'Already regretting it': Techie wants to quit $600M startup job with ₹27 lakh salary to go back to MNC life with less pay

In the tech world, working for a startup worth $600M with a ₹27 LPA salary seems like the ultimate dream. However, according to one man who has tried and tested the life, he "hates" it. A software engineer who left a comfortable job at an MNC to work for a startup with the hopes of better learning opportunities has left the world shocked with his claims that he wants to return to the corporate world after weeks of working for the startup.

Taking to Reddit, he said that he recently joined a startup and is "already regretting it" while asking for tips to switch back to MNCs. The techie shared that he had been working as a Generative AI engineer at an MNC, earning around ₹1.25 lakh per month while working for only 1-2 hours per day.

However, due to concerns about career growth and staying relevant in the tech industry he switched to a startup. “I was working with an MNC until last month as a Gen AI Engineer and I was not working more than 1-2 hrs every day and was making around 1.25L per month. I started looking out as I wanted to learn more in tech and stay relevant when I get to 9-10 years of experience and I got an opportunity. It's a startup with nearly 600 million dollar valuation,” the techie wrote.

They shared that just after 3 weeks of joining the new place, his colleagues began warning him about his manager's micromanagement style. “I had a 1:1 meeting with him 2 weeks ago and found out why others were talking about him like that,” he wrote. Moreover, he said that the work itself was disappointing and did not involve the technologies he had hoped to explore.

“This role clearly doesn't align with my long-term career goals and I want to move on. I'm willing to go for a lesser salary, I hate it here,” he wrote. He admitted to missing his former workplace and regretting the move, highlighting the importance of a great manager and team. “I really miss the work culture of my old org and I've been regretting every single day on why I left the old job. I realised how important a great manager and a great team are, and I feel like an idiot for switching to this new job instead of staying,” he said.

He also shared that he currently earns a package of ₹27 LPA and has 4 years of experience, while adding that he planned to move again after completing three months at the startup.

While replying to one of the comments, he delved deeper into the issue, sharing that his long-term goals involved designing and building systems. "During the interview, I was told that I'll be able to work on internal services 50% along with what they actually want me to work on, and after joining, they don't want me to touch those things and force me to work 100% on whatever they want," he shared.

Social media reactions

Numerous users in the comments section shared similar experiences and viewpoints.

“Broo even me facing same situation, but only difference is that even my old company is shit but the present one is worse no growth,” wrote one.

"1.25L per month with only 1-2 hours daily work??? Drop the company name right now or get me hired broooooo" requested another.

"Can you talk to your previous manager and see how if there is a possibility of taking you back?" asked one user, to which the man replied that since he played badminton with his old team weekly, he would drop the question to his previous boss.

"I have worked with startups throughout my career. 4 of then now switching to the fifth. Beleive me it's the best experience if you get into good startups. Yes few things can be off like leaves and all but I felt workload is pretty pretty goddamn low," said one.

“MNCs can be the same as well. No company is sane now,” remarked another.