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".
Pretty good advice here so far but I'll add on. Don't say the first number. That's called anchoring, and all talks after that will be based on that number. Make them name a number. Then tell them you want more pto, pto is important to you. Companies never want to offer more pto, they'll say no. This no answer is important, now this hr idiot feels subconsciously like they owe you one. So then you can ask them to improve the offer, don't name a number, make them bid against themselves. This advice is from the book 'never split the difference' a total chud book but it's got good advice and it's like 100 pages. It's worked every time for me but it depends on thr position and your leverage and shit.