I came from mostly nothing. With grants, scholarships, and loans I put myself through college and grad school. I managed to enter my field and for the next decade I worked to develop as a professional, establish contracts, and by hopping institutions was able to earn more money and climb the ranks all the way to director. I applied for another director position in a place my family wanted to relocate to. The process was rigorous, showing the board what kind of director I was, where my priorities lie, and how I lead. When I accepted the position everyone was excited and I set to work. Five months later I was pulled into a closed session meeting and asked to resign. There was no scandal, no controversy. The staff loved me, and I came in halfway through the fiscal year so any money that I spent was already earmarked for those expenditures. I was told they didn't like the direction this non-profit was going. No chance to course correct, or for any proper performance evaluation.
I signed a contract, sold my home, moved my family a thousand miles away. I expended all my professional capital asking every supervisor I ever had for a reference (which they required). The culmination of six years of college, ten years in the field, all that extra time to engage the field in ways that will make me stand out as a candidate. I walked out of that building without a job and without health insurance for my family. So now what?
I don't hate the board members that did this to me–though they were fully aware of the consequences of this decision on my life (and one had an evil little smile during the entire meeting). I do hate the America they live in, though. It's one thing to unexpectedly smash your face against your professional glass ceiling, but it's a whole other thing when the faces on the other side are laughing and smiling at your struggles.
edit: spelling