&quot;Here&quot; is not very specific, so I&#x27;m not sure how to interpret that. :) I wouldn&#x27;t say it&#x27;s a trade secret, but for whatever reason, talking openly about salaries in the US does carry a stigma of unprofessionalism. I don&#x27;t attribute that to any single cause- I think the attitude comes from a combination of good and bad influences. I don&#x27;t know if it&#x27;s a net positive or negative- I suspect it&#x27;s a wash.<p>People also don&#x27;t talk about salaries in social situations (IME). That&#x27;s much more understandable, I think- it&#x27;s just a lose-lose situation. If you make more than whoever you&#x27;re talking to, it&#x27;s awkward. If you make less than whoever you&#x27;re talking to, it&#x27;s awkward (for different reasons). It&#x27;s usually not a topic that people would want to talk about outside of a professional context because either one person is going to feel bad, or the other person is going to feel like a jerk, or both. Or they&#x27;re both sociopaths, in which case, whatever floats their boats.