You should know what the salary standard is for your industry, what objections the boss might raise, and how to deliver your spiel without backing down too soon. You won't be able to refute what sounds like a water-tight justification unless you know the going rate for someone with that many years under his or her belt. Getting a raise requires knowing where you stand in your industry. The first way to combat your ignorance is to establish how much you should be getting paid. The Internet is a great place to find such information.
Some sites list salary surveys for free, while others command a price.
The latter tend to be more detailed and specific to certain cities or geographic regions that you are interested in, thus offering you better information. The general salary surveys are helpful if you need a ballpark idea of what to expect in your field, but they may not have specifics such as your degree of responsibility or experience. Location, demand, and ability all play into your paycheck. It also offers handy links to over 300 online salary surveys through various sites, some of which are listed below. The BLS has 1998-99 salary updates.