By Dr Dave Schalow, PhD, CLU, ChFC, CFA, CFP
Career Success | January 22, 2026

The obvious way to make more money is to make more money in your current job. A routine cost-of-living adjustment may help, but a meaningful increase usually calls for something more.

If you want to get more, you have to do more. Probably not what most people want to hear, but that is the real world. What you make is a function of three things:

1. Demand for what you do.
2. How good you are at what you do.
3. How difficult it is to replace you.

GET BETTER AT WHAT YOU DO

There is not much you can do about the first one regarding your existing job, but you can certainly do better at the second one. Show up prepared. Spend time daily getting additional study or training on how to do better at your job. Turn your “car” time into “study” time with useful educational audio.

By the way, you have to get better first, before an employer is likely to agree to pay you more. You have to chop the wood, stack it, carry it, and put it in the stove before you get the heat. Don't expect your boss to give you a raise only because you need it or haven't had one for a while. You have to demonstrate the value you bring to the business.

BECOME MORE VALUABLE TO THE TEAM

Third, think about how you can make it harder to replace you. Instead of trying to avoid extra responsibilities, spend time figuring out how to do more things and become more valuable to the overall operation. Try to get involved with activities that increase sales or revenues. The more useful things you can do, the more valuable you are to the team.

Here are several habits that help:

• Develop and display a positive attitude.
• Be enthusiastic.
• Volunteer for projects that stretch your skills. Ask for the guidance you need, figure out the work, and come away with a new capability.
• Be the solution for your boss, not the problem.
• Do what you say you will do.
• Finish projects before the deadline.
• Find out what your boss's goals are and help achieve them.
• Be pleasant to work with. Smile and contribute to the team's energy.
• Be dependable and willing to make an extra effort when it matters.

THEN ASK

Finally, once you have done these things, you have to do one more thing: ask.

Show what you have contributed and explain why the additional responsibility and results support higher compensation. A raise is not automatic, but becoming more valuable gives you a much stronger case.

​Build the value first. Then have the conversation.