I'm a web developer in the consulting business of a big international IT company. I'd like to be paid more, but if I'm honest with myself, my salary probably isn't far from market rate.<p>However in terms of recognition of my skills I feel massively undervalued. The management are business consultants rather than technical people, and there's a pervasive culture that technical work is something to be outsourced/offshored and generally done by the lowest bidder. I was hired as a "Technical Consultant" and yet I've repeatedly had to fight to do technical roles.<p>I often think about leaving to get a pure web developer role, but I'm still at quite a junior level and junior dev salaries here in London are awful.
Would you rather feel undervalued, or would you rather be underpaid? Sometimes you can't have both vocal appreciation and good pay at the same time. Being paid without hassle can at times be the only show of appreciation, at least in contract work.<p>Afterward, instead of trying to buy happiness, it would be more advisable to appreciate yourself. If you don't appreciate yourself, then you may want to find something that gives you a purpose in life, even if outside of work. There are many worthwhile causes in this world -- many things in need of care. If you can find something where (a) you care personally and (b) you can make a difference, then (c) you may have found purpose.
A downside of a lack of micromanagement (which I think is a positive thing) is that sometimes I wonder if anyone knows how much work or insight goes into what I have accomplished...<p>Perhaps this is a reverse Dunning–Kruger effect? When each team member has a unique set of skills, how can you evaluate competence in each other, if you are not even able to properly evaluate your own skills until you become an expert?