Couldn't agree with you more. Higher salaries very much represent a company's ability and desire to pay top dollar. I do caution on the long term bet. It's not as solid as may seem. I've come across many companies who throw money at the problem of not being able to attract/retain talent with market rate range salaries. Could be a number of reasons, including politics, lack of interesting projects, unsustainable culture, etc.
Another major point to keep in mind is salary today vs growth in coming years. Getting a high salary today may bring with it unrealistic expectations. It may be your future bonus and raises that suffer. Your annual review will roll around and the managerial perception will be that you're already paid more than everyone on the team, so you're not getting a notable slice of the budget.
My point is that things aren't always black and while, and long term may be not as advantageous as they seem. If you're looking for a career, hoping jobs every year will not help. Becomes a red flag on the resume.
Really? Don't go for the maximum salary because you might be disappointed in future raises?
Do you know why companies discourage job hopping and sharing your salary with coworkers (even though just mentioning a bias against sharing that information is illegal)? Because it costs them money if employees do it (i.e. it's good for employees)!
Sure, throwing money at a problem isn't a way to solve it and companies that think it is are bad news, but the rest of your advise is horrible.
Another major point to keep in mind is salary today vs growth in coming years. Getting a high salary today may bring with it unrealistic expectations. It may be your future bonus and raises that suffer. Your annual review will roll around and the managerial perception will be that you're already paid more than everyone on the team, so you're not getting a notable slice of the budget.
My point is that things aren't always black and while, and long term may be not as advantageous as they seem. If you're looking for a career, hoping jobs every year will not help. Becomes a red flag on the resume.