Is who you know and not what you know. If you have a friend or relative up the food chain you are likely to receive promotions, internal job offers and overall a better salary. Salaries are not in-line with qualifications, it goes back to who you know and what you are able to obtain during salary negotiations. For example, you may have a good analyst at a salary MUCH lower than a less skilled counterpart. This isn't nice. My advice, find some friends in management and find what the going rate is for your position if possible. You may have to ask around because the information is not available, not even internally. Otherwise you may end up getting paid much less than everyone else.