Am I undervalued? Should I look for a new job?

Hi,

I've been working as a web programmer at a digital marketing agency for 3 years now. I came in as a standard programmer and last year got made a senior web programmer. There is only one new responsibility I have with this. At the same time, a lad who started a year and 3 months after me, and admittedly has more experience than I do, got promoted to the lead role over me. I was gutted. He gets to be involved in every meeting, meet every client, gets paid for training, dinners out, asked for his opinions on a project, and regularly called upon by the directo. I get none of these, yet I've been there longer and know the system equally if not better. Me and this other lad get on quite well but now he is my line manager and that hurts, as it was a position I wanted.

I've just come off working ANOTHER 50-55 hour week when my contract is 37.5. I'm beyond tired, and I feel depressed going there. The director, I don't think knows my name, yet this new lad he does. I've tried for 3 years, but he just doesn't seem to like me. This working late, I will offer to always do a gesture of good will for the hope that I'd get that time back later when a project is finished, and also so that I get recognised as committed. Neither of these items are the case, I never get time back and I never get a thank you.

In the past, I've been bought bottles of vodka to say thanks, offered out on drinking sessions and so on, when all I want is a pat on the back and to say "good job mate, proud of you" or something. A couple of weeks ago, we had a company presentation, and every other programmer got mentioned but me and 1 other. It was if I didn't exist, he looked at me and I expressed open body language, but he totally passed over me. This was the final straw, and I've been looking for new jobs since.

There are LOTS of people at this place, who feel like they just get trod on by management and the director. So many I've seen come and go after and before me, that pretty much the whole office bar 4 of us got replaced in the time I've been there.

The only thing I can attribute to being forgotten about to, is because I never go on work socials, because every time the social is who can drink the most in the nearby pub/town/city until 6am. Not my thing, I don't drink, and in appraisals I've raised this so as not to come across anti-social.

What do I do? There are so many times, I've witnessed people getting trodden on, ripped apart unjustly, fired for silly things. I'm empty, I'm tired, I do my hours and then some with never any thanks, and I feel excluded unless I get drunk out of my head. I was angry I got promoted over, but actually my colleague is the right one to lead, and I will learn from him.

Sometimes, we're not allowed to leave the office together, while the rest of the office goes on pub lunches, in case the phone rings... wee don't get a lunch hour sometimes!

But with all the other stuff that goes on - am I undervalued? Do I get out and look for a new job? Have you had similar experiences and what do you do? Some days I come home and cry, its the only thing I can do.

Thanks.