this guy

It would depend on what the stips of "not working" are. Does this mean not being allowed to work in my previously chosen career or that I have to become mega couch potato?

If the idea was that I had to give up some kind of active career like I have now and figure out something that required sitting around, I would take the money.

If the concept was that I wouldn't be allowed to work at all, I would take the education.

-Tim

Sounds familiar to a guy I knew in the military.

Medically discharged, couldn't work and they'd send him to school, free ride.

No 'lump' cash though. More of an 'insurance' bit to me....but I digress...

Under age 40 - even at the MINIMUM age of 40, you'd still have 20 years (and some change) to get vested in a company with your new employment.

And unless you KNEW someone in the stocks/market game that could help you out investment wise, you're NOT going to make $40K/yr on interest.

So, unless you took the money and 'started' a business where your only role was 'owner' and you collected 'dividends' 8-), then I say get some pens and pencils and a nice new backpack and go to school.....

yeah, working is defined as being somewhere where they pay you to perform certain duties within and without of your job description. so that's out.

it's interesting that you worded it that way: If the idea was that I had to give up some kind of active career like I have now and figure out something that required sitting around, I would take the money. about the only job that i can think of that would be sitting all of the time is either a middle-management type position or computers.

if i chased a career in computers i would more likely than not need more than a 4 year degree. i don't know if that would be in the offering of the education side of the decision.

Education is a tricky thing to rely on. 75%+ of Americans with a degree, do not work in their degree field. So if you want to commit yourself to education, it would be better to make the primary degree in something more generic that can be resume'ed into anything. Let the concentration or skill part of the education be the secondary focus.

If you are into computers, think about getting a BS in business management and make computer sciences/networking/nerdtasticalness your minor. You apply all of your electives/gen eds from the computer side of the universities selections and grab any certifications you can along the way.

This will maximize the number of angles you have to enter any particular company and the appeal of a more mature person that can both come into the job at entry level and has been taught to lead will get more attention than some kid who just took Microsft certs and expects to get by on that.

If taking the money means never getting paid again, I would have to take the education. The money isn't as immediate, but the long term is much much better.

-Tim

X2

or move to puerto rico. Still be a US resident but with a crazy cheap cost of living. Beaches all day all year. awesome racing all day all year. beautiful girls all day all year. man. it would be sweet... :-D

Take the education. Get a 4 year degree in cs or ee and have fun making 75k- 100k a year for the rest of your life.