I think one of your best options would be an index fund. An S&P 500 index fund is a type of mutual fund that attempts to match the returns of the S&P 500 by investing in the companies that make up the index. Over time the average annual return on the S&P 500 has been about 10%. You'll remain diversified because the fund invests in hundreds of companies and because the fund has a low turnover rate the fees are quite low. Also, this type of a fund outperforms about 85% of actively managed mutual funds!

Real through the funds that your 401k offers. There should be some kind of Large Cap Index Fund option.

Since everyone's situation is unique, the best thing to do is to go to a website that can help you figure out what type of investor you are (conservative, aggressive, moderate). My 401(k) company (Schwab) has helpful tools on its website which made investing much easier. I think there are some of these type of tools in Yahoo finance as well.

I took a couple online quizzes to determine my investment style, then looked at the suggestions for the investment vehicles which matched my investment style. There is even one fund where I can put my money that is based on how many years until I plan to retire (10 years, 20 years, etc.). The managers for this fund keep the retirement year goal in mind and make the investments accordingly.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

The 3 top things are:
1. Get started investing(time will make it easier to reach your retirement goals)
2. Get the company match - this is free money, your admin can tell you what you need to contribute to get the full company match
3. Start off simple - the simplest choice if available is a target date retirement fund, if that is not available choose either an index fund(such as the S&P 500) or an investment allocation fund(agressive, moderate, conservative).

Good luck with your 401k. And make sure to not to take an early withdraw when you change jobs.

When you feel comfortable with starting out, you can learn a lot for Motley Fool and the yahoo finance section

Congratulations, for starting your retirement! The 401K plan should have an online website. Go there and do your research. You can go to Yahoo Finance to learn about investing.