Thanks for your time an input. To answer your question, yes I believe my position is critical. I don't have any backups as of right now that are familiar with what I do, but that is not to say there aren't other employees that could potentially pick up when I leave but I believe the projects can be at huge risk if leave suddenly. I don't know if the managers are open to negotiation but I think it doesn't hurt to ask. To answer your second question, I haven't looked at other employers, but I have a lot of friends that work in the area and they say people in their company with similar responsibilities make a lot more than I do. But I will take your advise and try to negotiate and if that doesn't work out try looking into other places.