Wayne,
I'm not sure how large your company is, but I believe you need to have your position evaluated by Human Resources to upgrade your job profile. I believe that what you are doing is 'what you should be doing', and that is: Learning and Using the software available such as VBA, Shoptech and Inventor. In other words, your job description needs to include experience in programming your tools/software to solve issues (automate processes). Any Human Resources department worth their salt will recognize your replacement value and will assign dollar amount to your position. When I say, 'worth their salt', I'm not talking about how nice or kind they are to your bottom line. I'm referring to how professional they are in keeping their company in the best possible position to be salary competitive and avoid turnover... and in the case that you were to find something better, they would then be more prepared to offer a more competitive salary to find a competent replacement. We are talking about skill, knowledge and experience and not so much education or degrees. We went through this process several years back when we hired a HR person who was 'worth his salt'. At that point, thousands of employees had the obligation to fill out their own job description/questionaire. I was like you, at that time and had been automating the costing department with VBA and you're darn right I included it when I was asked in the form, what the skill and experience levels would need to be for someone in my position, to complete my job effectively. If I understand you at all, I know that this new found ability has changed your life and invigorated your existence in the workplace. It makes you love coming into work in the morning. In my case, there was so many creative ideas and things I wanted to automate. It was truly transforming, and I give God the credit for feeding me with that ability and desire. Others around here would question that, but I guess I'm the only one that knows that for sure. Anyway, good luck to you. I think you are an asset to your company, but don't become dis-satisfied too quickly over $$ or lack of promotion. Your goal should be to do the best you can and to learn all you can. The right money will catch up to you soon enough, internally or with another company. Hope that helps.
nashville
