[General] Future in the Future

[EnglishLearner007]

Time line  ------------------------------------------------------------->
                  Now           A               B               C
                               (Start        (Degree          (Job)
                                Uni)       completion)

Given above time line, imagine that I am talking to my sibling 'Now.' I am assuming that at Point A he would worry about completion of Uni education and getting a job afterwards.

One day when you would complete your Uni , you would look back at time when you started it [A] and wondered when you would complete it and would get a job.
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This one sounds terribly bad. Too many woulds.

 

[GoesStation]

I agree. Try it again, but this time, express the first future with the present simple: One day, when you graduate from college, you'll look back at the time when you started....

 

[EnglishLearner007]

How about this?

One day, when you graduate from college, you will look back at the time when you started it and wondered when you would complete it and got a job (or would get a job??).

 

[GoesStation]

It should be and get a job. Modals are followed by a bare infinitive.

The sentence is too complicated. Can you remove three or four words?

 

[EnglishLearner007]

How about this?

One day, when you graduate [STRIKE]from college[/STRIKE], you will look back at the time when you started [STRIKE]it[/STRIKE] and wondered when you would complete [STRIKE]it[/STRIKE] and get a job.

I think, from college and it can be sensed from the context.

 

[GoesStation]

Complete needs "it", but finished wouldn't: One day, when you graduate, you will look back at the time when you started and wondered when you would finish and get a job.

I'm not crazy about wondered. While it is grammatically correct, I keep stumbling when I read it because I connect it with will look back at, which can only be followed by a bare infinitive. You'd have to recast the whole second part of the sentence to avoid that awkwardness though.

 

[GoesStation]

Replacing wondered with were wondering would smooth out the sentence.