The politics at play probably don't affect people who browse HN as much as it affects a middling SEO IT helpdesk person. That being said, there are a lot of th

The politics at play probably don't affect people who browse HN as much as it affects a middling SEO IT helpdesk person. That being said, there are a lot of things to negotiate other than salary. You can negotiate vacation days, flex schedules, etc. They are all effectively forms of compensation, but companies are more firm on salary than they are on other forms of compensation.