Post graduate in computer applications. Got work experience of more than 3 years (since 2020). Currently working in Bangalore as a QA Engineer almost 2200 kilometres away from home. Earning somewhere around 3.5 LPA. Age is almost 28 years. Expenses are too much, income is not enough do jacksh*t.
Approached a few companies and all of them require you to reveal your current CTC, knowing they'll give a teeny bit a better offer based on my current income breaks my heart.
Now, I can either choose to study something or change the field and do something else, for example, newspaper hawking.
But I'm not sure what to pursue, seeing people who know what they want to do and them having clarity makes me wonder if that's normal and there's something wrong with me.
I followed my "passion" and got screwed royally.
Am I too old to study something else or start as a fresher again in a different domain?
Super long message incoming.
TLDR- nothing is so straight forward. Nobody knows the answer other than you. Believe in yourself and do whatever the heck you want.
First of all,
It’s okay to share your CTC. You don’t have to take whatever they give you. Negotiate and you will see how easy it is to get paid well.
Second,
Don’t do higher studies hoping to get better job, do it for your passion. Like if you wanna learn something very specific in some field. Cuz if you don’t have passion for it, it will be a burden and has a possibility of regret.
Third,
Domain switch isn’t as scary as it looks from afar. Be prepared to fail royally. Take the loss and learn from it. Accept that failing is part of the process and doesn’t reflect anything about you as an individual. It will definitely take some time, but once you master it, I am sure you’ll achieve whatever you wanna.
Finally,
Don’t compare yourself to others. Maybe there are people who found their passion. Maybe they are people who were handed over their passions by someone else. There can be n scenarios.
All you gotta bother is where are you, where you wanna be. And how can you go there. And your end goal can be as vague as possible. You don’t have to decide the first path you encounter. Go through all your options and figure out which one aligns with your goals and your personality the most.
All the best. Keep us posted. Rooting for you.
Thank you so much man, means a lot. Although agree with, well, all the point you made. I want to add that my intentions were never to compare myself with anyone. It's just the income I'm making and after expenses I'm left with barely anything. And I "feel" old. Old enough to think about settling down. Parents are VERY actively looking for a partner and I'm troubled by the thought of managing household at this point of my life.
And I tried, parents don't take no when it comes to my opinion on marriage. Forget about owning a house or something, 25k a month won't get you sh!t in Bangalore.
Well, I guess, as you've mentioned, I should keep on looking at things (educational) and seek guidance while working for the same company until I figure out what might be the best route. At least I have confidence that nothing can get worse if I follow this path.
Thanks for talking.
Frankly, asking for CTC is super expected in India, even most FAANG level companies ask for ctc. So that actually has to be adjusted to, you can’t say no to sharing your current ctc, that is pretty much the norm in India.
A whole world of freshers start from 3 LPA, many masters too, why are you so worried unnecessarily? But yeah, may be it could have been 5 lpa at 3 yoe, but still not a big deal.
True, but the thought of not making any money even after all these years makes me sad. Feels like I've been doing something wrong and should do something else instead.
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