Are Your Lights On?: How to Figure Out What the Problem Really Is

"I was set up to fail" No this is just normal level management/exec incompetence. There is no way you should have been brought onto a project as the sole contributor without some sort of employee overseeing things. The experience is still good learn from it. As a contractor you should be charging minimum $120hr ( yeah there will be a lot of contention from zero experience people here about this here but it is accurate) Even with only college $80hr is practical as a contractor but still very low. The best contractor quick read I can recommend is Are your lights on?