I feel your pain Asok!
The good news for me is that all the Electrical Engineers in my unit are over 60. The bad news is that all of their 401(k)s are in the tank and they will most likely die in their cubicle before they can afford to retire.
How about if someone in management just happens to cross the street at the wrong time? Sure, it'd be less fruitful than being an engineer, but it would still be a raise in pay from being an intern.
This strip actually makes me really depressed.
I was essentially told the same thing not 2 weeks ago.
My now ex manager (because he was made redundant) informed me that the only way I could get a significant pay increase to what he at least believed I was worth was to apply for a quitting team members position. So instead of getting paid what I am worth because I am a good employee and going though the normal pay increase path. I can get a bigger pay increase by just applying for an empty spot in my own team that is technically a higher level then what I currently am.
Sometimes I wonder why I put effort into working when it seems I can be paid more by filling in applications.