If your skills aren't valuable, then yes, they won't be worth much. If you have invested in developing skills that are valuable, then you have all the leverage in the world. But even if you flip burgers, if you can convincingly commit to being reliable you can command a %15-20 premium.

The power to walk away is the greatest power of all. But if the chips are down, you have to eat, and so your BATNA is poor. This means having a job is the best time to look for the next one. If you need one, you're a price taker. If you don't, you are the price maker.

The hardest thing to accept is that it's mostly attitude.