A survey by Business Insider of 548 millennials found that 82% of them didn’t negotiate their first salaries because they either didn’t feel comfortable (38%) or didn’t know they were allowed to do so (44%). Since your first salary is the baseline for all future raises, the impact of starting out behind is huge. “Not negotiating your first salary in a low-wage job can amount to a sacrifice of half a million dollars over the course of your career,” says negotiating expert Sara Laschever.