re: Have any of you ever found out how much $ a co-worker makes?

Sorry to hear that. That totally sucks and had to make you feel terrible. The reality is that the other person just managed their career better, which you can do as well. The only way to make big jumps in comp is to move. Find someone else who has a need for your skills and then leverage the fact that you don't "need" a job in the negotiations. The best time to look for a new job is when you don't need one.

You can then take an offer back to your current employer and let them know what your new market rate is. If you really enjoy working there, you can let them know that you are open to counter offers. If not, leave, go explore something new and gain some new experience. Then rinse and repeat. Loyalty is not rewarded any more and staying one place for too long can actually be viewed as a lack of ambition. Sounds crazy but it's true.

Yeah, people are pretty open about it at work.

I was in sales for two large publicly traded companies. Every sales guy knew what the others made. When they post every guys numbers on a PowerPoint it’s kinda hard not to know. All you had to have the ability to do basic math

it never turns out well

Without knowing anything about you or the other employee, it often depends on how badly your company needed that person and their prior experience/salary.

Interviews are basically treated the same as car sales. “Are we willing to let John Doe walk over $20k a year?” Apparently they thought he was worth it.

Yep. I know that the women and blacks generally make more than me.

Years ago, one of my coworkers found out that new hires were making more than he was. He left the company and went to a competitor for 8 months then came back and got the hirer pay

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if you don't hop jobs in the private sector you'll make significantly less money over the course of your lifetime..

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After years of frustration and the feeling of being underpaid, I quit. I gave six weeks notice, plenty of time for them to make me an offer to stay. They offered me a 50% raise and a promotion one level up. I walked. A month into my new job, they contacted me and offered a 100% raise and a promotion two levels up. So I came back. Totally life changing. None of it ever would have happened if I did't have the courage to walk.

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it often depends on how badly your company needed that person

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yep , post katrina La companies were offering some inflated salaries and signing bonuses

For most of my working career, I've had access to everyone's salaries. It's definitely better to keep that stuff private as some people aren't good at knowing how to handle that information.

All I care about is that I'm around my market value and doesn't bother me if others within my company are over-paid.

I did find out what my cousin made when I worked with him on my current project. He was making $5+ more an hour than me. But he'd been with the company longer, and was more experienced than me. So while a little envious, I felt it was fair and was happy for him. I'm also still making significantly higher than the average pay for my industry, at least $6-11/hr higher. And I got a $13/hr raise to take this job. But the state I'm in has a very high billable rate compared to most others. It may be the best paying state for my industry (it varies because of government contracts, and what can be billed out).

But another employee was bragging about how much they made. They had twice the experience as me, and had been doing the job for about as long as I've been alive. Turned out I was making $1 more an hour than him. Negotiating properly and knowing what a company can pay helps tremendously. Plus, catch a company when they're desperate for help, means you'll end up getting top dollar if you ask for it.