Investor sparks a row by saying ₹25 LPA salary is ‘nothing’ in this day and age
Sourav Dutta offered his take on current tech salaries, saying ₹25 lakhs per annum is “nothing” in this day and age.
The investor who faced backlash for saying people with ₹50 lakh liquid net worth are “lower middle class” has now shared another controversial opinion. Sourav Dutta offered his take on current salaries, saying ₹25 lakhs per annum is “nothing” in this day and age.
The Europe-based investor and trader asked his followers for their opinion on whether tech salaries are distorting the market.
“25 LPA salary in today's age is nothing,” Dutta wrote on the social media platform X. “Even a 3-5 year experience software engineer gets more than this. Are tech salaries distorting the market?” he asked.
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The opinion, predictably, proved controversial, coming as it did at a time when thousands of techies are rueing pay stagnation at India’s top IT companies like Tech Mahindra, TCS and Infosys. Many employees have also reported a freeze on hiring and layoffs after the post-Covid boom.
X user Keval raised doubts about the authenticity of Dutta’s claims. He said he knows of techies earning ₹25 LPA after 10 years of experience. “Who are 3-5 year techies ? I know many IT guys/girls , they earn 20-25 LPA after 10 years of experience. May be few startups offer such a high package to new guys but not big tech,” he wrote.
Dutta responded saying a salary of ₹30 lakhs per annum is actually pretty common now after five years of experience. “Well, you will be surprised how much these IT guys have started earning. 5 years 30 lacs is actually very common now,” he replied.
“I was in TCS and still in contact with many IT guys. 30 lac for 5 year exp is not a common thing,” Keval countered, to which Dutta replied saying “TCS is not a good paymaster.”
(Also read: Techies rant against stagnant salaries at TCS, Tech Mahindra: ‘Same since 2007’)
Several other X users also disagreed with Dutta. One said that such salaries can only be achieved by switching frequently. “It's not common, only some guys have this offer, those are switching frequently,” wrote Jagannath Sahoo.
“It was common during covid time. Not anymore,” another person wrote.
“It is very uncommon. What stats do you have to support your claim?” asked data engineer Raghavendra Rao.
Dutta had earlier courted controversy by classifying people according to their wealth. People with ₹10 lakh of liquid net worth, he said, would fall in the “poor” category, he had claimed, while the “middle class” should constitute people with liquid assets of ₹1 crore.