Dream job to jobless: Techie shares wild journey from ₹6 lakh to ₹18 lakh to ₹0 salary crash in a month, Redditors offer support
The Sudden Fall
A Reddit Cry for Help
The Bigger Picture
In the ever-volatile world of tech, one young Indian developer's tale has become the stuff of Reddit legend—and caution. Posting anonymously to the popular subreddit r/developersIndia, the full-stack developer opened up about a dramatic one-month whirlwind that saw his salary rocket from ₹6 LPA to a promised ₹18 LPA, only to crash back down to zero. What began as a hopeful leap into a US-based dream job ended with an empty inbox and a daunting job hunt.The Redditor's story began in familiar terrain—working long hours at an Indian startup, absorbing knowledge, and steadily building his skills in Next.js, the MERN stack, DevOps, and even dabbling in Machine Learning. After 1.6 years of hands-on experience, he landed what looked like a career-defining offer: a contract role at a fledgling U.S. startup that promised three times his current pay.With the offer in hand, he resigned from his old company, wrapped up his notice period, and prepared to begin anew. Everything appeared smooth—until it wasn't. Just before his official start date, he received a cold email from the U.S. company. They cited 'internal restructuring' and a sudden change in business needs as the reason for revoking the offer. He suspected otherwise, having noticed a new name pop up in the company Slack channel before the disappointing email arrived.To their credit, the company offered to pay him for 15 days as a goodwill gesture—but it was little consolation for someone who had already let go of stable employment. Overnight, he went from a promising new role to unemployment, thrust back into the unforgiving grind of job applications.Rather than wallow, the techie turned to the Reddit community for support, sharing his story with humility and openness. The post quickly gained traction—not only for its relatability but also for the dignity with which he handled the setback.Redditors rallied around him. 'Make a post on LinkedIn and mention you're available to join immediately,' one user advised. Others shared empathy: 'Tough luck, mate. You didn't deserve this,' wrote another. 'You've got the skills. You'll bounce back,' encouraged one more. Some pointed to the larger issue—remote work with unestablished foreign companies often comes with little safety net. One user recalled another techie who had suffered a similar fate, losing both his job and financial stability after buying an SUV post-hiring.His story strikes a chord with many young Indian developers navigating the global tech job market—ambitious, talented, and ready to take risks, but often without the safety nets needed when those risks go awry. His experience is a sobering reminder of the importance of caution while chasing international opportunities, especially when they lack a strong Indian presence.As job markets evolve and remote work continues to blur borders, stories like this serve both as a reality check and a call to action—for better safeguards, fairer practices, and stronger support systems for emerging tech professionals in India. Until then, the rollercoaster of startups remains thrilling, but not without its sharp drops.
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