IIT is seen as the biggest step towards a successful career for many students in India. But a recent viral post on X (formerly Twitter) is making people think differently. A B.Tech dropout claimed that he now earns Rs 4.86 lakh every month. He said that leaving college was one of the best decisions of his life. The post is shared by Lavanya Jain. It has also started a discussion about whether skills and work experience are becoming more important than a college name.
In his X post, Lavanya Jain shared that he did not study at an IIT. Instead, he dropped out of his B.Tech in Electronics and Communication Engineering during the final semester.
Sharing his journey, he wrote, "I'm not even from an IIT. In fact, I dropped out from my B.Tech... I think it was one of the best decisions of my life."
He also claimed that he now earns more than the highest placement package offered by his college, which he said was USD 100,000 a year.
According to Jain, he works part-time as a contractor and has five sources of passive income. He added that his main income is enough to cover all his personal expenses.
Jain shared screenshots of two payments received through Wise. The screenshots showed bank credits of Rs 3.74 lakh and Rs 1.12 lakh. He takes the total to around Rs 4.86 lakh for the month.
He made it clear that the post was not meant to show off his earnings. "This is not a flex, really it's not," he wrote.
Instead, he said he wanted to remind people that "IIT is just a tag." He agreed that IITs offer a strong alumni network and better visibility. He suggested that success depends on what a person does after college.
His comments have sparked a fresh debate online. One user wrote, "You are right, nobody tells it aloud, while IIM is a shortcut to middle management, consultancy is proverbial - kanto bhari rah - but at end more satisfactory and rewarding."
Another user wrote, "Not everyone is as talented as you bro, some people really need the IIT tag to get a decent job."
Many users said that skills, real work experience, freelancing, and global job opportunities are creating new career paths outside traditional campus placements. At the same time, many people pointed out that top colleges still provide valuable learning, networking, and placement opportunities.