From ₹3.5 LPA to ₹65 LPA: Techie’s four-year career rise goes viral

The story of a software engineer's ascent, from an initial ₹3.5 lakh per annum salary to a ₹65 lakh offer within a mere four years, has captured considerable interest online, with many users finding the experience inspiring. On Reddit, the engineer shared their career path, which began after graduating in 2021 from a lesser-known private college.

According to the post, the initial months at the job were far from productive. The Redditor admitted that they were not particularly serious about work during the early phase.

“For the first few months, I was just watching movies and anime all day, not even trying to work,” the Redditor wrote.

"I understood that ₹26k a month wouldn't even touch the debts plus interest," the user explained, noting that this epiphany prompted a more dedicated approach to their career. A significant change occurred in 2022 when the techie joined IBM, bringing a salary package of ₹8 LPA.

The engineer explained that their focus wasn't just on quick salary jumps. Instead, they prioritized gaining real-world experience, all while plotting a long-term move into product-focused tech firms. This strategy slowly but surely paid off. In 2023, the engineer's salary climbed by 45 percent, and then another 28 percent in 2024.

Later that year, they accepted a position at a different company, with a compensation package of ₹19 LPA, a first for them, as their monthly earnings surpassed ₹1 lakh. "I felt really proud of myself," they admitted.

Then, once they completed 3 years of experience, the techie said they began intense preparation for product-company interviews. “I created a new LeetCode account to track my progress and started a heavy preparation plan for LLD and HLD. I grinded like crazy no weekends, no outings. I went all in. At first, I actually failed a few interviews that should have been ‘easy’ and I wasn't sure how I messed them up,” the OP wrote.

The effort eventually paid off, as the techie received offers from companies such as ServiceNow, PayPal and Cisco before finally securing a ₹65 LPA offer from a leading product company. “That’s ₹4 lakhs+ in a single month. It’s a crazy amount that no one in my entire family tree has ever seen,” they wrote, adding that they felt proud to be able to improve their family’s financial situation.

“Congratulations for your achievement, it's not a small thing you have achieved big with proper planning. I also want to caution about unwanted things and attention that will come with this kind of money. Keep your earnings private don't ever disclose your monthly income to anyone,” commented another.

“This is really inspiring and scary in someway that how much efforts it goes into learning all that and be proficient enough to get hired into product based companies with 4+ years experience. Really amazed by the dedication that goes into this,” wrote a third user.

Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. Livemint has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.