Techie earning ₹1.05 crore says he was 'happiest' with ₹20,000/month salary: 'That jump changed my life'

The techie recalled that moving from ₹14,300 to ₹20,000 a month genuinely changed his life.

A techie who now earns more than ₹1 crore a year recently reflected on his 14-year career, revealing that the salary that made him the happiest was not his current 8-figure package, but the ₹20,000 he earned early in his career.

The techie shared that he graduated from a tier-3 college in 2012. (Unsplash/Representational Image)

In a Reddit post titled 'My salary from 14,300 per month to 1,05,00,000/- per year', the techie shared that he graduated from a tier-3 college in 2012 and took nearly 6 months to land his first job. Over the years, his compensation steadily increased from ₹20,000 and ₹32,000 a month to ₹60,000 a month. He later moved to an annual package of ₹13 lakh after relocating to Bengaluru, followed by ₹25 lakh, ₹40 lakh, ₹60 lakh, ₹80 lakh and eventually ₹1.05 crore a year.

He also said he has ESOPs worth more than ₹50 lakh, although he does not count them as part of his wealth until they can be exercised.

However, even after reaching a ₹1 crore-plus salary, the techie said the biggest jump in his happiness came much earlier in his career. "The happiest salary of my life wasn't ₹1Cr+. It was ₹20,000/month," he wrote.

The techie recalled that moving from ₹14,300 to ₹20,000 a month genuinely changed his life. With the salary hike, he shared that he stopped relying on public buses and bought his "dream bike". He also revealed that he had been promoted only once during his 13-year career.

Based on his experience, he advised professionals not to stay with a company solely in the hope of getting promoted. "Don't stick with a company for promotion, it's not worth it," he wrote.

"Once your income crosses roughly ₹25-30L/year, every additional hike improves your investments far more than your lifestyle. At least, that's how it has been for me," he continued.

Further, the techie said that while he is financially happy, he admitted that he is not satisfied emotionally. He shared that he no longer enjoys working for someone else and continues to push himself even after office hours.

He also said that higher pay comes with higher expectations, pressure, office politics and responsibilities. "Mental stress is real, but it eases with higher salary," he said.

"I've realised I'm no longer chasing a bigger salary. I'm chasing freedom," he wrote, adding that he would now be happier earning ₹1 lakh a month from something he built himself than earning a much larger salary while working for someone else.

‘Average life’ despite 8-figure salary

The techie revealed that he continues to live a "pretty average life". He drives a 10-year-old car and does not own an apartment in Bengaluru. Instead, he bought a plot in a villa community and said he regularly invests in real estate, stocks, mutual funds and crypto, although he now mostly sticks to SIPs. He also invested in a commercial property.

However, his investment journey has also had setbacks. He revealed that he lost around ₹20-25 lakh trading crypto. "Investing is boring. Trading is expensive," he wrote, describing the experience as a painful but important lesson.

The techie also said that he has started building small products and micro-SaaS projects after work, although none of them currently have users. He is also trying to learn marketing. He said that if he manages to build something generating even $1,000-$2,000 in monthly recurring revenue, he would seriously consider leaving his job. He also suggested that he could take a six-month break from work at some point.

For him, the decision is less about money and more about not regretting his choices later in life. "Not because I hate money. Because I don't want to be 60 years old wondering: 'What if I had actually tried?'" he wrote.

Reflecting on his journey, the techie concluded that while money had solved many of his problems, it had not answered the bigger question of what he actually wanted to do with his life.

(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)