I feel your pain Breakaway, every position I have left has been replaced with at least 2 less competent people which makes me think, why didn't they just pay me more for doing the work of 2+ people in the first place.
My last job was awesome: I worked with Engineers who hated dealing with politics and the labyrinth of government regulations that stood between them and their projects. I got to be the in-house know-it-all for everyone to go to for advice/solutions on that end, and they really appreciated it. I wasn't competing with, or compared to anyone since I wasn't an engineer. My position was so tailored to my abilities (to memorize and understand every applicable code/regulation/ordinance/statute and know all of the political personalities well enough to know how to effectively negotiate with them). It took a creative leader to figure out how to create a position in the company that fit so well with my abilities and their needs...I doubt I'll ever find that again...:-(
