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'IIT se ho kar bhi yahin ho?': US-based techie recalls ₹40,000/month job interview that shattered his confidence
The techie said that the interview experience made him realise that the IIT tag comes with an expectation of constant success.
An IIT BHU alumnus recently recalled a 2019 job interview where an interviewer questioned why he was applying for an entry-level data analyst role despite having graduated from an IIT. The role paid ₹40,000 per month, and the techie said that the remark left him questioning his own career progress.
In a LinkedIn post, Akash Sampurnanand Pandey, a New York-based software engineer and IIT BHU alumnus, shared the interview experience while reflecting on the expectations and pressure associated with the IIT tag. He said that he graduated from IIT BHU (Varanasi) in 2016. Three years later, in 2019, he had quit his UPSC preparation and was trying to return to the industry after a career gap.
During one of the interviews, Pandey recalled that the interviewer told him, "Arre, IIT se ho kar bhi yahin ho?" He said the comment "hit me hard" and shattered his confidence. "I felt like a loser," he wrote.
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The techie said that the experience made him realise that the IIT tag comes with an expectation of constant success. "That's the part of the IIT tag nobody warns you about. It opens a lot of doors, yes. But it quietly shuts one door - the right to fail without being judged or insulted," he wrote.
Pandey said that he spent months comparing himself with the top 1% of his batch and felt lost. According to him, while the media often focuses on IIT graduates who achieve extraordinary success, the majority go on to have well-paid and fulfilling careers that may not necessarily be glamorous.
"So I took the long road back. One unglamorous role at a time," Pandey wrote. He shared that he has since built a career in the US and currently works as a software engineer in New York. He also stated that his gross income now puts him "well enough into the top 2% of US incomes.
Reflecting on the incident, Pandey said that some people may take satisfaction in seeing an IITian struggle, particularly because of the significance attached to the entrance exam. "But here is the truth that sets everyone free. JEE exam was never meant to be a life sentence or a lifetime pass," he wrote.
"The IITian carrying the heavy burden of failed potential and the person without the IIT tag feeling lesser are bound by the same illusion - that an entrance test they appeared at 18 can set their lifelong limits," he added.
(Also Read: ‘My last day at Spotify’: Techie quits as firm refuses his request to work half-time)
What did social media say?
The post sparked discussion on LinkedIn, with several users sharing similar experiences.
One user wrote, "Had a similar conversation with someone who was from another premier institution (not IIT) after my graduation - I think it is important to realize that setbacks are a normal part of life and sometimes you just gotta push it through."
"I agree, getting into IITs create this burden of high expectations in everyone, even in IITians themselves. The life is a long road and setbacks are part of it. But, I also see that getting into IIT a personal success that gives me courage, that I won against odds before and I can do it again. Some who get into IITs are exceptional for sure, but most worked hard to earn that place and I think that pain makes them ready to rise against challenges life throw at them," commented another.
"I had similar conversations with people in my previous organisation. Being from IIT/NIT, but not doing that great in life gives next level pressure and humiliation surrounds you when you hear such things from peeps around you. You feel like what you have done by achieving so many things, but then I say to myself, time changes. One need to keep all these conversation aside and work upon becoming what you want in life," wrote a third user.
"I hear you - that's the other side of the double edged sword of completing education from an esteemed organisation. Many people feel they're overqualified, especially in job discussions etc. Although in reality many folks from such esteemed organisation don't wish to be identified by those tags only or anymore in future!" said another.
