re: Why is talking about salary a taboo?

He's a doctor so he probably has some clerical staff and a receptionist. Not a manager of professionals.

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I would be happy for a friend that makes five times what I do, not envious.

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But what if you do the same job with the same company as your friend? 5X is likely not realistic but 50-75% more could be possible.

Also consider this. In a professional services environment, everyone is different, doing different things, started out at different salaries, have different raises, etc.

I think the areas where there is transperancy, for the most part, are union jobs, jobs where you have a lot of people doing the same thing, and government jobs (because its easy enough to get info on what government workers make).

I know what every person in my company makes at my level(within $2-3k) and I am friends with the people I work with. I have no resentment for those that make more than I do.

Also, making 50% more than I do for the same job I do is impossible in my company. The pay is too structured. If there was someone at my level, with my same skill set, making 50% more I would just switch companies and get paid that much. I wouldn't spend time being upset or jealous, that gets you no where.

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Also consider this. In a professional services environment, everyone is different, doing different things, started out at different salaries, have different raises, etc

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You are making this seem much more complicated than it is. There are clear comparables between service lines within the professional services industry. The issues I saw a lot in professional services is between people who started right out of undergrad and those who came in as experienced professionals but have the same title (and number of years experience). The people who came straight out of undergraduate were penalized - they will never make as much as someone who jumps from Firm to Firm. When a system is designed to actually penalize you for staying with the company rather than leaving, then you have a questionable compensation structure.

The only exception is at the Principal/Partner level where sales becomes everything.

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I'm not really talking about bragging though. I'm just talking about coworkers or friends having a conversation where salary is brought up. They feel like they have to keep it a secret. I don't see the point.

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It's pretty simple to see why, really. The real question is why are people so judgmental about the money others make. If your friends find out you make a lot, they may expect you to pick up the bar tab every now and then.

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When a system is designed to actually penalize you for staying with the company rather than leaving, then you have a questionable compensation structure.

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I see your point, but I'm not sure it's "questionable." The best employees are always in demand, and generally, it's going to take more money to get people to leave company A to go to company B. Since that's the case, I think you are always going to have that income inequality issue.

Plus, in a lot of professional services, people can get sort of "typecast" in their first job. I see this more often at smaller firms, where you are always considered the new guy, the young guy, etc. Many times people have to leave in order to get a deserved promotion, especially if there are people entrenched ahead of them.

Meh. My friends know I don't care. Right now, I understand that I could be making more in private industry. That being said, the challenge that was put in front of me recently is just too awesome to back away from, and will massively help me out in the future.

I have a couple of friends who feel comfortable discussing money with me. One of which works in the same field as me; we discuss money so that we can get a feel for the environment and how much we can make in certain areas/roles. And another who is in a different field, but we often discuss things such as retirement planning, budgeting, etc...

I am never upset when my friends get raises/promotions or make more money. I think it's great for them. I've never understood why people would get upset when discussing money. If you're in the same field, it might help you realize that there are better opportunities out there for you. If you're in different fields, then what does it really matter if someone makes more money than you, they chose a different path, if you're happy with yourself then it shouldn't matter.

I've had a friend discuss salary with me once (he's the kind of person who is envious of others) and he was genuinely upset that I made more than him, because he is an "engineer". Needless to say, some people aren't mature enough to hold discussions about money.

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People should be paid what they are worth to the company

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That's been proven not to be the case. Companies, especially larger ones, pay as little as they can get away with.

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that will very from person to person not job to job.

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It varies from both due to the above.

Graduate students are hired at discounts and get stuck in a raise increase schedule that keeps them behind the market. It's to their benefit to look for a new job after five years to get the pay increase that they can't get at their first company. This isn't a strict rule, but it's definitely the norm. We hear anecdotes here all the time like, "Want a raise? Change jobs."

Forbes Article

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Staying employed at the same company for over two years on average is going to make you earn less over your lifetime by about 50% or more.

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