All profit is based on exploitation. Surplus value is extracted in absolute and relative terms. Absolute surplus value is increasing the amount of time worked per worker. Relative surplus value is extracted by reducing wages or increasing productivity and intensity.
With that orientation explicitly stated, I work in tech and I find discussing salary extremely difficult. Recruiters and hiring managers ask: "What is your salary expectation?" I have no idea how to respond and because I am desperate for a job, respond with what my friends later tell me is "a low ball". It is a wild wild west, with ignorant HR people looking for buzzwords, unrealistic tech stacks, and a lot of bait and switch.
How to approach salary questions? Should I give them a number first? My neoliberal friends tell me "how much value you think you generate", and I respond "enough so I don't have to work anymore".
the correct answer is totally whatever weird game you have to play to get the most they are willing to fork over.
however, something that helped me navigate the non-profit world, which i think could help anyone starting out, is to honestly figure out how much money it would take for you to have all of your needs met, plus make savings and retirement contributions at a level that eases your mind/sense of precarity. ask yourself, "what is the minimum i could get paid and not worry about money for the lifestyle i want? what could someone pay me to alleviate concerns about my personal goals and keep me focused on their organization?" what would you need to make to pay your bills, pay for repairs/maintenance, not be a hermit, pay off debt, build an emergency fund, save a down payment, and contribute to retirement? this, to me, is marxian logic.
this sounds like negotiating against yourself and maybe it is, but i am not saying you need to give this information away during negotiations. it's a healthy exercise, to think of what you need to feel secure and make that your absolute lower limit. the non profit sector can be super exploitative towards workers and having an absolute minimum hard-coded into your mind is a good way to avoid having your idealism for the mission or the boom-bust cycle of philanthropic funding used against you.
i know that it helped me when i was negotiating with people that have been brain-wormed with austerity for 30 years.
it's also nice to have those numbers in your mind in general, because it makes budgeting smoother once you get the job. i didn't start doing shit like this til my 30s (currently in my 40s) as my jobs up until that point were all shit pay and my idea of budgeting was to spend less than i made in any given month.