Move to my dream job, or wait a few years and retire?

[godofcoffee]

. . .

[Feivel2000]

I don't think we're in hair-on-fire territory

Let me summerize: You are 27, you make $345,000 after taxes and after saving ~$80,000 for retirement.
You spent less than $70,000 per year, so your after-tax savings rate is roughly 80%.
You have a net-worth in the seven figures (at 27).

What industry are you in, maybe I'll change my profession...

@?1: I also think you are not in hair-on-fire territory.

@?2: at less than 3% interest, I would also lean towads investing. 3-4 years from now, if you keep the apartment and you income goes down and you expect rising interest rates, you might need to pay down the principal, but that are many ifs.

@?3: unless the job makes you sick and hate your life: ride the wave for a while and figure out where you want to raise your children and how you want to live. Also a $150,000 dream job will be quite time demanding and a completely different life plan than early retirement.
If you want to retire early, you need more money in your after-tax savings. The net-worth of your apartment is nice, but even if it's worth 2 million: as long as you live in it, it doesn't generate cash flow.

[KungfuRabbit]

I wasn't sure this was a troll, until I read the hair on fire question.

Either this is fake, or you are bragging, because no one smart enough to make that kind of money would think their situation is a hair on fire emergency. 

I'm also not sure who could make that kind of money at 27 (too young for a doctor...) except a Wall Street person, but I feel they wouldn't need to ask an "invest vs pay off debt" question.

Either way. I'm bored.

[FINate]

Is your dream job something you'd do without pay? If it is, then put in a few more years to reach FIRE ASAP and then you'll have a lot more freedom to pursue whatever you want with your free time. You could volunteer or continue pulling a paycheck to make a little extra on the side. Your options are wide open.

If your dream job is still a job, i.e. you'd do it primarily because you need the money, then why would you extend the number of years doing something you don't really want to do. In your case I don't see a scenario where it makes sense to quit your high paying job before hitting FIRE. Maybe if you hated your job or something like that, but you seem to like your current gig well enough.

And who knows, if the economy (or your firm) goes into the shitter the decision could be made for you. IMO you're better off milking that high salary to build your stash as quickly as possible.

[FINate]

Before FIRE I worked in tech and was making mid- to high-six figures and left a little over $1MM in unvested equity when I quit. As you friend said, it's just gold :)

If your goals include hitting FI then I think you're better off riding it out at your current gig for a few more years to achieve the goal. There will be plenty of time to work in your dream job later on.

Just my $0.02

[Irateplatypus]

This doesn't sound like so much of a case study but more of what do I do with my life. My partner and I are in a similar situation as you but a couple of years in the future.

Some questions that might be helpful to ask yourself.

If I retire before getting a chance to do my dream job will I regret it? Dream jobs rarely make you less employable. In the worst case if you decide to go back and make more money again you may find yourself being even more valuable.

A 150k salary is nothing to sniff at. Have you run the math to know that you can't retire till a conventional age (65) if you make that amount of money. Can you move to a lower cost of living area? Or maybe move to a neighborhood where you don't feel the need to send your kids to private school? I would double check your calculations against expected education costs from what you're describing 5 years daycare (125 - 175 k for each kid), private school (25 - 35 x 13), college (50 - 60 x 4) is quite a bit of money. Will that work with your net worth target for FI.

Do you or your wife want to be stay at home parents? My partner and I have put off formal FI to as we call it "work for the daycare" since neither of us wants to be a stay at home parent to very young children. We made the decision to take the dream jobs now since it's unlikely we'll be geolocated to be able to have them once we decide to quit. And I honestly would have regretted not taking the job that I currently have.

[FINate]

This doesn't sound like so much of a case study but more of what do I do with my life. My partner and I are in a similar situation as you but a couple of years in the future.

Some questions that might be helpful to ask yourself.

If I retire before getting a chance to do my dream job will I regret it? Dream jobs rarely make you less employable. In the worst case if you decide to go back and make more money again you may find yourself being even more valuable.

A 150k salary is nothing to sniff at. Have you run the math to know that you can't retire till a conventional age (65) if you make that amount of money. Can you move to a lower cost of living area? Or maybe move to a neighborhood where you don't feel the need to send your kids to private school? I would double check your calculations against expected education costs from what you're describing 5 years daycare (125 - 175 k for each kid), private school (25 - 35 x 13), college (50 - 60 x 4) is quite a bit of money. Will that work with your net worth target for FI.

Do you or your wife want to be stay at home parents? My partner and I have put off formal FI to as we call it "work for the daycare" since neither of us wants to be a stay at home parent to very young children. We made the decision to take the dream jobs now since it's unlikely we'll be geolocated to be able to have them once we decide to quit. And I honestly would have regretted not taking the job that I currently have.

The FI part of FIRE is for Financial Independence, where one has hit critical mass and is no longer required to work to make ends meet. The decision to RE (Retire Early) is independent of FI. OP can, if they so choose, hit FI then take dream job, then RE. Working while FI is an interesting experience. You don't really need the money so you can be more selective and don't have to put up with BS because you have the freedom to just walk away.