I'm an older engineer and having been in your shoes, here is my advice:
The best way to get a pay raise is to change your job. This is how the industry works.
Many people fail to realize that their relationship with the company is a contractual one and nothing else. Sure, your coworkers are most likely pleasant to be around but that does not change the _nature_ of a corporation. It exists to simply generate profits for itself and has no other goals.
This is why getting emotionally attached to your work is a mistake because sooner or later it will harm you in some way (burnouts, preventing career growth, slowing financial growth,..). Companies know this of course and usually use it to take advantage of people. What do you think all those ping-pong tables, free foods, team building "exercises", lectures about how we are in the trenches together, etc are supposed to achieve? All those are meant to amplify one's emotional investment to a soulless corporation.
Still not convinced? Just look a the CEO of bolt right now with his emotionally charged war speech as the ship is sinking.. Lord knows what he is saying to his team internally to squeeze a few extra cents out of them before the end.
But I digress; Yes, you should quit if you are unhappy. Don't go to your boss, don't "discuss it", all that will do is paint a cross on your back if they find out.
Start interviewing, as soon as you have a position you like, hand in your resignation letter and rotate off. No feelings hurt, nothing unprofessional this simply business.
Remember that you are a professional and your health and happiness of yourself, loved ones and family members is what takes priority over everything else.
I have found that if you're good at what you do, companies would like you to keep doing it. That limits the potential for growth into new positions.
I'm not particularly good at office politics, and corporate performance management is pretty useless. Moving jobs is how I have maximised my growth, experience and pay.
However, that doesn't necessarily mean that this is the right thing to do in this case. Understanding why no pay rise was given is a huge learning opportunity. I would certainly take no pay rise as a signal that the company wasn't happy in some way. Knowing why that is would be very helpful for personal development, whether staying or moving on.
It would help to approach from the position of wanting to improve and asking if improvement in any areas are needed. Maybe they don't have good reasons, maybe they do and were too scared to tell someone known to be abrasive. A bit of humility goes a long way.
Many years ago someone taught me the value of learning from my mistakes. It's not enough to just acknowledge your mistakes, or apologise for them, which is difficult enough. Then you have to do something about it.
The best way to get a pay raise is to change your job. This is how the industry works.
Many people fail to realize that their relationship with the company is a contractual one and nothing else. Sure, your coworkers are most likely pleasant to be around but that does not change the _nature_ of a corporation. It exists to simply generate profits for itself and has no other goals.
This is why getting emotionally attached to your work is a mistake because sooner or later it will harm you in some way (burnouts, preventing career growth, slowing financial growth,..). Companies know this of course and usually use it to take advantage of people. What do you think all those ping-pong tables, free foods, team building "exercises", lectures about how we are in the trenches together, etc are supposed to achieve? All those are meant to amplify one's emotional investment to a soulless corporation.
Still not convinced? Just look a the CEO of bolt right now with his emotionally charged war speech as the ship is sinking.. Lord knows what he is saying to his team internally to squeeze a few extra cents out of them before the end.
But I digress; Yes, you should quit if you are unhappy. Don't go to your boss, don't "discuss it", all that will do is paint a cross on your back if they find out.
Start interviewing, as soon as you have a position you like, hand in your resignation letter and rotate off. No feelings hurt, nothing unprofessional this simply business.
Remember that you are a professional and your health and happiness of yourself, loved ones and family members is what takes priority over everything else.
Best of luck!