Two Part-Time Offers With a Certification Deadline
A GED candidate works toward a college certificate while supporting two younger siblings. She has two part-time job offers, both requiring 4 weeks per month. Offer A pays $16.50 per hour for 25 hours per week and requires a $65 monthly bus pass. Offer B pays $15.75 per hour for 30 hours per week; she would drive 18 miles round trip each workday, with 20 workdays per month, and her car costs $0.22 per mile plus $40 per month for parking. She also wants to complete a six-week, $480 certification that, once finished, would raise either job's hourly rate by $1.25. The certification requires 12 hours per week of class and study time. She can commit at most 45 hours per week total to work, certification, and commuting. Commuting to B takes 45 minutes each workday; commuting to A takes 20 minutes each workday. Which offer should she take, and does the certification pay off within six months?
1. Calculate monthly net income from wages after commuting and parking costs for each offer before certification. Show each step.
Read the worked answer
Offer A: gross monthly pay = 16.50 × 25 × 4 = $1,650. Subtract the bus pass: 1,650 − 65 = $1,585 net.
Offer B: gross = 15.75 × 30 × 4 = $1,890. Monthly driving = 18 miles × 20 workdays = 360 miles. Mileage cost = 360 × 0.22 = $79.20. Add parking $40, so net = 1,890 − 79.20 − 40 = $1,770.80.
Before certification and before valuing time, B pays $185.80 more per month. That difference is not free: B also adds 25 more minutes of commuting each workday (45 − 20), or 500 minutes per month, plus more driving exposure. The comparison so far favors B on cash but not yet on time or on the certification constraint.
2. Using the 45-hour weekly limit, determine whether she can take either job while completing the certification. Include paid work, class/study, and commuting.
Read the worked answer
Under a 45-hour weekly cap, count paid work + certification + commuting.
Offer A: 25 work hours + 12 certification hours = 37. Commuting = 20 minutes × 5 days = 100 minutes = 1.67 hours. Total ≈ 38.67 hours, which fits under 45.
Offer B: 30 + 12 = 42. Commuting = 45 minutes × 5 = 225 minutes = 3.75 hours. Total = 45.75 hours, which exceeds 45 by 0.75 hour. So B does not fit the cap if she also does the certification as described. She could ask for 29 work hours (then total ≈ 44.75) or delay certification, but both change the financial comparison. Under the actual 45-hour limit, B forces a tradeoff.
3. Does the certification pay off within six months at each offer? Use the raise and the $480 cost to decide which offer she should take.
Read the worked answer
Certification payback at A: raise = $1.25 × 25 hours × 4 weeks = $125 per month. Payback = 480 / 125 = 3.84 months, so about 4 months after completion-within six months. Six-month raise = 125 × 6 = $750, net +$270 after the $480 cost.
At B, if she could complete it: raise = 1.25 × 30 × 4 = $150 per month; payback = 480/150 = 3.2 months. But B's schedule is 45.75 hours/week, over the 45-hour cap, so the payback is not available unless she cuts hours or delays certification. Cutting to 29 hours lowers B's monthly gross by 1.75 × 15.75 × 4 = $110.25, which nearly erases B's $185.80 cash advantage while certification is in progress.
Judgment: A is the safer choice if completing certification is the priority; it fits the cap and repays within six months. B only wins if she can verify a 29-hour schedule or tolerate delaying certification.