Viral: Bengaluru engineer shares how he went from earning ₹2.4 LPA at 23 to amassing ₹1 crore before turning 30

Mint

18-05-2025

A social media post has gone viral after a Bengaluru-based engineer shared remarkable story of his journey from earning ₹ 2.4 lakh per annum at the age of 23 to amassing a net worth of ₹ 1 crore before turning 30.
He claimed that with patience and persistence, things can change in career and life.
He also said that his story will motivate those who are at the beginning of their career in moving ahead.
In a post on Reddit, the engineer wrote: 'This isn't a boast. It's my story—a reminder that no matter where you start, with patience and persistence, things can change. If you're at the beginning of your career, I hope this gives you a reason to keep going.' Photo: Reddit
According to the post, the engineer come from a low-income family. His father around ₹ 7,000–8,000 per month and his mother ₹ 5,000 –7,000 per month.
He studied in a private school for a monthly fee of ₹ 1,200.
The techie wrote in his post: 'Money was always tight, but I somehow ended up in a decent private school— ₹ 1,200/month fee when I left. Miracles happen.'
'I was smart, but also profoundly lazy. Scored 89% in both 10th and 12th with minimal studying and maximum cricket.'
After qualifying the JEE without coaching, he took admission in a local private engineering college and opted for Electronic and Communications branch.
'College fees were hard to afford, loans were rejected, but relatives stepped in and helped. We made it through,' he said.
'By third year, I realized I enjoyed programming more than anything else. Electronics slowly took a backseat, and I dove into writing code,' he added.
The engineer got his first job through a campus placement, claiming that he was one of the 35 students to be selected out of 400+ students.
'I graduated in 2018 and joined the company. The salary was ₹ 2.4 LPA. Yes, that's ₹ 15K a month. And yes, in Bangalore. I was terrified. How do you survive in a city like Bangalore with that kind of salary? Turns out, a 3-sharing PG with friends and a talent for stretching ₹ 500 like it's ₹ 5,000 can go a long way. We even had fun. Tons of it,' he said.
He further said: 'By early 2020, I had cleared all interview rounds with a Big 4 company. The offer was for ₹ 6–8 LPA. I was pumped.'
'Joined the healthcare startup in April 2021. The work was great. Team was solid. For a while, everything was smooth.'
'I stayed at the healthcare company for about 1.6 years. But by December 2021, the Great Resignation wave hit us hard. People started leaving in batches. Five out of seven teammates quit. That was my cue.'
The engineer said when he started working in 2018 he knew nothing about investments. His idea of saving was just leaving money in salary account.
In search for a better salary, he said: 'I jumped back into interviews—slowly at first. But once I got into the groove, it became a full-time evening job. By March 2022, I had 13 offers.'
'Some offers were amazing. Some looked like red flags dipped in glitter. But I eventually went with a reputed product-based company offering ₹ 32 LPA,' he added.