> How do people put up with this bullshit? Because the group that gets the highest salaries is also the group that wouldn't put up with lower salaries. And th

> How do people put up with this bullshit? Because the group that gets the highest salaries is also the group that wouldn't put up with lower salaries. And the group that gets the lowest salaries, is also the group that puts up with the lowest salaries. That's why nothing changes. People don't randomly get more money. They get it because they ask for it, demand it, push for it, negotiate, plan, make deals, long-term agreements etc, which results in a pay raise. Others quietly and diligently do their jobs, and don't. Fact is that most managers will not give you a raise by themselves, unless it's standard company policy, which is quite rare outside of government organisations. A manager giving you a raise means two things: either he has to get more budget from his manager, which means asking for a favour, making a business case, spending his political capital within the organisation, time, headaches etc. Or the manager already has budget available, and he'll be most keen to spend it on hiring extra manpower, or spending it on a raise on the other people who are asking for it (and at risk of leaving). That's why there's no reason for a manager to give you a raise, unless there's indications he actually has to. e.g. because you're at risk of leaving to another department or company, or staying with the company but unsatisfied which damages the manager/employee relationship. The fastest way to give your manager this indication is to start up the conversation, be vocal about your career aspirations and expectations. There's a group of people who aren't vocal like that, and they overlap almost entirely with the group of people that doesn't call to arms. It's the same people. That's why the system stays like this.