Final answer:
To find out after how many years the total salary from one job will equal the total salary from the other job, set the initial salary plus annual raises for the respective years equal for both jobs and solve for y. After solving, it takes 14 years for the total salary from the first job to equal the total salary from the second job.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student is asking to compare two job offers based on their initial salary and their respective annual raises to find out after how many years the total salary from one job will equal the total salary from the other job.
If the first job offer has an initial salary of $55,000 with an annual raise of $2,500, the total salary after y years can be represented as:
55,000 + 2,500y
Similarly, for the second job offer with an initial salary of $62,000 and an annual raise of $2,000, the total salary after y years is:
62,000 + 2,000y
To find out after how many years the total salary from the first job will equal the total salary from the second job, we set the two expressions equal to each other and solve for y:
55,000 + 2,500y = 62,000 + 2,000y
Now we will solve for y:
2,500y - 2,000y = 62,000 - 55,000
500y = 7,000
y = 7,000 / 500
y = 14
Therefore, it will take 14 years for the total salary from the first job to equal the total salary from the second job.