In my first job, 70+% of the work force within the division had the same job title, and any number on that title had a pay range associated with it that could e

In my first job, 70+% of the work force within the division had the same job title, and any number on that title had a pay range associated with it that could easily cover many years of mediocre raises with little basis on performance. During the 10 years I was there, my job title changed twice, with the second change reverting to the previous title (including an associated pay increase for both title changes), because the division did not have enough work that they could give to someone with that particular title. In my second job, I was a Software Developer 3 for 5 years with relatively good annual raises, and I worked on two different contracts in that time. The only way my title would have been likely to change would have been due to being hired onto a contract that required different titles (Web Developer or Software Engineer, for example), or to move up to a Lead Developer, which would have been somewhere between a developer and a manager. With that employer, moving from Developer to Lead meant that a Lead quit on your contract (and you interviewed for it) or you were hired onto a different contract as a Lead. With my current employer, the numbers were removed from the job titles several years ago. For the most part, raises are even worse than they were with my first employer, and job-hopping internally is the only way most people can see a significant raise, regardless of merit. Promotions come from people in higher positions leaving, which seems less likely (except through retirement) than I've seen elsewhere, but you have to apply/interview for the promotion against internal and external applicants. Most of the people in this location which make more money with the same title have been hired in the 4 years since I started, and I make roughly 50% more than my co-worker with the same title who has held his job for over 10 years. On the good side, there are still a couple of other job titles I'm qualified to hold before I become a manager (though again I'm tempted with that Lead Programmer title which blends the roles). On the bad side, there isn't a lot of chance of vertical movement, so it's a struggle between the comfort of the known environment and the internal job search to see if anything interesting is posted.