A Reddit post has inspired many with the career journey of an engineer who moved from a tier-3 college and 11 academic backlogs to a Senior Engineer role at a US-based company with a package of around Rs 50 lakh. The engineer began his career with a salary of just Rs 8,000 per month but focused on gaining experience, building technical skills and completing his degree.
The engineer said he had 11 backlogs by his final year. He cleared six in his final semester and joined a small startup in Lucknow as an Embedded Developer after graduation. While working full-time, he prepared for his remaining examinations and cleared all five backlogs within six months. He finally received his degree in 2022.
His starting initial salary was Rs 8,000 per month, but he said his priority was "experience, learning, and getting my foot into the industry." During 11 months at the startup, he worked on embedded systems, device drivers, Yocto, customised operating system development and device flashing.
He then moved to Hyderabad for a role paying around Rs 6 lakh per annum. Since the work shifted towards cybersecurity, he chose to move again, keeping his interest in embedded systems and Linux in focus.
The engineer later joined a global technology company in Bengaluru working in the television and gaming console domain at around Rs 8 lakh per annum. Over the next three-and-a-half years, his compensation rose to about Rs 12 lakh as he gained experience and continued learning.
He later moved to Hyderabad, joined an Indian multinational company at Rs 20 lakh and worked with a Korean automotive company. After four months, he switched again after feeling the role lacked the technical growth he wanted.
He eventually joined a US-based company as a Senior Engineer with a package of around Rs 50 lakh. Reflecting on his journey, he said, "Your starting point doesn't decide your destination," highlighting the importance of continuous learning, calculated risks and persistence.