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Are You Being Underpaid?
Six questions about what you do, what they see, and what you're paid for it.
Most people who are underpaid don't know it. Pay is invisible by design, raises rarely track responsibility, and the gap opens slowly enough that no single month feels wrong.
These six questions look at the three things that actually decide your position: the work you do, the visibility you have, and when you last tested the market.
- Compared to your job title, the work you actually do is…
- A level above — I cover things well outside it
- About right
- Broad, but nobody outside my team sees it
- Comfortable — I've settled into it
- When did you last check what your role pays elsewhere?
- In the last few months
- A year or two ago
- Honestly, never
- I looked, and it was uncomfortable
- Who knows what you actually delivered last quarter?
- My manager and their manager
- My manager, roughly
- My immediate team, and that's it
- Not sure anyone could list it
- Your last pay rise came from…
- A conversation I started
- The standard annual cycle
- A promotion or a new role
- I can't remember the last one
- If you left tomorrow, replacing you would be…
- Genuinely difficult — I hold things nobody else does
- Manageable with some handover
- Hard, but nobody senior realises that
- Straightforward
- How do you feel walking into a salary conversation?
- Prepared — I bring numbers
- Nervous but willing
- I avoid it
- Resentful before it even starts
Good to know
How do I find out what my role really pays?
Triangulate: salary surveys for your industry, job ads that list ranges, and — most usefully — recruiters, who see actual offers. One source is an anecdote; three sources agreeing is a range you can quote.
Is it worth negotiating if I like my job?
Liking the job and being paid fairly aren't in tension, and a professional conversation about pay rarely damages a good relationship. What does cause resentment is staying silent for years and letting the gap grow until leaving feels like the only option.
Does changing jobs really pay more than staying?
It often does, because external offers are priced at current market rates while internal raises are priced against your existing salary. That's a structural effect, not a rule — and the best outcome is usually using market knowledge to fix your position where you already are.
What if my company says pay is fixed by bands?
Then the question shifts to which band you're in and what moves you up one. Bands are also more flexible at the point of hiring or promotion than mid-cycle, so timing matters more than persistence.