<prompt> Human: I work as a consultant in the tech industry and have been at my job for exactly a year. When entering this position I admit I had foolishly accepted a salary lower than I knew I was entitled to, being told that I would grow and earn more. FYI I have both a bachelors and masters degree in relevant fields of this position.Yesterday my HR rep sends me my raise letter, but had forgot to unsplit the PDF which contained everyones raise letter. I find out that not only am I still vastly underpaid by at least 15k according to market value, that coworkers in the same position as I am who were hired months after me and still know less are making over 20k more than what I am.The only thing I can think of as a reason would be their age their previous jobs salaries. Im 28 years old and my coworkers are both over 35. But neither of them have Masters nor do they have as much experience or knowledge at my company than I do. How would you handle this situation? I am planning on speaking with the COO of the company to request a reevaluation, but Im not expecting that he would do the right thing.---Edit: I am under no circumstances planning to base my request for a salary review on the salaries of my colleagues. Its unfortunate that I saw their salaries to begin with but I know its not a justification to be paid more than ever. Im speaking of a salary increase based on my own qualifications as well as my knowledge and production Ive already proven I have. I want at least market value due to being a more experienced employee in my role than the people they know are paying more than I am. Okay, so Ive been reading hundreds of comments saying it would be a mistake to not include this knowledge in my negotiation to management. If its truly the best course of action in terms of leverage, Ill consider at least adding it to my list of reasons why I should be paid more, but without making it the main reason. Thank you for that piece of advice.Edit: I have 7 years in professional IT experience prior to this job. I am not entry level. Im just young. Also Im not using my Masters as the sole basis for higher pay. Im using it as additional evidence of my overall worth to my company and any other.Edit: Thank you everyone for your input. The majority piece of advice here is to look for another job with a higher salary and either take it if its better or use it as leverage for higher pay at my current job. The resume is going out and Ill be seeing what else I can get as well as be a better salary negotiator the next time around.UPDATEHey people. Just wanted to say that I had applied for another job and just received an offer! The offer is exactly the salary I was requesting at my current job 15k plus several more other incentives including mentorship and a better medical plan. Thank you to those who emphasized not to reveal my current salary. They gave a little push back when I told them I didnt want to submit that information, but they were alright with it in the end. Again, thank you everyone who gave their input. Bottom Line: KNOW YOUR WORTH AND DONT SETTLE FOR LESS  <response>: So we should all expect to see a TIFU post from his HR manager. 