The shame of it is that with the new skill set required there has not been a corresponding pay rise! Look at the kind of salaries being paid to web managers and developers, and even graphic designers.
Like many of you, I came out of analogue, yet have worked in digital now for ten years. I have developed a whole set of skills, accordingly. The lay person, however, thinks perfect digital pictures are magically produced by an infallible machine!
Similarly, in my job as a photographer at a large museum, I was among the lowest paid staff members at the institution - hell, the security guys got paid more. I discovered that this was because the photography award that I was paid against had not been revised since 1981, and it still hasn't! This despite my job description that called for B&W print and process, film scanning all formats, 4x5 film photography, studio capture on Sinar digital mfdb, images for powerpoint, photoshop retouching work, annual report and events shooting - all in any given week...
Interestingly, too, when I started out assisting an ad guy in the late 80's, he was getting $2,500 a day as a fee. I know that there are plenty of shooters out there now struggling to get that day rate...
