From Rs 6 lakh to Rs 18 lakh to Rs 0 salary: Techie shares journey from getting dream US job to becoming jobless, all in a month
full-stack developer
's story has gripped r/developersIndia, serving as both inspiration and warning. The anonymous Redditor shared a rollercoaster journey: in just one month, his salary soared from Rs 6 LPA to a promised Rs 18 LPA, only to plummet to Zero when his dream job vanished.
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What started as a dream leap into a US-based job ended has ended with a grueling job hunt.
With 1.6 years of experience at an Indian startup, the developer honed skills in Next.js, MERN stack, DevOps, and even Machine Learning. His big break came with a contract offer from a U.S. startup, tripling his pay. Excited, he resigned, served his notice, and prepared for the leap. But days before starting, a curt email cited 'internal restructuring' and a sudden change in business needs as the reason for revoking the offer.
A new name in the company's Slack channel hinted at other motives. All in all, the dream of US job just vanished in thin air,
The startup offered 15 days' pay as a gesture, but it was cold comfort. Now unemployed, the developer faces the grueling job hunt once more, his story a stark reminder of the tech industry's unpredictability.
Check full text of techie's Reddit post
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.
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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.
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