There aren't many hard and fast rules about who gets paid how much; but there are a few realities. For instance, in general, outside sales people earn more than inside sales people. And inside sales people generally earn more than tele-sales people. Do you know why that is?

It's simple: A worker's value is determined by his or her replaceability. Good outside sales people are harder to find than people who can wait for customers to come to them. People who know how to deal with customers are harder to find than people who can read a script into a telephone. The harder to find people have less replaceable talents, or skills.

Your replaceability is determined by how much rare or unique capability you bring to your work. This uniqueness is what determines how much you earn. If you can't be replaced because of your unique talents, then your customers have no choice but to pay more for you.

Conversely, if your job can be scripted and performed by someone with more energy and motivation to perform well, and worse, someone who is willing to work for less money, then what's keeping your employer from hiring that person and firing you?

Your insurance against being outsourced is your ability to bring something to your work that can't be obtained through any other means. That way the people who pay you for your work have little or no alternative sources for what you do.

Your responsibility to yourself is to ensure your job demands the unique capabilities you bring to it, and to demand fair compensation for what those capabilities. You're also responsible for ensuring you don't deliver more value than that for which you're paid. If you do that, you're giving your time, your effort, your creativity away for free.

When you think you might be delivering more value than what you're paid for it's time to do two things:

1. Check the market to see if you're right and
2. If you really are working above your pay, then it's time to move on.