[myblake]

Seriously, read this post, listen to this post. I am a terrible negotiator (as in I have taken pay cuts because jobs seemed interesting and paid sticker price for cars) and hate it like 95% of the rest of software engineers but it's how the game is played and we're both ourselves individually and ourselves as a group a disservice by not protecting this information.

[fsloth]

Why do you say 95% of software engineers hate price negotiations? This would imply 95% of software engineers are unaware of their fair market price and thus feel ill prepared for the most critical negotiations process of their foreseeable future (even if that future extends only a few months or years). It's only a job - you offer time and professional experience for a set price and the prospective employer evaluates the value proposition.

Society at large does not work as a huge family - this does not mean that it's a dog eat dog world but it's good to have some negotioations theory under ones belt as one becomes a seasoned professional.