Pay has little to do with throughput. Pay is an arbitrary number that you and your handler select from the ether. This decision is often made well before there

Pay has little to do with throughput. Pay is an arbitrary number that you and your handler select from the ether. This decision is often made well before there is any chance of measuring your productivity. If you think the number was poorly selected, just know it is. I found time tracking tools to be hugely beneficial. It changed my focus, and forced me more aware of what I was working on. I am, however, a slow developer sometimes. It is just who I am. I found that often employers look for 'smart' candidates, instead of SMEs. This is their fault. If they were interested in / could afford a subject matter expert (SME) then you wouldn't likely be working there. If you are an SME, then you will likely produce results/prototypes far faster than others. Smart people take time to learn, thats how they got there.