Hello all: first time posting here but long time lurker. Had a bit of a blind side yesterday at my job that really has changed some things in my life.
I’m 28, have been working at a small wealth management company for about a year. No plans on leaving for 2+ years (until yesterday! Yay! :()
I’m working on a masters in Public Health. It’s 100% online. Doesn’t interfere with work one bit.
In June I made the mistake of telling my work I am back in school after taking a year off after my dad died. I was so excited to be back at it. Didn’t tell them I wanted to quit or anything just that I’d be graduating in Dec. 2024.
They have apparently taken this as I would be leaving. So when someone “ideal” approached them last week: they hired them.
And I’m out of a job by Sept. 30 and my boss is giving a month’s severance on top of that. I have been wanting to quit for a while for many reasons but I have never mentioned it at work. They literally told me while informing me of this new person that I have been an amazing employee and they feel so bad but this person wants to be in the field. So I am relieved but also WTF. I know this is about me going back to school and no longer being considered a viable “long term option”.
So my question is: can I consider this a firing or being laid off? What do I do with this? How can I maximize my benefit from this? I know saving the “free month” would be the smartest thing but also my dad saved like crazy and died at 53 so fuck it maybe I should travel in my car and go visit friends for a month and camp around.
I think I’m in shock.
TIA