A Reddit user has shared a detailed account of his uneven career journey, from failing to crack the IIT entrance exam and struggling through engineering to securing a ₹1.2 crore-plus role at Microsoft.
In a post titled “From IIT reject to Microsoft. 6 years to finish a 4-year degree. 1.2 Cr+ TC”, the user said his story was not one of overnight success. “This is not a rags to riches story. This is just what happened when someone who had no business succeeding refused to stop,” he wrote.
The Redditor said he took a break for a year after Class 12 to prepare for IIT, but his rank worsened. He then joined a tier-2 engineering college, where he lacked motivation and took 6 years to complete his 4-year degree due to backlogs. “Backlogs, zero motivation, no idea what I wanted from life,” he wrote.
In between, the OP said that he spent time working on startups that failed. Then, as a working adult, he went back to college just to clear the backlogs and get a degree, which he said he should have had years ago.
The Redditor said that he then began his career in a sales role at a startup before pursuing an MBA from a tier-2 institute. He then moved into a product role at a Middle East-based company, where he described having a difficult work environment. He also planned to pursue a PhD in the US, but “Covid cancelled it,” forcing him to return to India.
The OP said that he eventually joined a startup at ₹11 LPA. “Post MBA. With international work experience. Didn’t matter. I just needed a foot in the door for product,” he wrote.
Then, about 1.5 years later, he switched to another startup with a salary of ₹22 lakh, but said the role involved a toxic work culture and affected his mental health. “The boss was abusive, the environment was toxic, and honestly most of that salary went into therapy and medicines just to stay functional. I stayed longer than I should have. I don’t fully know why,” he said.
The Redditor shared that he later moved to Bengaluru and joined a larger company at ₹27 lakh. At 31, he noted that many of his peers were earning more, but chose to focus on his own work. Over the next 2 years, he was promoted to Senior Product Manager, with his salary increasing to ₹50 lakh.
He said that the turning point came when Microsoft called and offered a total compensation exceeding ₹1.2 crore.
“Tier-2 college. 6 years to graduate. Failed startups. Sales job post engineering.Toxic bosses. Therapy. None of it disqualified me. It just delayed me,” he wrote. “If you are in one of those chapters right now, stay in it. Do the work. Keep the faith. When someone like me can get here, trust me, you can too,” he added.
Social media reactions
Reacting to the post, one user wrote, “Well as a college student looking to get into product, this was inspiring to read! Just starting out my career and facing rejections after rejections, it sometimes gets too hard to deal with but i keep going anyway! Thanks for this post OP! Wish you the best and indeed you should be super proud of yourself!!”
“I am from tier 4 college. Joined a startup as founder with 10LPA. Grinded like a cleaner on the floor for 2.5yrs and recently got a call from Tesla,” shared another.
“Amazing! All the best for your new role. You’ve given me hope that the path to success is not always linear. I’m in a similar situation and trying to make things work for myself,” wrote a third user.