You're getting underpaid not because the world is unfair.

You’re getting underpaid not because the world is unfair. It’s because you work in a cost center, not a profit center. When you work in a cost center, like most cybersecurity people do: - Pentesters - Consultants - Auditors Your employer has every reason to drive your cost down. You have to constantly justify your existence. Because when you cost less, they earn more. Typical zero sum games. They will always look for younger and cheaper talents. Because most of the time, predictable & bigger profit margins matters more than quality. You will feel defeated because no matter how hard you work, the reward is always disproportional to your effort. Incompetent non-tech people getting paid more than you is the best proof. *Solution*: diversify your skill set. Learn skills that GENERATES profit. - Public speaking -> Sales -> Selling more - Writing -> Marketing -> Selling more - Coding -> Creating something to sell When you can sell, your credentials work FOR you. Not the other way around. Stop sacrificing your after-work hours grinding certs for pocket change. Hoping someone will notice and reward you. They won’t unless it benefits them more than you. Use the same hours to learn skills that actually doubles your chances of success: - Public speaking - Coding - Writing If people around you are threatened by your new skills, work somewhere else because they want you to be trapped. You will upset some people because seeing you trying to fly out of a cage will trigger their insecurities. They want you to fail so they can feel better about themselves. Sure, you can try to make those people happy by limiting your potential. But why should you? After all, this is your life. Ignore the doubters and fully invest in yourself. P.S. Photo from last year’s public speaking workshop (Toastmasters) because I look too fat in my current photos.