> temporary until a decent human being above you realizes that you should be rewarded

In my 25 year career, I have never, ever, ever seen this happen. Nobody is just going to wake up and decide that you should be making more money and reward you. You have to fight for it, schmooze for it, document all that good work you are doing, make a case, fight again for it, beg for it, plead for it, threaten to quit over it, and maybe, maybe the company will finally give in and reward you, after trying every possible way to avoid having to do it.