Author Topic: Do I take the job offer?  (Read 3742 times)

Mike_

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Do I take the job offer?
« on: August 04, 2016, 12:15:44 PM »
Hey everyone!

I've been looking to change jobs for a couple months (front-end web development) and just got an offer from a startup. I'd like some advice on if I take the offer or not.

Relevant:

I have a coding interview with Google in a few weeks but may be willing to forget it if this offer seems good. Google will be there later and hey I'd probably be better off with more time to study anyway. I can't defer these guys long enough to do the coding interview.

Current job:

Established, large company
75k salary + negligible bonus
401k with 3% match
HSA with HDHP
Travel NYC -> Philly every week, in a hotel for two nights.
WFH two days a week
15 days vacation
Strictly 9 - 5 hours, never any late nights

Potential job:

Startup, but with a few years behind it already. Not too worried about it collapsing.
125k salary + bonus
No 401k (The big reason I'm even posting)
Some equity (which I discount completely from consideration, but thought I'd list)
Commute ~40 minutes each direction on public transit + walking
9am - 6pm, don't know about crunch time or how strict they are with that
25 days total of vacation + sick time
One of only ~10 employees, with ~5 more being hired.

I'd be basically second in command of engineering. Building a site in Angular, which is what I do now. I'd have more responsibilities as well since it's a startup.

What's your opinion on taking the offer? Without having asked anyone's opinion yet, I'd be okay with it if I had access to a 401k. Does the salary make up for it, and is there anything I can do to offset the loss of the 401k?

2Birds1Stone

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Re: Do I take the job offer?
« Reply #1 on: August 04, 2016, 12:21:29 PM »
Does the potential job offer health insurance?

From a salary standpoint it's a no brainer.

If you have to purchase private health insurance, have no deferred comp options, etc etc I would weigh those things.

Mike_

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Re: Do I take the job offer?
« Reply #2 on: August 04, 2016, 12:25:45 PM »
Does the potential job offer health insurance?

From a salary standpoint it's a no brainer.

If you have to purchase private health insurance, have no deferred comp options, etc etc I would weigh those things.

Sounds like yes, there'd be health insurance with a comparable premium to what I'm paying now. I don't have the details of the provider yet.

No deferred comp but the CEO offered 2k extra to make up for no 401k, which is something at least but kind of silly to even compare.

GAR

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Re: Do I take the job offer?
« Reply #3 on: August 04, 2016, 12:34:25 PM »
A few thoughts/questions:

Do you plan to stay at the new job a long time? Or is it just a stepping stone?

What sort of bonus range does the new job offer?  That's a huge question mark.

Given that the new job sounds like it would progress your career (with new responsibilities), I think this weighs more strongly in favor of the new job.

Does the new job plan to implement a 401k program soon, but is just too new to have it set up yet?  I think this is a fair thing to ask about.

Maybe you have more info than you included in your email, but I would really ask questions about what sort of hours the new job will expect around crunch time.  And how often is crunch time? Do current employees actually work 9 to 6 or are those just the "official" hours?

Do you currently contribute to an IRA?  I think you can still contribute to a traditional IRA at the new job.  You probably won't be able to contribute to a Roth IRA at the new job (although you could consider a backdoor Roth IRA).

GAR

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Re: Do I take the job offer?
« Reply #4 on: August 04, 2016, 12:36:26 PM »
Oops - Sorry, strike that point about maybe being able to contribute to a traditional IRA (although the backdoor Roth IRA might still be worth considering)

Tay_CPA

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Re: Do I take the job offer?
« Reply #5 on: August 04, 2016, 12:36:42 PM »
Congratulations, sounds like an interesting new job! I'm not in the same field but I switched jobs last fall to a small 5-person company, also without a 401k. I'd brought up the idea of a 401k plan to my boss several times, and it finally clicked with him when we were attempting to hire a new associate and candidates were concerned about the lack of a 401k. We now have a SIMPLE IRA set up, with a 3% match. Max is only $12,500 compared to the usual 401k level, but I'm ok with it for now. It's better than nothing! 401k plans can be expensive for small companies.

Basically, if you think you'll enjoy the job, I'd say go for it! It's probably best to inquire about a 401k or SIMPLE IRA before accepting the job, to see if they'd be willing to work on something to help bring you on, but you could also take the chance and wait until you start working. After you've been there for a few months and things are going well, consider presenting a plan to the owner/management of the company. Explain that this would be a huge benefit to current employees and an attractive feature to future job candidates, even if it's just access to the plan (if your company doesn't want to do any matching). Lay out how much it would cost, how employees will contribute, etc. to help in their decision and show you've thought it through.

Again, congrats on the job offer and I hope all goes well for you! Best of luck.

Tay_CPA

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Re: Do I take the job offer?
« Reply #6 on: August 04, 2016, 12:39:15 PM »
Does the new job plan to implement a 401k program soon, but is just too new to have it set up yet?  I think this is a fair thing to ask about.

I second this suggestion, definitely a good question to ask. Especially being a startup, maybe they are just still working on getting a plan up and running.

aFrugalFather

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Re: Do I take the job offer?
« Reply #7 on: August 04, 2016, 12:41:12 PM »
401K is overrated, its just a vessel for your savings but there are other ways to grow savings (e.g., real estate), the main thing is not to spend the money and still invest plenty for the future.  Up to you on whether it is something you want to do though. 

Mike_

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Re: Do I take the job offer?
« Reply #8 on: August 04, 2016, 12:58:23 PM »
You probably won't be able to contribute to a Roth IRA at the new job (although you could consider a backdoor Roth IRA).

Ew, I didn't even think about this. Thanks. I do contribute to a Roth IRA now. I'll look into the backdoor way.

I consider this company a stepping stone, doable for a year or two. It's not in a line of business I'm passionate about but the people seem nice and the role would be challenging.

Bonus would be about 4k a project, so maybe 8 - 12k a year extra.

I'll wait til I'm in to push for a 401k plan. I'd need to see if there's any openness to it. But that's another thing to consider, thanks to those who suggested it.

mozar

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Re: Do I take the job offer?
« Reply #9 on: August 04, 2016, 05:52:02 PM »
Another way to do it is to ask for more money. I told my current company that I had many offers, and that in order to make up for the lack of a 401k they had to come up in salary by 4k. It worked! And three months later they rolled out a company wide 401k plan anyway.

nobody123

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Re: Do I take the job offer?
« Reply #10 on: August 05, 2016, 10:52:42 AM »
You are seriously asking whether you should turn down a 67% raise because you'd lose access to a 401(k)???

Axecleaver

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Re: Do I take the job offer?
« Reply #11 on: August 05, 2016, 02:20:17 PM »
Kind of a no-brainer. You're getting 50k more a year, and losing out on about 7k (5k in tax benefits and 2250 in corp match) from the old gig. Word of warning, 5 weeks vacation isn't any good if they don't let you take it. Just keep an eye on that. You'll need to schedule a week off every couple of months to use it all. I can't imagine being able to use that much vacation in any professional job I've had.

401k is very easy for small companies to set up. There are a number of small business providers, cost me about 2k to set mine up and 2k a year to run it. Peanuts if they are about to have 15 people @ 125k each working there.
I'd still keep your interview with Google, though. It never hurts to have a conversation.

William Cannon

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Re: Do I take the job offer?
« Reply #12 on: August 05, 2016, 08:05:48 PM »
On the non financial side, I've heard the expectations and hours can be high at Google.

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