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‘Pay is half of my intern stipend’: Tech fresher stuck with ₹6.5 LPA offer after losing ₹35 LPA PPO
Engineering grad shares heartbreak over losing a promised ₹35 LPA PPO to AI budget shifts.
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In a Reddit post, an engineering graduate shared how their career plans were upended overnight by sudden corporate strategy shifts. After securing a competitive campus internship that capped placement eligibility, the grad worked relentlessly on the assurance that a ₹35 LPA full-time role was guaranteed. However, a last-minute mass rejection email cited a total freeze on SDE-1 hiring to fund AI projects. Facing a dry job market with no active interview calls, the developer opened up about the emotional and financial toll of accepting an offer paying half the internship stipend.
“Went from 35 LPA to 6 LPA, don't know what to do anymore,” an individual wrote. The grad added, “ I am a 2026 grad from a tier 1.5 college. I got placed on campus for a 6 month internship with performance based ppo [pre-placement offer] (35lpa) and was removed from the campus process. I gave my everything, tried my best during the internship and had really positive manager feedback (I was basically told by my manager that I would 100% get the ppo and not to worry).”
However, things took a turn for the worse when, just two days before the end of the internship, all 90 interns were rejected.
“They basically spent all their money on AI and were not taking any sde1s anymore.”
The tech graduate shared that now all they have is a ₹6.5 LPA. “I am not getting any interviews at all, not even seeing any job postings for freshers.”
What did social media say?
An individual expressed, “Take what you have on the table and join the company for which you have a backup offer. After a few months, start trying outside.”
Another commented, “They have literally scammed you guys with the dream of 35 LPA. They knew giving this offer would make interns work extra hard to land the PPO. Now they gave the excuse of AI to not follow up on their promise. Don’t overthink. Even if you saved them from bankruptcy, they wouldn’t have hired you.” The OP responded, "It's not the first time they have had interns, previous years at least 30-40 per cent used to get full-time, also this is a huge company.”
Also Read: 'Promised ₹10,000, paid ₹5,000': Marketing intern asks whether to stay or quit
A third posted, “That was just an internship, ppo was not guaranteed and don't be disheartened.” A fourth wrote, “You literally have the best option of your life. Mark my words, if you get good at what you will do, 35 LPA is not far away. Maybe 2 years. Don't think of gone bys, they will never come back.”
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. Hindustantimes.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)
