I keep seeing a few posts each week about someone who started at 10‑15 LPA, switched a few jobs and is now earning 1‑2 crore at age 28‑30.
How do they manage that? What am I doing wrong?
It's definitely not common.
Most of them – about 80 % – are either lying or are bots.
It's a façade, buddy! Corporate life isn't a bed of roses, and the people pulling in over 50 L are often the unhappiest. No one will pay you a crore unless they can get at least ten times the value out of you, and that usually costs you blood, sweat and sleepless nights.
You have to keep up‑skilling – especially in IT – constantly trying to outdo your peers and stay relevant, so stability is rare.
I'm not just spouting random advice; this is my lived reality.
Regarding the 1‑crore figure, many of those roles are heavy on stock or variable pay. Your fixed take‑home is usually never more than 3 lakh a month after tax; the rest is locked in RSUs or bonuses that you can't rely on for everyday expenses.
Don't believe everything you see on the internet.
Imagine a guy who's just chilling at home, jobless but has Wi‑Fi and a phone. Nobody really cares about him.
He posts on Reddit saying he jumped from 10 LPA to 1 cr in two years.
Soon he's flooded with DMs from desperate folks seeking guidance. That instant dopamine hit – suddenly everyone's praising him, and for a day he feels like a king.
Social media runs on that dopamine rush. Many chase it, some even fake stories just to get that hit. It's basically a drug.
Now, use your own smarts to figure out the answer to your question! Cheers
Earning 2 cr is extremely rare, but 1 cr is possible.
I haven't come across a post here where the salary is below 15 LPA. Most posts talk about salaries above 30 LPA or people getting married at 27‑28 with 40‑45 LPA.
Just karma‑farming and clickbait.
There are thousands of 28‑year‑olds earning over 1 cr. If you only look at that specific group around you, it seems common. But across the country or even your city, it's actually rare.
The truth is, claiming a 1 cr CTC is usually inaccurate except for a few outliers like Databricks, Stripe, etc. High‑frequency trading firms are a different ball game.
Here's a typical breakdown at a MAANG‑type company:
A professional with 4‑5 years of experience might get a base of 28‑35 LPA, a joining bonus of 5‑6 Lakh, and a relocation allowance of another 2‑3 Lakh.
Then there's the stock component – usually $50‑100 k USD vesting over 3‑4 years. Only Apple pays the full $100 k; most companies are around $50‑60 k.
If we calculate the first‑year take‑home:
3,500,000 + 600,000 + 300,000 + ((60 * 1,000 * 95)/4) ≈ 5,825,000.
So the figure being quoted isn't the annual CTC; it's more like the total compensation over a few years.