TLDR: Increasingly asked to do more at work, so I asked for a promotion. Supervisor/mentor had me fired.
About a year ago, I was offered an amazing job at a small cultural organization doing exactly what my very niche specialization trained me for, working with someone I really admired who would be my mentor and supervisor. The catch? It was offered as a one year position with the promise to renegotiate terms after one year. Things were fantastic for a while, but I was frequently asked to do more and more things that were outside of the parameters of the position (and salary). For example, my supervisor left the country for about two months, and although he worked remotely, all of the in-office things fell to me. I did this eagerly and willingly at first because I liked the work and I was in a precarious position with the single year contract. But I also started to feel weird… perhaps I'm being underpaid given my super specific skillset and the increasing demands on my time? They wanted more from me and I also wanted more: more money, more recognition. I wanted to settle in and make this my career, something I had known others had done at the org in the past by building their portfolios into senior roles.
Over the year I've heard many, many times from the president, exec director, donors, and others about what a great job I've been doing. People from other orgs have commented on it, too. About a month ago the Executive Director offered me a full contract at the same position, so I countered with a pitch for something more senior. She told me she would consider it and we would discuss. At about the same time, however, I had a major conflict with my supervisor/mentor because he had messed up and fallen behind on a huge project and wanted me to help him pick up the slack. I was happy to do whatever he needed, but I wanted to be paid more for doing more work. This was the third time this year that I had brought up the issue of pay and responsibilities, so I was shocked when he blew up about it.
Today the exec called me to tell me that actually they don't have a job for me anymore and after the year is up, that's it. When pressed, she admitted that it was because my supervisor doesn't want to work with me anymore. She doesn't want to have to manage our relationship. Contract ends August 31 and they'll pay through the end, but she told me not to come in anymore. Technically not fired bc if I were, there would be a wrongful termination issue, but they're in the clear with the single year contract.
Supervisor/mentor may or may not follow up to talk about it. He hasn't spoken to me in weeks anyway. Coward.