Currently experiencing the same. I am the lowest paid in the team, the people I am expected to mentor are paid higher and my applications for promotions keep getting rejected yet I am told I need ro mentor the others who earn more than me. Spending most of my evenings preparing for interviews

Good for you!

I’ve learned two things over the years:

- raises/promotions in the same company never happen, even when overdue

- switching companies can mean more pay, better environment, and wider skill set — all at the same time.

It’s really surprising how many disadvantages there are at staying at the same place for > 5-10 years.

I’m also shocked at how little companies value length of tenure. Someone in the same project for 3-4 years is infinitely more productive than someone working on it for 1-2. Yet, companies (and including project managers) really don’t care.

I always worried about getting into something worse than my current job. (Other than compensation, I was happy with coworkers and the type of work. ) But each time I switched, I was wiser and avoided making such mistakes.

Of course, each company I’ve joined often took a nose dive within a few years. Some didn’t work out as long as I hoped. Others survived far longer than I expected.

In contrast, the people with 20 years at the same company are so pigeonholed with outdated skills that they are virtually unemployable anywhere else…