Vocations · Professional Development · Career change

Enough runway
to land the
next career.

Type what you have saved, what the change costs and what you need to live on. The calculator tells you how many months the money lasts and whether that gets you to the first paycheck in the new work.

Check my runwayWhat you get

The runway calculator

The worked example is made up: an office manager leaving a job for a six-month HVAC certificate program, with part-time income along the way. Nothing you type leaves this browser.

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What you get

Vocations · Professional DevelopmentFree

What you finish with
How many months your savings last, what the change needs in all, the shortfall or the money left over, and your savings balance at the end of each month until the new income starts. It prints as a one-page summary and downloads as a spreadsheet.
Who it is for
Adults changing careers or going back to school for a credential, students in adult education and workforce programs, and the counselors and teachers who help them plan.
Format
Browser calculator for a phone, tablet or computer, by touch or keyboard. Prints a summary; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); export and import a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Professional Development space in Caveat Vocations.
Support
Questions, a correction or a request: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Type the savings you can use and the one-time costs of the change.
  2. Type your essential monthly costs and any income you will have along the way.
  3. Type the months until the new work pays and a cushion to keep at the end.
  4. Read the runway and the month-by-month balance.
  5. Print the summary or download the spreadsheet.

Check my runway

How the runway is worked out

What is available, divided by what each month uses.

The worked exampleAvailable$11,700$17,500 − $3,200 − $2,600Used a month$1,700$2,600 − $900 incomeRunway6.9 months$11,700 ÷ $1,700The worked exampleAvailable$11,700$17,500 − $3,200 costs − $2,600 cushionUsed a month$1,700$2,600 − $900Runway6.9 months$11,700 ÷ $1,700
After the one-time costs and a one-month cushion, $11,700 is available; at $1,700 a month it lasts 6.9 months, more than the 6 the program takes.

The arithmetic

One-time costs come out at the start and the cushion is set aside. Each month uses your essential costs minus any income you have during the change. The runway divides what is available by what a month uses. What the change needs in all is a month’s use times the months until the new work pays, plus the one-time costs and the cushion.

Making it longer

The runway grows with every dollar of monthly income and every dollar of monthly cost trimmed. Training programs are often eligible for federal student aid, Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act training funds through an American Job Center, or employer tuition help, which lower the one-time costs. If leaving a job ends your health coverage, look at HealthCare.gov or COBRA before the last day.

Sources

  1. CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor. Changing careers and Find training (careeronestop.org), and American Job Centers for WIOA training funds.
  2. HealthCare.gov. Special enrollment period: losing job-based coverage qualifies for one.
  3. U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration. An Employee’s Guide to Health Benefits Under COBRA.
  4. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Your Money, Your Goals (consumerfinance.gov): budgeting through an income change.

The worked example is made up. This page does arithmetic on your own figures; it is not financial advice. Your figures stay in this browser. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.