[tenfourwookie]

I've found that being a bastard in salary negotiations (pushing, not backing down, willing to walk) is the very best way to get promoted, and it should almost always be with a new company. Your existing company knows what you're being paid, and that's hobbling. You need asymmetric leverage. No one needs to know your salary. They should see how you value yourself in the salary negotiation. Take risks. Pays off. You do have to perform, so don't push so hard that you can't do the work. I suppose that goes without saying, but some people forget. I forgot once. Ended up surrounded by PhD statisticians that ate my lunch. Fired 3 months later. Was still paid ridiculously, but was also ego-bruising.

You can practice this with headhunters. Push the numbers. Try double your current number. You'd be surprised some of the numbers you can pull out of them in certain "must have now" situations.