Yes, @nasimon, that's so true! I recall only one time when pay was the major cause of dissatisfaction and that was when I discovered I had a higher rank and more responsibilities but was being paid significantly (as in more than $13K) less than a guy who I managed. That got my ruff up! But one of my wonderful mentors, my boss at the time, stepped in and fixed things--and got my undying loyalty, too!

You're right, @nasimon, that many companies either can't - or say they can't - afford to give even their best employees raises or bonuses. Unfortunately, that may be true in some cases, given the economy we're in today.

If you're one of those great employees who feels they're not getting recognized, at least financially, for your hard work, you can of course seek employment elsewhere. it is, typically, easier to find a job while you're in a job vs. when you're unemployed, from what I've read. But if you like your job, your boss, and your colleagues, perhaps there are other things you can request that will improve your quality of life without affecting the company's fiscal status. Your company may be amenable to flexitime; full or partial telecommuting; reimbursement for college credits; giving you paid time off to pursue some training (such as additional certifications from a vendor or organization), or increase your paid vacation time.

They may be amenable to letting you spearhead a pilot program using skills you have but don't get to use in your day-to-day job: Perhaps designing a mobile app; designing a telecommuting program, including the required virtualization technology, or creating web-based training for new employees... Not only does this offer you the space to do things you enjoy, it gives you a platform to demonstrate another reason why you should get a raise or bonus once the money frees up -- or you decide to job-hunt.

"It is cheaper to keep quality employees than to replace them."

But unfortunately most of the employers don't understand this fact. They usually seem ungenerous in this regard and do not facilitate their employees with monetary funds and when they are asked about the reason they have a common reply 
"That's all we can provide and provision of funds doesn't match our budget".

While researching this piece, I found some pretty interesting training offered by an Irish university to unemployed people. It was focused on a variety of technologies, including cloud, and one prerequisite was that you had to have no job in order to take the training. Since I didn't want to get lost in a (deadline-eating) tangent, I resisted the urge to click deeper into the website, but this appeared to be government-funded. I don't know if the U.S. government offers this type of training? It's a really smart idea, helping people with basic IT skills become more advanced IT professionals -- and fill organizations' needs for well-qualified cloud employees. 

This is yet another example of the paradox of the current economy -- while millions struggle to find work, companies struggle to fill key positions because skills are in short supply.

One way that IT managers can find jobs in the cloud is with the cloud providers.