Gambling With My Future

Last Monday, I got a last minute notification on Handshake from a recruiter about an interview slot open for the next morning, Tuesday, from 9:30-10:30am. I was chosen as an alternate for this company, so I was not able to initially secure an interview slot, nor was I expecting a slot to open up. But, this interview time slot conflicted with Coppock's class. I had to make a decision... skip class and go to the interview, or miss out on the interview opportunity and go to class.

So, I calculated my expected marginal benefit versus marginal cost. My expected marginal benefit would include the benefit of attaining the internship multiplied by the probability that I was offered the internship. This is a low probability, but not as low as the chance of a single vote determining the outcome an election. The probability would reflect the chance that I would make it past multiple interview rounds, competing against a large pool of applicants that have presumably prepared more than me for the initial interview. But, added to the equation would be the benefit of practicing my interview skills in order to prepare for different interviews. The marginal cost would be missing Coppock’s class, which I would feel morally guilty about. The cost would also include taking the time on my own to catch up on the material presented in class. Lastly, the opportunity cost of my time — scrambling to prepare for the interview instead of completing other work, dressing myself in professional attire, and taking the time to get to the interview and back to my next class was significantly high.

Did this expected marginal benefit plus the extra opportunity to practice interview skills surpass the marginal cost and opportunity cost of my time? The answer is no. In looking at a graph with MB and MC on the y axis, and a scale of ignorance to knowledge on the x axis, I valued more knowledge in Coppock’s class than ignorance. So, my marginal cost curve for attending class represented a low opportunity cost of my time, resulting in an equilibrium point that reflected more knowledge over ignorance. So, I did not take the last minute interview opportunity. I went to class, and I’m glad I did, because the topics covered gave me the inspiration to write this blog post.