Joanna McDonald

How corporate betrayal and losing my IT job changed me

May 18, 2026

How did I lose my job? A corporate betrayal I never saw coming and that I'll never forget.

The Job

I worked at my last IT job for almost 2 years. It was my first job since I graduated with my computer science degree in 2023. I was IT support for a hospital. Until December 29, 2025.

Was it my dream job? Absolutely not. I constantly compared myself to my fellow graduates, many who went off and got jobs in software engineering making or nearly making 6 figures while I was stuck in entry-level IT making $25 an hour. That's not chump change, but I couldn't stop comparing myself.

I had software engineering interviews, one for Roblox, and I just totally messed up half of my coding interview. I felt like a failure. After months, out of frankly desperation, I decided to apply to this IT job I had an internship for a couple years back.

I excelled quickly in my role and gained the trust of my colleagues and the employees I supported. I actually began to enjoy the job. I no longer felt I was missing out on software engineering as I discovered more interesting areas of the IT field. I dreamed of a future in an area like network engineering.

Black Sheep

Eventually, my boss became more and more critical of me. He began micromanaging me and every single ticket that came in was placed on me. Every day was full of shoulder taps from him with new tasks to add to my overflowing plate. I was getting exhausted. I couldn't stand the on-call schedule anymore, either. I was tired of being on-call for a week at a time, constantly filled with anxiety about the 2 am calls to go into work that I was bound to receive, while having work at 6:30 am. I was exhausted and the only feedback I was receiving those days was critical.

I felt like the black sheep of the office, my middle child syndrome returning. My main coworker was very bright, charming, and hardworking. So was I, I thought. But my boss liked her so much that I always felt overshadowed.

My boss nominated her for an award within the hospital that showed you cared about the compassionate missions of the company and she won. A few months later, a new coworker started. My boss soon nominated her and she won. Later, after my main coworker had left and I had lost my job, her replacement ended up being nominated by my boss as well. That just validated my feelings of not being cared about or recognized for the good I contributed.

How did I lose my job? Betrayal. Sounds dramatic, but it's true.

Caleb

My main coworker, as I mentioned, eventually left the company for another opportunity. I helped choose her replacement. I advocated heavy for a man I'll call Caleb, because that's his name. He worked at another facility under our company and I considered him a friend or at least acquaintance, as we frequently collaborated. I was so confident in his abilities that I helped get my boss from deciding to instantly reject him to hiring him.

Caleb and I got along great. We became great buddies and chatted the day away while working through the mundane to complex issues we encountered. He often told me he hoped I'd never leave because I was so good at my job.

D-Day

Soon, I had a weekend where I was on-call and missed a call due to sleeping through it. While talking to one of the managers dealing with the call, I became frustrated by his responses. I texted Caleb on our personal phones, bitching about this manager and how he was annoying me. Caleb barely responded.

A few days later at work, I started the morning off happy and positive. I was wearing my company branded sweatshirt and offered to buy the office coffee. I ended up getting Caleb a white mocha.

Shortly after, I was brought to a conference room with my boss and boss's boss, with HR on the phone. My boss showed me print-outs of my private text messages with Caleb, where I was complaining about a manager. I was in awe. Getting let go for private texts where I didn't make any threats at all? I asked if the decision was final and I shut down. They asked if I had anything to say and I said I did not. On my way out of the room I wished them good luck finding a half decent replacement for me.

When I was cleaning out my desk, that's when I knew that my boss was pissed. He, with his own money, had bought a keyboard for me. A pink light-up mechanical keyboard. I asked if I could take it and he declared it as "company property," without looking me in the eyes. In that moment I knew he was big maddddd. I still don't know why he suddenly hated me. I think he knew that this job wasn't my dream and resented me deeply for it.

I text Caleb for clarification on why he shared private text messages that got me let go. To this day, he hasn't replied to me standing on his decision nor explaining himself. I don't know why he thinks management sees him as one of them. They see him as just as replaceable as me.

Let me remind you, just months later, Caleb won an award for how much he "cared."

The best part of being fired? I lost my health insurance 2 days later.

This was just the beginning of my personal hell that lasted for months. Since then, I've gotten a new, better job that doesn't abuse me and treats me like a human. I'm happy and grateful. In the end, he lost a friend, a hardworking colleague, and his dignity.

Me on the other hand? I have a beautiful life full of friends, hobbies, light, and love. He can never take that away from me.