Applied Research Project

By: Nick Adams

San Diego vs Tampa

• Major: Economics and Politics & International Affairs• Position: Financial Analyst

San Diego vs Tampa

San Diego Tampa

Monthly Salary $5,416 $4,166

Apartment Rent $1,675 $866.67

Utilities $120 $152

Movie + Fitness Membership $52.00 $51.80

State Income Tax (per month) $257 $0

Groceries $316.50 $300

Gas from Home to Work $120 $107

Car and Health Insurance Can stay on parent’s plan Can stay on parent’s plan

Remaining Funds $2,875.50 $2,688.53

Comparing San Diego vs TampaSan Diego Tampa Advantage

Last Won Super Bowl Never 2003 Tampa

Total Pro Sports Teams (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL)

2 3 Tampa

Crimes per 1000 Residents 28.48 32.52 San Diego

Particle Pollution Grade (Stateoftheair.org)

F A Tampa

Weather (Temperature and Precipitation Avg.)

70.5° F/ 9.9 inches 72.3° F/ 43.9 inches San Diego

Cost of Traveling Home $500.00 $2.50 Tampa

Attractiveness Ranking (Travel and Leisure Magazine)

2 10 San Diego

Funniest City Ranking (Movoto)

10 55 San Diego

Golf City Rank (golf.com) 34 17 Tampa

Master in Finance

• 18.6% projected employment increase for common jobs as of (2014)• Mid-Career median pay: $119,000• Pros• Covers more finance topics than MBA• I didn’t study finance in Undergrad, so could be helpful

• Cons• More focus on theory and less on practice• Less Exposure to general management practice than MBA

Graduate School Comparison (UCLA vs USF)

UCLA (Masters in Financial Engineering)

USF (Master of Science in Finance)

Location Los Angeles, CA Tampa, FL

Ranking 8th 5th in Florida

Cost of Full Program $57,268 $14,020

Average Salary Post Program $100,000 $93,000

Job’s with a Masters in Finance

• Personal Financial Advisor ($81,060)• Financial Examiner ($76,310)• Chief Executive ($173,320)• Business Teacher ($74,090)• Sales Agent, Financial Services ($72,070)

My Choices

• When deciding between Tampa and San Diego for my initial job, I would choose to live in San Diego. In San Diego, I would have more money to save, following the basic expenses and would have a nice opportunity to live in a new place with very funny and attractive people. • I would choose to go to graduate school in order to increase my salary

and garner more knowledge about finance, because I did not study it in undergrad.• I would choose UCLA because personally I feel as if reputation of school

matters a lot. Although, I am not entirely internalizing the cost as my parents are willing to pay