I agree. I work one of germanys biggest engineering companies (automotive sector), where pay is pretty much equal. There are certain job levels (secretary, tech

I agree. I work one of germanys biggest engineering companies (automotive sector), where pay is pretty much equal. There are certain job levels (secretary, technician, engineer, manager, etc.), but inside of these levels the salary is only determined by "years of experience" (which is mostly how long you have been in the company). I found it totally frustrating, because independent on how much effort you put in your work and how much benefit you bring to the company you won't get any monetary benefit or promotion. On the other side you see some older guys which are leaning back and waiting for retirement which get higher salaries. This really lowers the motivation to achieve something good amongst all employees after a while. It was one of the reasons I resigned and will start at a smaller company next month.