Get paid little and work well anyway. The paycheck belongs to them. The reputation belongs to you.

Two different things are being produced by the same hours. One is the output your employer pays for, which ends when the shift ends. The other is what you become while doing it, the skill and the standing, and that part leaves with you regardless of what the job was worth. Underpaid work can still build something nobody can take back.

Separate the two in your head so bad pay does not cost you twice. Hold your own standard while you look for better terms. Ask what this job can teach you that the next one will pay for.