I have two solid job offers on my plate right now, but I'm unsure of would be the better option; from a financial standpoint (looking to build towards FIRE). So I'd love some input!
My age: 25
Current Retirement Savings: $10,000 (in stock/ETF's)
Current liquid money: $10,000 (checking account)
Debt: $0 (no loans/mortgage)
Misc monthly expenses (rent, groceries, etc.): $1,750
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Offer/Company 1:
Company Background: Start-up esk, in the sense that they haven't been around long (2 ~years) and have about 10 employees. Company is in the premium home automation industry, but also has several subsidiary companies that are more or less R&D engineering custom projects.
Position: Embedded Systems Engineer
Salary: $85,000
Sign on Bonus/Moving Expense: $5,000
Vacation: 3 Weeks
Healthcare: Decent, and premiums are paid for by the company.
401K: Currently not offered (said they are working on it).
Location: Midwest Southern state (USA), relatively rural.
Company Bonus: Offered based on company/employee performance.
Offer/Company 2:
Company Background: Well established, multiple locations, hundreds if not thousands of employees. Company is in the industrial (electric) motor industry. Well defined niche of products and would clearly only be working on motors and anything related.
Position: Design/Components Engineer
Salary: $75,000
Sign on Bonus/Moving Expense: $5,000
Vacation: 2 Weeks
Healthcare: Again, decent; but I'd have to pay the premium of about ~$165
401K: Offered with employer match (description below), but only vest after being there for 2 years.
$1.00 for every dollar you contribute up to the first 1% of eligible compensation.
$0.50 for every dollar you contribute on the next 5% of eligible compensation.
Location: Northern Midwest state (USA), sizable population.
Company Bonus: Not Offered.
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From a FIRE perspective, what would be the better option? Does a 401K really add much to company 2's offer? As soon as I take on of these positions I will start maxing out a Roth IRA, but I'd of course need to catch up on my retirement savings, so I'm worried that company 1 not having a 401K would be very detrimental to that. Unless there's ways to offset this with the larger income.
Appreciate any input!