First of all, I don't expect a raise of 15% annually. 5-10% would do, if it does happen every year (assuming they like my work). Second, you forgot the inflatio

First of all, I don't expect a raise of 15% annually. 5-10% would do, if it does happen every year (assuming they like my work). Second, you forgot the inflation. $50K -> 200K growth in 10 years is possible, there's nothing extraordinary about it, but currently the only way to do it is to switch jobs.