Should you ask about pay during an interview?

Should you ask about pay during an interview? Why or why not?

I was told you shouldn't, but you kind of want to know if it's worth your time. I would love if companies were upfront at the start, before the interview process, so you both know if it's the right job at the right pay. Pay is important.

I always did. I even asked before the interview. There was so many opportunities for my profession that I didn't want to waste my time. Plus, money wasn't always the factor whether I chose the job or not.

No. It should be just a fixed income you get, same as the others and not: who has the biggest mouth gets the most money.

Messy wrote:

No. It should be just a fixed income you get, same as the others and not: who has the biggest mouth gets the most money.

I guess that may be okay for, let's say, a union job. Where you get the slacker and the person that barely wants to do anything alongside the hard worker making the same amount of money and both get paid. But for myself, it depends on your skill level, your ability to travel, your linguistic skills, your ability to do whatever it takes to get the job done. It depends on how much value you bring to the company. The better you are as a resource or product, the more you should cost. Like buying a bad steak or buying a prime steak. As the contractor, we all sell ourselves into servitude. Some are more expensive than others.

Vince wrote:

Messy wrote:

No. It should be just a fixed income you get, same as the others and not: who has the biggest mouth gets the most money.

I guess that may be okay for, let's say, a union job. Where you get the slacker and the person that barely wants to do anything alongside the hard worker making the same amount of money and both get paid. But for myself, it depends on your skill level, your ability to travel, your linguistic skills, your ability to do whatever it takes to get the job done. It depends on how much value you bring to the company. The better you are as a resource or product, the more you should cost. Like buying a bad steak or buying a prime steak. As the contractor, we all sell ourselves into servitude. Some are more expensive than others.

I'm just a cartographer. I make maps. I used to do 2 or 3 times as much as my lazy colleague who later got fired, who dumped it on me because I couldn't say no, but he made way more because he was directly hired by them LOL and I spoke to him via Messenger from Facebook. He's now a manager.
Anyway I first worked there through an agency and I just came out of school and was shy. There was no internet yet and everyone I asked what they made was annoying and didn't want to say it, so I had no idea what I had to ask. A roommate then said that his friend made 3200 guilders, that's 1500 euroa month for 40 hours a week with a bachelor's degree, so that's what I asked. Well that was fine with the agency. I think their conscience bothered them, so they gave me 50 guilders more. Then when I got the exact same job but not via them they said: How much do you make? So little? I got 500 more.