Rs 6 lakh to Rs 18 lakh to Rs 0: Indian techie shares how his life changed after he got a job offer from a US-based startup
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A young Indian developer took to social media to share how his dream opportunity quickly turned into a nightmare after a U.S.-based startup withdrew its job offer just before his joining date, leaving him jobless. In a post on the subreddit r/developersIndia, the techie recounted how his salary was set to jump from ₹6 lakh per annum to a promised ₹18 lakh — only for it to plummet to zero after the last-minute reversal.I was a full-stack dev at an Indian startup, grinding at 6 LPA. Learned a ton, and after a lot of effort, landed a contract offer from a very early-stage US-based startup that looked like a dream – promising around 18 LPA.Everything seemed set. I put in my papers at my old job, went through all the onboarding formalities with the new US startup, and served my notice period. But just as I was ready to officially start, they hit me with the news: due to sudden internal restructuring and unforeseen changes in their needs (which I very much suspect translates to they found some other candidate as I could see a new person join their slack before I was hit with the mail but again I'm not entirely sure)they had to revoke my offer. They did offer to pay for 15 days as a gesture, which I appreciate, but it doesn't change the fact that I'm now unexpectedly unemployed.Trying to apply like a freak and getting literally no callbacks and it's been a tough pill to swallow, going from that high to this low so quickly.I have 1.6 years of experience, primarily as a full-stack developer (skills include Next.js, MERN, DevOps so I can plan to deploy and monitor, worked on building MCP servers & clients, A2A workflow because of personal interest recently even though I don't know the fundamentals of Machine Learning lol but would love to learn anyways).The next company I join will be my third, and so far, my entire career has been with startups. While the learning is immense, the uncertainty has been real. I'm now considering having some stability, a place where I can contribute and grow for at least 2-3 years. That doesn't mean I'll stop grinding or upskilling; I'm always eager to learn and push myself, but a bit more predictability would be welcome.If anyone has any leads, referrals, or just some advice on navigating this, I'd be incredibly grateful. Thanks for reading.The post quickly gained traction online. While some users resonated with the post, others praised the techie for handling his setback with dignity."Something like this is happening to me too. I can understand your pain bro. I suggest you should post this in linkedin and twitter some kind HR or another dev might help over there," wrote one user."Always do a thorough research before joining a company which offers impeccable pay raise from your last CTC especially startups. All the best for your journey mate," commented another."Make a post on linkedin regarding this and mention you are available to join next day. Nice post btw, didn't feel like you were crying or something," suggested a third user."This is a bad situation. Those companies should be sued but the government is not doing enough," expressed one user.This article is based on a user-generated post on Reddit. ET.com has not independently verified the claims made in the post and does not vouch for their accuracy. The views expressed are those of the individual and do not necessarily reflect the views of ET.com
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