Techie reveals how he went from Rs 35 LPA job to Rs 6 LPA job: ‘I gave my everything but…’

While stories of people starting from unsatisfactory to subpar salaries to gradually working their way to their dream jobs with amazing salaries, one tech professional shared that his journey was the exact opposite. Posting on the Developers India subreddit, the recent graduate described how a promising opportunity unexpectedly collapsed, leaving him with far fewer options than he had anticipated.

The engineer explained that he graduated in 2026 from a reputed Tier 1.5 engineering college and secured an on-campus opportunity for a six-month internship. The position came with the possibility of a full-time offer worth an annual package of ₹35 lakh, provided interns performed well during the training period. Because of this opportunity, he was removed from the remaining campus recruitment process and placed all his hopes on converting the internship into a permanent role.

According to his account, he devoted himself completely to the internship, consistently putting in maximum effort and delivering strong performance. He said his reporting manager repeatedly praised his work and assured him that he was almost certain to receive the promised pre-placement offer. Confident that his future with the company was secure, he continued working until the final days of the internship.


However, the situation changed dramatically just before the programme ended. Only two days before the internship concluded, all 90 interns reportedly received emails informing them that none of them would be offered permanent positions. The company allegedly explained that it had shifted its investment priorities toward artificial intelligence initiatives and was no longer recruiting Software Development Engineer Level 1 (SDE-1) employees.

The graduate said the rejection left him in a difficult position. Since he had been excluded from the rest of the campus hiring process, his only remaining employment option was a backup offer from a large MNC with an annual salary package of ₹6.5 lakh. He expressed disappointment that the proposed salary was nearly half of what he had been earning as an intern each month under the previous company. He also shared his frustration over the lack of opportunities for fresh graduates, saying he had struggled to secure interview calls and had found very few entry-level job openings in the current market.

The post attracted numerous responses from members of the online community. One Reddit user advised the graduate to accept the backup offer rather than remain unemployed. The commenter suggested joining the company for the time being, gaining professional experience, and continuing to search for better opportunities after a few months instead of waiting indefinitely for a more lucrative role.

Another user criticised the company's hiring strategy, arguing that the promise of a ₹35 lakh package may have encouraged interns to work exceptionally hard in the hope of securing permanent employment. According to the commenter, the explanation involving artificial intelligence appeared to be an excuse for withdrawing the expected offers. The user also encouraged the graduate not to dwell on the disappointment, adding that regardless of how valuable the interns' contributions had been, the company likely would not have changed its hiring decision. The discussion highlighted the uncertainty facing many fresh engineering graduates as companies adjust recruitment strategies amid evolving business priorities and increased investment in artificial intelligence.