That's why as skill increases, the hourly rate should, too. If a company is looking to get something done faster and are willing to pay for it, they can hire th

That's why as skill increases, the hourly rate should, too. If a company is looking to get something done faster and are willing to pay for it, they can hire the more skilled/faster professional. If that's less important to them, they hire the slower and/or sloppier but cheaper alternatives. You have to be willing to increase your rates if you're getting better/faster. If you're an employee, that's why you should be able to expect raises and bonuses and the like. The assumption is that you're getting better and better at what you do and therefore becoming more implicitly valuable. If you feel yourself getting more and more skilled but the company refuses to reward you, you should leave for someone else who values that skill - which is basically the same thing as raising your hourly rates if you're independent.