Join Indian startup as GM or stay in USA as Principal engineer
What is better option : Join Indian startup as GM or stay in USA as Principal engineer Usa TC : Above expectation, more than 300 grands India : It could be b/w 65Lakhs Indian rupee to 80 Lakhs India rupee
If you have US GC or citizenship, then I feel it’s worth trying out the opportunity in India.
No GC, still it would take 5 more years and this wait will stop me exploring the best potential i have(which i don’t know yet). And limit my opportunities.
I agree. I don’t think that you should keep waiting for GC. It’s just that if you were already over that hump, then it’s almost a no brainer, right?
Don’t fall for the startup story of India. It is all on the face politics, favouritism, bootlicking , screwed up management under high pressure to turn cash flow positive and no one actually has idea of what to do when unconditional cash infusion has stopped. I would guess it is Ola you are talking about. If that is the case, confirm the attrition rate . Burnout is very very common. Management follows a policy of “screw the developers to make them better - good guys shine under pressure”. Developers treat it as quick way to make money and then move on. By the way, 80 lakhs is decent salary in India and your personal life within four walls of your home will be much better than US. But once you get out, you would not be able to breathe pure air, could not have water from tap, stuck in traffic for hours for less than 5 km travel, 0 security and “learn local language” kind of racism. Having worked in multiple startups and staying in close contact, I would strongly advise not to take this jump. Follow the story of high profile Bay area guys taking the jump and then regretting. There are many failed experiences and until you are a superman don’t think about this :)
Not sure about office politics but IMHO the start up story in India isn’t as shiny as it used to be 3-4 yrs ago. What critical new technologies are you going to work on? Also, 80lakhs is barely above 100k, a steep comedown from the US salary. How will you pay for all the US based commitments? You seem old enough to not want to stop paying for the 401k etc.
If one has to earn in INR and pay in USD, it is definitely not a question :) Nobody in right mind would think about this. So I had assumed there would be no payback in USD. If you read the other answers and clarifications from OP , he looks like planning to return for good as he is on H1b and no GC or citizenship yet for next 5 years. If he has to come back , 401k is not a decision point anymore.
hmm, makes sense to me.
What’s GM?
General Manager
What’s a General Manager? What are the responsibilities? Never heard of a role with that title in the US tech companies.
Moving to india is not just a career/money decision. Many things change, which are far more impactful.
Agree, money is one of the factor but not everything. looking at bay area how long would it take to a principal engineer to get an exposure like GM where you will own the product and changing the industry trends.
Ya, in bay area, in a big company, you may never get gm exposure. But if u just need that, you could get a startup in bay area. I lived in US and india many years, switched back and forth 2 times. Thus my advice is dont move to india for just career reasons.