<prompt> Human: I am currently 28 getting my PhD. I currently work at an engineering firm as an intern making 50kyr. Im finally looking into retirement plans ect. but I plan to become a professor later on with a teachers pension plan.I know IRA wont be affected, so just want to know about a 401k plan.If I invest in a 401k plan now, what happens when I become a professor at a university and use their teachers pension plan? I assume then, I cannot have a pension plan and a 401k plan?Does the 401k plan get some how absorbed into the pension plan or do I keep it with my old employer, or merge it into a IRA?TL,DR: what happens to your 401k when you switch jobs with teachers pensions?  <response>: They are separate plans with separate employers. You can continue to have both plan without issue. 