How to Stop Being Underpaid in Tech

If you’re a mid-career tech professional and feeling underpaid in tech, you’re not alone — and you’re not wrong.
In 2025, compensation disparities are still rampant across IT roles. Between mass layoffs, pay transparency laws, and aggressive hiring freezes, more and more experienced professionals are realizing:

“I’m doing high-value work — and not getting paid what I’m worth.”

If that hits home, this article is for you.

Whether you’re a senior engineer, a product lead, or a seasoned IT consultant, here’s how to ask for a raise when you’re underpaid — and do it with clarity, confidence, and leverage.

Why Feeling Underpaid in Tech Is So Common — Even at Mid-Senior Levels

You’d think with years of experience, raises would just happen.

But in today’s tech economy:

Pay bands are vague (even when disclosed)
Titles are inflated (but comp isn’t)
Budget freezes stall promotions
Internal equity concerns block raises — even when market rates say otherwise

Translation? Even top performers fall behind their value. The only fix is to advocate for yourself — strategically.

Step 1: Diagnose If You’re Actually Underpaid in Tech

Before making your case, validate your instinct with real data.

Use These Tools to Benchmark Your Salary:

Levels.fyi – best for engineering, product, and big tech roles
Payscale or Glassdoor – for broader benchmarks
TeamBlind – for anonymous peer insights (take with salt)
LinkedIn Salary Insights – often overlooked, but useful

Look for patterns across job titles, regions, and seniority. Document a clear market range for your role.

Pro tip: Save screenshots and URLs. You may want to reference these in your raise request.

Step 2: Quantify the Value You Bring — With Business Impact

Companies don’t give raises for effort. They give raises for impact.

So instead of “I’ve worked really hard,” your case should sound more like:

“In the past 12 months, I’ve led X project that resulted in Y business outcome — and this role is currently valued at Z in the market.”

Here’s how to reverse-engineer that narrative:

Review your biggest wins from the last 12–18 months
Highlight how they saved time, increased revenue, or reduced risk
Tie your contributions to team OKRs, company goals, or product metrics

If possible, gather quotes or performance review snippets that reinforce your value.

Step 3: Choose the Right Timing and Setting for Your Raise Request

Context matters as much as content. Here’s how to stack the odds in your favor:

Ideal timing: 4–8 weeks before performance review cycles (budgets are still flexible)
Avoid: company-wide cost-cutting announcements, just before layoffs, or after a recent raise
Best setting: a scheduled 1:1 with your manager — not a casual Slack message

🗓 When you book the meeting, frame it as a “career growth discussion” — not “Can I get more money?”

Step 4: Script Your Raise Conversation Like a Strategy Pitch

Here’s a simplified, high-trust structure to guide the conversation:

“Over the last year, I’ve taken on additional scope in [X project/area], and delivered [measurable result]. I’ve done some research on current market compensation for roles with similar impact and seniority, and it looks like my current salary is below that range. I’d love to explore what a path to alignment could look like.”

Then pause.

Let your manager speak. Their response will tell you what kind of leverage and flexibility you have.

Step 5: Prepare for Common Pushbacks — and Know What to Say

Even valid raise requests can get deflected.

Here are a few common objections — and how to respond:

Objection	What to Say
“We don’t have budget right now.”	“I understand. Can we map out a timeline for alignment, or explore other forms of compensation like a bonus or equity?”
“We just gave you a raise.”	“Totally. And since then, I’ve added X responsibilities and delivered Y. That’s why I wanted to revisit the conversation.”
“You’re already at the top of the band.”	“That’s helpful context — and makes me curious about what roles or levels would align more closely with the value I’m bringing.”

The goal isn’t confrontation — it’s collaboration. You’re solving a compensation alignment problem together.

Step 6: Expand the Ask Beyond Base Salary

Compensation isn’t just about base pay. In some cases, you might get “no” on salary but “yes” on:

Equity refreshes
Retention bonuses
Additional PTO
Home office stipend
Title upgrade with comp plan attached

💡 Be ready with a few high-leverage alternatives you’d accept.

Step 7: Follow Up — and Lock in a Next Step

Document the conversation in a short recap email:

“Thanks for today’s conversation. I really appreciate you hearing me out. Just to recap — we agreed to revisit this in Q3 after the new comp cycle. I’ll follow up then. Let me know if there’s anything else I can provide in the meantime!”

This protects the momentum — and prevents things from getting lost.

Final Thought: You Don’t Need to “Earn” What You’re Already Delivering

The biggest mistake mid-career professionals make?

They wait for someone to notice their value — instead of communicating it clearly.

If you’re delivering outcomes, exceeding expectations, and doing work that’s above your current level…
then you’re not “asking” for a raise.

You’re correcting a misalignment.

And in 2025, where silent underpayment is still common in tech, speaking up isn’t arrogance — it’s strategy.

Want help figuring out your next smart move?

👉 Start with my free career training: How to escape your stagnant IT job and uplift your career without throwing away years of hard work

Already watched it?
Or just ready to cut through the noise?

Then let’s talk.

Book a free, 30-minute strategy call — we’ll map out what’s holding you back and what your smarter move could look like. No pressure. Just clarity.

https://go.techcareerodyssey.com/strategycallbooking