To say the female surgeon was unhappy might be an understatement. She learned she was making $50,000 a year less than her male counterparts. And while the clinic where she worked tried to even things up a bit, she said she still faced hostility and retaliation on the job after bringing up the discrepancy.

Taking her grievances to court, the ruling went against her, and no disparate treatment was proved.

The moral of this story is not one about the differences between male and female salaries. The value of this tale is to point to the fact that, in general, nearly everyone seems to have trouble negotiating the salaries that they believe to be fair.

Why? It could be that talking about money makes you uncomfortable. It could be that with a rough job market, you don't want to rock the boat and wind up being booted out by asking for more money. Or it may be that you just don't think about it much because you have enough to buy the necessities in life.

But whatever the reasoning, it's never a good idea to be complacent about money. Just ask the folks at Enron. Keeping track of what you're worth and what companies are capable of providing does not mean you're greedy or obsessed with money. It just means that you're being a smart money manager.

Think of it this way: If you're not earning what you're worth, then you have failed to demonstrate to management that your skills and input are valuable. And if you can't prove that, you may be floundering on the corporate ladder, or even headed for failure.

What are some issues to consider when educating yourself about compensation? Consider: