Bengaluru vs London: Indian techie at Meta UK on why IT jobs in India give way more and how it can lead to a toxic work culture

A Bengaluru-based tech professional, Arnav Gupta, who recently moved to London, has shared his experience of working in the UK. In a series of posts on X, he discussed the differences between the tech industries in India and the UK, focusing on salaries and work culture.

Exploring the UK tech scene

Gupta moved to the UK six months ago on a Global Talent Visa. This allowed him to explore different opportunities in the UK’s tech startup ecosystem. He spoke to many startups about senior and leadership roles before finally deciding to join a big tech company. According to his LinkedIn profile, he is now an Engineering Manager at Meta.

Tech salaries: India vs UK

One of the biggest differences he highlighted is how tech salaries compare to other professions. In India, tech jobs often pay significantly higher salaries than other industries. However, in the UK, this is not the case.

“Unlike India, tech here doesn't pay 10-20x of literally every other job,” Gupta wrote on X. He explained that in the UK, finance jobs tend to be the highest-paying, attracting those who prioritise high earnings over passion for their work.

Despite this, he said tech jobs in the UK still offer good pay. However, because salaries are not disproportionately high, most people working in tech genuinely enjoy their jobs rather than choosing them just for financial gain.

The work culture difference

Gupta noted that one advantage of the UK tech industry is that people tend to be more invested in their work since they are not simply in it for the money.

In India, salary differences within the same industry can be huge. “There is credible, good quality, cutting-edge, demanding work in software engineering, that is done from 8LPA to 150LPA range,” he said, pointing out how this large variance can create a toxic work environment.

Advantages of working in tech in India

Despite these differences, Gupta acknowledged that India has some advantages for tech professionals.

Firstly, there are far more job opportunities in India. “The number of tech jobs purely in volume is much larger. There are also numerous offices of global tech giants like Google, Microsoft, Amazon with way more headcount in India. Sheer volume of opportunities far outstrips any place, except I guess USA,” he said.

Secondly, for business owners, hiring software engineers in India is cheaper. “The top end is comparable (and fairly more in terms of purchasing power), but median is very low globally,” Gupta noted.