"Getting out of the business" resource thread

I was wondering if someone could dumb down something for me. I have $1,600 dollars in my JP Morgan account, and they told me to just open a Roth IRA at my bank and move the money over.

Is this a wise move?

Do I still have to keep putting money into it?

 

Here's what I know about that kind of stuff ... perhaps someone older and richer can fill in the gaps:

Generally what you have through your company is a 401k. Your company contracts with a financial company to host those accounts.

An IRA is similar to a 401k, but it's an account you set up yourself at a financial company of your choosing. There are two types of IRAs, traditional and Roth. Pick the one that will work best for your situation.

Both an IRA and a 401k have strict rules about how much you can put in, when you can access the money, etc. because they're designed for retirement and have tax benefits.

A rollover happens when you take money from a 401k (generally when you leave that employer) and move it into the IRA you've set up on your own. It's very, very important that when you call the 401k company to ask for your money and close that account that you use the term "rollover" and they write the check to the "custodian of RayKinsella's IRA" and not just to you personally. If they make the check out to you, the government will assume you've withdrawn the funds and will penalize the hell out of you.

My understanding is you're perfectly fine leaving your money with JP Morgan, because that is your account and your money. You can let it sit there. But most people who leave jobs do a rollover into an IRA to keep all their retirement money together as they change jobs (or job hop, like me). When you get your next job you should sign on for that company's 401k so you'll have both that and the IRA.

Your bank should offer an IRA, but you can go to almost any financial company (like Fidelity or Vanguard) and open an account.

Can anyone add more to this? I'm pretty clueless when it comes to what IRAs/401ks should be doing in terms of picking funds, etc.

 

What's the approach to references?

Should they not be sent and a simple "Available upon request" printed somewhere?

Or should they be used? And if so, what if one wants to use a sports editor or departmental co-worker as a reference? I've always been told to ask your references if you can use them. So if I ask a boss or co-worker about using them as a reference, wouldn't they get... well, kind of curious about what I'm doing? And wouldn't that make for some awkward office days while I wait for a call back from prospective employer?

 

Maybe it doesn't (won't) make any difference, but what if it isn't a hiring editor? Just a hiring boss - ya know, say I'm applying at a job out of the industry.

 

Thanks, buckweaver.

I think we're on the same page with this one, but if anyone else has a response to my question please feel free to comment... Thanks.

 

I'm applying for jobs out of the newspaper industry, so I have a few questions about the 'Experience' part of the resume.

Besides my current job, how much work experience should I put on my resume? How far back should I go? I'm young and relatively inexperienced (full-time for a year out of college), but I don't want to overdue it with part-time stuff I've done over the past 5-6 years.

 

Here's something I found at Monster.com. It's a summary report of tasks/skills/talents/etc. that reporters generally possess. It should help you while putting together your cover letter and qualifications for another industry.

http://online.onetcenter.org/link/summary/27-3022.00

 

Through participating in hires and through my own job-search processes, I have found that many places outside the industry aren't looking for references right off the hop.

Instead, the lead on the interview team will ask for references at the end of the first meeting if he/she feels the candidate can progress to the next stage.

We had signals between each other to indicate whether we thought the lead should request references.

At that stage, the candidate signs a release form, giving us permission to contact references.

 

Has anybody gone back to get their MBA?

 

Does anyone know of a Web site or have any advice on how to tweak your resume for public relations positions with a journalism background?

 

For those of you who haven't seen it, here's a thread discussing unemployment payments:

http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/threads/64738/

 

I just finally came to the realization that I might have to switch careers. It was painful at first since this is all I ever wanted to do (other than pitch for the Yankees, but that required a healthy right shoulder and some modicum of talent, but I digress...).

For anyone else who is in their mid/late 20s and in good shape, consider joining the police. When you think about it, a reporter's skill set is very similar to what you'd need to succeed as a detective. Granted it probably takes a few years to get to that rank, but I doubt that you'd un-learn the skills you had as a journalist. Not only that, but you'd actually be making a tangible difference in people's lives and, if you still have the writing bug in you, I'm sure you'd have some time to freelance here and there.

If that sounds like the route for you, first look to see where the nearest police academies are for you, then go around looking at police departments. Sometimes they'll reimburse you for tuition costs at the academy. Hope this is helpful, too.