I'm guessing he means office politics. That's the way I feel anyways - if I had participated in politics and the games the company plays rather than just be the best technical person I could, then I would be much better off. I know a guy that started a year after me. He's a manager now (3-4 promos), making at least $30k more than me, while I'm just a midlevel (1 promo).
There's a lot to that, but I'm actually half decent at the politics. I held a fairly senior role previously, and still play the game pretty well. I'm just underpaid and pissed off about it, to the point that it effects my performance.
Yeah, similar to your pay comment, I've become disillusioned by the company screwing me over and passing me over. I consider salary/raise/promo negotiations to be part of the politics and games. What else would you say is the root cause of you being underpaid?
