This is spot on. And it's such a shame. Most good raises come from quitting and changing jobs. The first few months, once you've passed the interview and bee

This is spot on. And it's such a shame. Most good raises come from quitting and changing jobs. The first few months, once you've passed the interview and been accepted, you have ridiculous room to be a loser (not suggesting you are) before the company will begin to recognize that. Consequently, you may look around and see a lot of actual losers who are underperforming because they're lazy or inadequate. Freelance, learning to play the consulting game, charging a lot, and negotiating unreasonable things (like pay me in advance for a year of income and you have my attention for a year for any project) is the way to go for people who feel this way. Or you build a SaaS or other business and make it work. Or marry rich.