Is earning crores in corporate common these days?

[Rahul]

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?

[Akbar]

It's definitely not common.

[Rishi]

Most of them – about 80 % – are either lying or are bots.

[Ira]

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.

[Vinay]

Don't believe everything you see on the internet.

[Pooja]

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

[Ayaan]

Earning 2 cr is extremely rare, but 1 cr is possible.

[Ronit]

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.

[Naman]

Just karma‑farming and clickbait.

[Ishita]

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.

[Raghav]

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.