Precious metals over the long term are not real investments they're simply a hedge against inflation or massive devaluation of the USD.
If you sell high and buy low then it's a real investment. If you just hold onto it forever it does little but maintain it's power to buy something, but that's still good to have.

If the company she goes to work for has matching 401k that's instant 100% return (or whatever they match) assuming it's vested. A low risk fund with company matching is a safe way to gain money.

The classic strategy with 401k is high risk at a low age and decrease your risk as you get older hoping for lucky huge gains to offset the losses. However if you get high risk during a crash you loose it all.

I switched to real estate for long term investment, however I have a level of experience in that area.

My advice based on my losses is go with what you know and understand. Don't trust the classic strategy.