STEM PhD graduate fired via email just two months in for asking to be paid on time after repeated salary delays, and refusing to be blamed for everything: ‘He was the boss, HR, everything, I couldn’t do much’ – FAIL Blog

The shock of how quickly it unraveled still lingers, and getting up each morning to look for new jobs feels heavier after years of study and effort. The story sounds like someone who did everything they were supposed to but ended up in a place that made burnout feel like failure. It’s probably not a question of ability, just terrible luck mixed with a boss who never should have had that kind of power.