Can’t believe none of you mentioned how OP could evaluate the best outcome.
Possible actions:
1. Study full-time (12 hr/day): 50% chance of losing your principal i.e. failing L3 (worth $-10,000 in emotional cost); 50% of passing and feeling good about yourself (worth +ve $1000, say) or bad because it doesn’t help you further in career or job search (-$1000). Net NPV -$5000.
2. Study 2-3 hours, play with kids 2-3 hours, half-time job search: 1/6 less negative NPV of study + very high NPV from playing with kids [*] + half the NPV of jobsearch (0), clearly the winner
3. Job search full time: 99% chance of rejection (say worth -$10,000) vs 1% chance of succes with an annuity-like lottery payoff = worth $100,000 (easy to get base salary) / 10% discount rate for perpetuity = $1M (what the job is worth over your lifetime) * 1% chance of getting it = $10,000; so net 0 NPV.
[*] The time value of time with kids, while high per hour, declines with their age - as years go by, it’s less important that you play with them as they develop their own interests and friends and life; so using TVM calculations with a negative discount rate, the NPV should be quite high.
Possible actions:
1. Study full-time (12 hr/day): 50% chance of losing your principal i.e. failing L3 (worth $-10,000 in emotional cost); 50% of passing and feeling good about yourself (worth +ve $1000, say) or bad because it doesn’t help you further in career or job search (-$1000). Net NPV -$5000.
2. Study 2-3 hours, play with kids 2-3 hours, half-time job search: 1/6 less negative NPV of study + very high NPV from playing with kids [*] + half the NPV of jobsearch (0), clearly the winner
3. Job search full time: 99% chance of rejection (say worth -$10,000) vs 1% chance of succes with an annuity-like lottery payoff = worth $100,000 (easy to get base salary) / 10% discount rate for perpetuity = $1M (what the job is worth over your lifetime) * 1% chance of getting it = $10,000; so net 0 NPV.
[*] The time value of time with kids, while high per hour, declines with their age - as years go by, it’s less important that you play with them as they develop their own interests and friends and life; so using TVM calculations with a negative discount rate, the NPV should be quite high.