Everywhere I go, the issues to be solved are critical and the deadlines are present so I do the work that needs to be done, and (as I mention above) non-entertainment tech jobs think I'm either too expensive, or something... basically, it's a nepotistic world, and I developed my network in abusive industries, so to the non-abusive places I apply, I look like an alien. I get replies like "wow! we've love to have you, but you're clearly too expensive and would not be happy doing the non-shiny things we do." And I never even mentioned salary.

Have you ever said "try me, throw out a number"?

I was under the impression graphics programming is low-paid relative to similarly difficult programming (or even less difficult like framework CRUD).

That sounds desperate.

I have the best luck just being honest and concise, know your number and ask if they can meet it. If not, no-one wastes their time. If they say the can but low-ball you, not a big deal, decline and move on.

> I get replies like "wow! we've love to have you, but you're clearly too expensive and would not be happy doing the non-shiny things we do." And I never even mentioned salary.

This could be like when a romantic partner says, “Let’s be friends.”

They usually don’t want to be friends.