Short story: I started out very hard on myself and pushed myself 24/7 to be the best I can be. My first job was $65k/yr, raised to $75k/yr at the end of the first year. I had a strong suspicion I was worth more, but I took a strategic approach to finding out. A year later I took an offer at $140k/yr. A year and a half later I accepted $195k/yr ($165k base + $30k bonus). In my current state I'm stuck somewhere between wondering when this will end and yet knowing very concretely the tremendous amount of value I create at organizations (not just in engineering proper, but also team development, leadership, best practices, biz/ops, etc.). I'm optimistic I'll be able to keep this upward trajectory going, it just may not continue to be in the form of salary.