When I was 19 I started my first “real” job. I’d been told that the pay for my position was based on how long the employee had been working there and how good they were at their job. Understandable, I wasn’t expecting to be paid the same as someone who’d been there for years and knew all the stuff I still had to learn. A few days in, I was helping one of my new coworkers clean instruments, just casually chatting, and I asked if I could ask her about her pay. I was curious about what I could expect to earn in the future, as I hadn’t been told the range. She was fine with it, told me how much she made, we moved on. The second I’m done cleaning instruments, our practice manager pulls me into the break room and gives me a packet about how sharing pay rates at work can fester resentment and cause issues between employees. She never outright told me it wasn’t allowed, just made me feel like I’d messed up and she was giving me helpful advice. If I’d know then what I know now about how wrong that was, I’d of given her a piece of my mind!