Unfortunately, some people think they got a severance package when they really didn’t. Let me share when a severance package is not a severance package so you can actually fight for on the next time around!

Not A Severance Package

“Hey Sam! I got three months of severance and I didn’t even have to negotiate!“, said a friend from Manhattan after he got let go from his publishing job of seven years. “I think I’ll go to the Caribbean for a while and drink some Cuba Libres on the beach,” he went on to say.

Although I am happy for my friend who has been wanting to quit his job for the past year, I couldn’t stop shaking my head and thinking you dummy.

When I asked him whether he got any health or unemployment benefits insurance coverage, he said no. When I asked him whether he got any job assistance training help, he said no. Then I asked him whether he got a list of references from managers who would vouch for him when applying for a new job, he said no!

Little does my friend know, he got no severance package. I was a manager for the last five years of my career and he fell for one of the oldest employer tricks in the book. Let me explain.

Are you wondering: Should I work on Wall Street? I worked on Wall Street at Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse for 13 years. It was a good career that enabled me to retire early, build investment wealth, and grow Financial Samurai.

Therefore, in summary, I recommend working on Wall Street if you are given a job offer. You can make a lot more money on Wall Street than in most other industries.

In my post, “Suck It Up Already! Suffering Is A Rite Of Passage,” I discussed how going to the media to rat out your company is a dishonorable thing to do. If I was a manager, I’d never hire someone who couldn’t resolve his/her differences in private. What I didn’t expect was for a reader to comment that I had done the same!

See Virginia’s comment below,

“I kind of feel like you ratted out your company because you are constantly saying how awful it was working on Wall Street.”

Before this comment, I never believed I ratted out the companies I worked for. Discussing an industry is much different from bagging on a specific company. 

I shared stories about how it was tough work coming in at 5:30am and leaving after 7:30pm almost every day in NYC. The pressure to perform was immense. But not once have I ever spoken poorly about either of my two employers. How could I, when they took a chance on me for 13 years?

Yes, working on Wall Street is an ass-kicking, but there’s a lot of good as well. To dispel any perception that I didn’t appreciate my time there, I’m going to talk about the benefits of working in finance. I realize it’s much more popular to crap on Wall Street. But it’s good to see the other side. 

Are you wondering: Is an MBA a big waste of time and money? With the cost of MBA tuition going way up and missing out on two years worth of work, getting an MBA is more expensive than ever before.

I got my MBA from UC Berkeley in 2006, but I did so part-time. As a result, I didn’t miss out on income or career progression. But the 3 years it took to get my MBA was had! Let’s discuss whether getting an MBA is worth the money and time.

Is An MBA A Big Waste Of Time And Money?

During the summer of 2014, Personal Capital, a fintech company that offers everyone free financial tools to manage and optimize their wealthy, had the luxury of hosting three MBA interns in the marketing department where I consult part-time.

One was actually a Harvard JD/MBA, which is darn impressive because she has to get into both schools separately. The other two were from Stanford. They did a great job brainstorming and executing fantastic ideas.

In addition to our summer MBA interns, our head of business development (Stanford), our head of client engagement (Stanford), our digital marketing executive (Michigan), our CMO (Cornell), and our CEO (Harvard) also have MBAs. 

Then there’s me, a Berkeley MBA grad. In other words, the marketing department is a majority MBAs. But having an MBA isn’t a requirement for joining. Relevant experience is much more important.

Most MBA graduates will probably say that an MBA is money and time well spent. It’s kind of like spending big bucks on a fancy dinner. To justify the extravagant expense, of course you’re going to tell yourself and all your friends, how incredibly amazing the dinner was. But we all know that spending $250 per person at Jean Georges isn’t worth 100X more than a tasty In N’ Out cheeseburger for $2.5.

For similar reasons why going to private university without a scholarship is probably not the best use of your money unless you have plenty of it, getting an MBA is also becoming a tougher choice today.

For those of you with MBAs, be forewarned. This is not a cuddly, feel-good post on why getting an MBA is a no-brainer. There are a lot of hard truths from what I witnessed as a manager who consistently interviewed MBAs during multiple bull and bear markets. I’m also providing the perspective as an MBA eight years after graduating. Readers trust me to speak candidly, so that is what I will do.