Your negotiation, but also your perceived value. During my time as a manager I was shocked by the difference in salaries. I mean one person making 60k another 1

Your negotiation, but also your perceived value. During my time as a manager I was shocked by the difference in salaries. I mean one person making 60k another 120k. I mean, same job, same experience. Actually the 60k guy was the most talented on my 15 person team. The reason is simply when the 60k guy came on they asked him how much do you need, and he said 60k. He never asked for a raise, but they actually bumped him up anyway cause they thought he may be a flight risk if he ever checked out the marketplace. I also found, people are much more likely to underestimate themselves than overestimate. Only 10% of employees would consistently ask for more money every year. Everyone else almost never asked for a raise. Now its not solely just negotiation cause if they were a star they probably got it. If they sucked it just made management like them less. When management doesn't like you, and comes time someone needs to be cut. That's who gets cut.