[jwynia]

The best way to get paid $55,000 is to prove to them that you make or save them $110,000 a year.

Asking for a raise makes it all about you. If you can make it all about THEM, and what THEY get from your continuing to work there, it's amazing how many "rules" can be made to disappear.

[codeonfire]

The business world does not work this way. Some guy at the top decided that the job is worth $45k and they will never pay more. Further the guy accepted the job at $45k so therefore the managers believe his value on the market is $45k. Do not believe for a second that fairness has anything to do with it, you have to take every penny by going out and finding a better job.

[bking]

the unfortunate side of things is that I am not privy to the knowledge of the money they make off their contracts. There isn't very much transparency. What I can say is that I took a project that was about to sink and would take the better part of a year to do and turned it into 2 months of work and removed most of the human error elements. All this while working on two other full time projects.

[ImprovedSilence]

Are you a contractor? If so, you can be sure they are charging the client at least 2x your current cost to them, probably more if they pay you so little. This multiple they use also gives them room to pay you more. As someone state above, it might be tough to just ask for a raise, but it's much easier negotiate when you have better offers in hand. Also, have you had your yearly review/raise yet? If not, I'd wait until after that happens, and see how it goes, to make some noise/moves. Maybe they are planning a big raise after the first year (my company did), and if you complain now/ask for too little, you may hurt your ability to negotiate after the fact.

[bking]

I am a salary worker, and my company is a mix of consulting and deliverables to address our customers needs. I definitely understand how the charging works (my father is a cunsultant elsewhere and I grew up at least partially understanding that side).

I had quarterly reviews, and each of them has been glowing and pushing me into more responsibility. The timing is off for my year end because my old manager is now a consultant and my new manager has only been here for a month, although I am pretty sure he would die if I weren't here. The quarterly review system was a product of my old manager, so I think those are over with now.

My company is small (<50) and I have not seen any formal raise system like most big box companies, where if you get the highest rating you might get a %20 raise and on down.

I am at a loss for when I should expect my year end if at all, because everyone else I know outside the company has already had theirs over the past month.