I a chemist with 6-7 years of experience in the industry, and after 5 years with my current company I make only 55k a year. With my years of experience I should be considered as a Chemist II, but still only hold the Chemist I title. I took over the job of a Lead Chemist III when he quit but no pay raise or title increase.
It has been 6 months since that has happened and I have been looking for a new job for longer. I am applying to jobs of my experience level and in my area the low end is 72k with a median of 80k. I've been asking for 70k and get ghosted whenever they ask what I desire for a wage.
Am I overvaluing myself or is it just really that bad that no one is willing to pay more than entry level, even for experienced workers?