Moonlighting as Platform Engineer, earning ~70L/yr, now stepping back

[Kunal]

I [M 28] am working as a Platform Engineer and I've been moonlighting for almost my entire career.

For the past year+, I've been earning close to ₹70L/year from two roles:

- One Indian startup (contract) – ~4+ hrs daily (sometimes weekends)
- One US company (contract, Indian office) – officially 8 hrs, realistically 10+ hrs Mon-Fri

Both were WFH, so it was manageable - but my social life has basically been zero.

Some recent life updates:

- Likely arranged marriage by December. Wife will probably be a full‑time homemaker
- Recently bought a ₹1.3 Cr property (no loans) after pushing myself hard. Swapping money with CCs.
- Will finish car loan soon (low ROI, so didn't prioritise earlier)
- No equity / mutual fund investments yet (yeah, I know...)
- No savings

Financial planning so far:

- Bought term insurance in 2022
- Took health insurance in 2024 for myself + parents (ACKO unlimited cover) – this was reimbursed by the US company. I will stop taking the reimbursements this month.

Lifestyle reality (because of working so much):

- Built a home gym, but barely got time to work out
- Bought a gaming laptop a few months back, planning to use it now, finally
- Didn't drive much – whenever we travelled out of town, I usually slept while my father drove.
- Social life has been almost non‑existent

I also have a decent property where I could technically retire with my parents, though I'd probably still move out in the long run (cleaner air, better location than West Delhi).

Recently got a hike from the US company to ~₹74.5L alone, so I resigned from the Indian startup.

That was a tough call because:

- I was learning a lot
- But I also want to stay under ₹75L to use 44ADA tax benefits
- Otherwise, I'd need to earn ~₹20L more just to make it financially worth the extra work. That's like working extra for Nirmala Tai
- Did some calculations, my annual tax will come to around 8L only now. Btw, I have been doing my taxes myself.

Some background:

- 2022 pass‑out
- Tier‑3 college. Barely spent 5L with bachelor's [2016‑19] + master's[2019‑22] (including hostel fees) all over in my college education. Had to take an education loan even for 1.2‑1.5L during my bachelor's as we were not financially well‑off then.
- Not your traditional engineering degree holder.
- Tech stack: Python, platform engineering, DevOps, backend frameworks. Will be working as a Backend engineer only now.
- Was a GSoC student and later mentor
- Worked at one Indian unicorn. Also at a lesser‑known startup.
- I also worked as an Android developer once (₹1k‑₹2k/month). That was my first paying job. So many sleepless nights while attending college.
- I've never cleared proper big‑tech style interviews. I don't know DSA (and don't want to learn it).
- Most of my career has been about being at the right place at the right time

Now that I've dropped one job, I'm:

- Getting some time back. Once the notice period is over.
- Thinking about life (marriage, health, social life)
- Wondering if I've been over‑optimising for money

My case has been quite extreme. I love software dev but I barely get time to learn new stuff now.

TLDR; Started from 1k. Now at 6.2L monthly. Without BTech.

Curious to hear thoughts.

[Gaurav]

How did you find the contract positions for the US company and the Indian startup?

[Sandeep]

Hey man, kind of in the same boat – can we connect?

[Simran]

Super proud of you, buddy!

I was in a similar spot, did freelancing just to clear car and home loans, so I totally get it.

Buying a house is a huge decision. I actually delayed it after seeing the rates and later felt guilty for not taking it two years ago.

The early years are tough, but once you're out of debt life gets easier. Just make sure you look after your health now that you're debt‑free.

Wishing you all the best for your marriage!

Quick question – did you land the job from a website or through a contact? I'm also hunting for WFH roles since many firms are forcing WFO for four days a week.

[Ganesh]

Post this in r/developersindia

[Akash]

How did you manage this? Aren't you paying GST as well? How is your tax only 8L?

[Ashwin]

So you were putting in 14 hrs a day and sometimes another 4 hrs on weekends? Get your heart checked out.

[Menon]

Hi, how can I get a contract with a US company?

[Aftab]

Hey! Thanks for the detailed post.

Question – how are you doing the taxes yourself under 44ADA? I'm in a similar boat with contractual work from a US company.

[Arjun]

Why not just cap the cash at 75 lacs and ask for the rest as equity? That seems like a fair deal. Also, do you use Wise or something else for transfers?

[Swati]

Smart move using 44ADA to step back. The only catch is relying on a single US contract while most of your money is locked in a house.

Build a solid 6‑month emergency fund first so you aren't stressing, then pump the extra monthly cash into index SIPs.