u/Aman2243

This AI market will inevitably crash. To win, we have to leave bfore that happens.

When do you plan to cash out? I'm thinking end of 2027. By then Mu will have hit 2k for sure.

I have a retirement account from an old employer that I kind of forgot about and just left sitting there. It’s not a huge amount, but it’s enough that I don’t want to accidentally make a dumb tax move.

I like the idea of moving it to a Roth IRA since the growth would be tax-free after that, but I know I’d have to pay taxes on the conversion now. I’m not against that if it actually makes sense, but I also don’t want to overcomplicate things or create a tax headache just because Roth sounds better. The idea of getting access to the money in 5 years sounds really good to me.

What do people usually do with old employer 401ks?

Do you leave it alone, move it into your current 401k, roll it into a traditional IRA, or convert it to Roth and eat the tax bill now? When does converting to Roth actually make sense, and when is it just one of those things that sounds better than it really is?

I recently got an R&D/engineering offer with ECI/KLA in New Jersey and I’m trying to get a better sense of what the group is actually like beyond the job description.

From what I understand, the work is related to chemical/process control tools for semiconductor manufacturing, but I’d be interested to hear from anyone who has worked there or interacted with the team. What do they actually do day to day? Is it more hands-on lab/process work, customer support, tool development, applications, or a mix?

Also curious about the work culture. How are the hours? Is it generally a normal 40-ish hour week, or does it get intense? How is management, career growth, and the technical depth of the work?

One other thing I’m trying to sanity check is compensation. The offer feels a little underpaid for northern NJ given the cost of living and the technical background they seem to want ( PhD + 2-3 YOE), but I’m not sure if that’s just typical for this type of role/company.

Would appreciate any honest insight, especially from people familiar with ECI, KLA, or semiconductor equipment/process-control roles in NJ.