Hello all,
I'll start with a little background, then my current situation, and then a summary of my questions.
I'm currently a sophomore studying mechanical engineering in college with all costs fully covered by scholarships and grants. No debt. Currently have $5750 into a Roth IRA. Hoping to have $2750 more contributed by end of the year to max out for the year. Also about $5000 in cash. 2 cars. 1 of them is to flip and make money on. I track my spending and I'm super frugal so I'm saving almost as much as possible. Last Spring, during my freshman year, I worked a part time internship at a local start up for 10 hours a week at $12.50/hr. I think when i was hired they expected me to stay on for the foreseeable future doing full time during the Summer and coming back part-time in the fall. About 2 months after I was hired there, I was offered an internship at a Fortune 500 Aerospace/Industrial Company that was more interesting, more educational, and it paid $18/hr. I left the previous company on good terms, but they said they couldn't guarantee my position back in the fall. While business is business, I'd say my lack of loyalty would keep me from ever being employed there again. Not sure how I felt about this at the time and this later leads to one of my questions. I haven't tried to go back there because I know I can make more elsewhere.
So anyway, I enjoyed my 12 week internship over the summer and I came back to college for the fall and started looking for part-time engineering work. I applied to a few local places and I had one interview so far and I'm expecting another soon.
I had the interview Friday at an automotive parts manufacturer and I'm assuming I got the job because the interview went well. They'll let me know by Tuesday for sure. The other company that I'm anticipating an interview with is an aerospace/military company. I have no idea what they would pay, but they are only 10 minutes away from the campus. The company that I believe I got the job at is 30 minutes away from campus. I drive a 93 geo metro and get about 48 MPG per tank, but the extra commute/wear is something to consider.
The company that I believe i got the job with pays $17.50/hr and offers health insurance, dental insurance, vision coverage, 401k, and a HSA for interns. I currently pay for my own health insurance so this may be a good thing to have. I'd be working 16 hours a week. I think the benefits are pretty cool, but I'm not sure how much I'd really use them. I'm still in a low tax bracket so one of my later questions is regarding how I will handle this.
Looking into the future, I don't see myself staying at company this during the summer. But obviously, if I leave for a better summer internship, I'm not sure if they'd want me back in the fall and I'd be most likely ruining my chances to ever be employed by them again. Again, not sure if that really matters if I can find bigger and better opportunities. I do know that over the summer I'd get paid $19.20/hr and then after the summer I could continue working there to graduation and beyond at the same pay. The company I interned with last summer will pay about $20/hr next summer. Plus with my experience, I'll be looking at other companies that I know pay up to $30/hr for interns. As a sophomore, I think this pretty good pay but my instinct is to never settle and to always be looking for more.
So this leads to my questions:
For those who have been there done that, should my career be solely about chasing the most money? I don't want my reputation in this town to be that I'll leave my company in a heart beat if I get offered $.50 more an hour. But, what incentive are they giving me to stay?
Is it important to have company loyalty?
Does my age impact how I should handle these situations?
I'm very motivated by money, but I also want to enjoy my job every day. I'm very much interested in the automotive, aerospace, defense, petroleum, and energy industries. I really don't know what exactly I want to do with my career yet. If I could study all engineering disciplines and work in all the industries, I would love to do that. But there is only so much time in my life. How does one eventually settle down into a geographic location, an industry, and employer, and a wage?
My instinct is to say that the automotive industry is my passion. I've always loved working on cars, modifying cars, rebuilding engines, and that sort of thing. But I fear that getting into the industry will mean that my hobby will become my job and I'll be unhappy with all the rules and regulations. As an engineer, I won't be able to design the best automobile because it will have to be marketable and appealing to the masses. But the other industries are not what I think about at night or what I am fully passionate about. Aerospace is intriguing and cool, but it's not like I spend my time building high powered rockets and flying RC airplanes like some of my peers do. Nonetheless, I've been thinking that a work/passion separation may be a good thing?
So overall, I'm looking for some life advice from some members of the forum. I don't believe I have anyone else to really talk to about this with because then I come off as a cocky a**hole complaining about getting a lot of money and having so many job opportunities. Truly, I'm just ambitious and work hard all the time but most regular people don't see it that way.
Even with all my questions, I should say that I don't plan on working in the corporate world beyond my early 30s. Once I reach financial independence and no longer have to worry about income, I plan on starting my own company. But, this is all still a plan. Just trying to figure out how I see myself in this world. Do I want to be at the same company for 35 years? Do I want to be a job hopper? Do I want to be retired early? Do I want to be an entrepreneur? I can't seem to answer these questions for myself yet.
Regarding the financial advice,
If I get hired, Should I contribute to the 401k at all? My tax bracket is super low at my age (maybe $15k a year). They offer a S&P index fund with .27% expense ratio. It's the best fund offered. 100% employer match for 3% and 50% for 2%. Immediately vested.
Maybe some kind of 401k conversion or rollover would be beneficial to me? I'm already maxing my Roth IRA so I'm running out of after tax accounts to contribute to while I'm in this low tax bracket.
The HSA has a max of $3350 a year for an individual with no employer contributions. Not sure if this is worth looking into. The current health insurance I have is $1200 a year with a $200 in network deductible. It's probably the best coverage I'll find but I'll look into the company's options. I don't have any medical problems but it's nice to not have to ever worry about much out of pocket at my age.
If you read this whole post, thank you very much and I look forward to the advice I receive.