follow up to this being on lower side of spectrum, how can one prepare to move up

For starters, do not disclose how much you “make” or made earlier. You will mostly need to find a new gig. Jumping up a lot in the current gig is difficult. Once you have disclosed how much you make, you are anchored to the base amount. I have had to convince a lot of folks not to mention this. Instead, it is still okay to tell them how much you expect. A lot of this also depends on luck. So you need to improve your chances by applying to lots of companies. If I had accepted the first offer I got (when I started working remotely - which was still 2x of what I made in India), I would have made 50 - 70% lesser than what I am doing today.

As @loud-glass-33663 said, be prepared to say NO. You may have to choose between your dream job and your dream salary. Once you settle for a base salary, all your increments, regardless of performance, are a percentage of that base. The only way to make a significant jump in money is to establish a new baseline and in most cases that requires changing jobs. You might need to do that 2-3 times fairly quickly to get to a new baseline if needed. And be prepared for the company to say NO too.