Given today's job market condition, what should be the suitable range of starting salary for a fresh private degree graduate?

I recently graduated from a private uni degree with first class and would like to understand how much does MNCs usually pay for their entry level positions? some background - after getting my local diploma cert, I work for close to 4 years before deciding to go for a degree at Kaplan to enhance my employability. Due to covid situation, I was already expecting to get a lower salary and further more due to the fact that I have a private degree. However, when I spoke to my friends relating to my expected salary of low to mid 3k, they actually said that I should aim for more because I was already getting 3k for my previous employment and that my expectation is nearly their current salary despite being only diploma holders and working for less than 2 years and if I am getting similar salary as them, it defeats the purpose of me going for a degree. Despite having nearly 4 years of working experience, I would say that there isn't really much relevance to the current roles that I got shortlisted to relating to the hard skills but do have some transferable soft skills. I don't really feel confident quoting for mid 3k to high 3k since even govt traineeships are getting 2.5k only. Any advice from anyone or any HR personnel?