Hi everyone, I am sorry if this will go long. I need to vent out out some things I never did before and I am too hesitant to discuss with anyone else I know. I am living in India, working for TCS since last 2 years. I was happy when I joined. For the first time in years there was a little bit of joy in my family after 14 or 15 years. My father died when I was 9. No other earner in my family so mine and my siblings' childhood and teenage went away in near poverty. Only good thing was our father left a roof for us. All my siblings' including me started tutoring at young ages to make the ends meet. I am telling you this because money became a big factor for me since the day I got sense of life. I thought life != money is just misery. So, it became a big negotiator in my decision making system. Coming to high school, the high fees of coaching and everything was not even into equation for me so cracking JEE and getting good colleges seemed impossible. So, cleared a scholarship exam - joined a local city college on scholarship (if it wasn't for this scholarship - i would have left education after 12th and started a job and prepare for govt exams - that was the plan but never happened) - this was near when internet boom started in India and I still didn't have any internet access so I didn't know what's important and what's not for interviews or even what's cp or leetcode. No guidance because even seniors and teachers were not aware of these things. My sister got a job - bought a laptop - we used it for a certain time so that everyone can utilise it equally. I got to know about big packages - I got access to YouTube and social media - I got overwhelmed by internet and got depressed for the first time in life after seeing the successful life of people and how easy they make it seem. I started losing hope (this was the start of my actual mental health decline but I never acknowledged it being from a small town and still it's a very insignificant concern of my life maybe because of negligence). Finally, I made sure to focus on getting good grades in college because that was in my control. Then came to know about GATE in 3rd year and saw that as the only path to earn good money (which was still the biggest negotiator) and give a decent life to my family. Joined the best coaching institute - payed the full fee from our tutoring savings (a significant number for my family) and then after 1 month of classes COVID came. Classes stopped - nothing happened for months - and the time until online classes started I already lost hope and due to fomo started applying for off campus placements. Cleared NQT - Joined TCS Digital and finally life was still after so many years. Joined TCS and for the first time in life I got into the euphoria of money. It was working like a drug for me. The more I started getting the better it felt. And most importantly I was able to give a decent middle class life to my family. Everything was good for a while. As the time went by and life became active and world got out of COVID - I again started feeling a gap. I started realising that the euphoria was fading away. I didn't know why but now money was not the only negotiator. I am still not completely sure what is it. Now, comes my final dilemma - after 2 years at TCS I resigned recently and I have an offer from another not so well known company with between 50% - 80% hike. And, as I said I don't have any career mentor so I just made the decision without even thinking. I still want more money (like big tech money) but now I also want to have a sense of security for my family's future and I am ready to trade it for money. So, basically I want money but not at the expanse of my mental health and most importantly my family's future. Also, now I want to do what I think favoured me from the start of my journey - Learning stuff - like giving GATE another try. Now, I can't tell if this decision is right or wrong and it's making my head blow out - I haven't slept well since my resignation. My gut says that I should continue with TCS (good team and I am currently comfortable with the work I am doing) and prepare for GATE and keep improving my skills (I am a data engineer) and only make switch if I get a well known product based company. But my mind says one thing - money. I have never been in so much conflict and seems like if this is what my life's going to be? Chasing any company for good money (which is a confirmation rn because I have accepted the offer - again in fomo). Or should I stop and prepare for something better (good product based company or higher studies). This is a very stressful decision for me because my whole family depends on me right now. So, any advice would really be helpful. I have started having random outbursts and stress when I think too much about this. What should I do? Should I take back my resignation? Should I join the new company and expect everything goes good? Help me. #tech #depression #mentalhealth
Don't worry about the past or tomorrow. No one can control it. Be happy now. Or atleast waste time finding ways to be happy now. With that said, don't stop chasing money. I know people will tell you otherwise but believe me, tough times are inevitable. When tough times come, if you don't have the money to catch your fall, you are gonna feel way more miserable. Money need not be your main goal. It should be your health and family. But it should be "one" of your goals. Make the switch. It'll atleast be a new experience good or bad. Learn, build projects or just keep doing something you really like. It'll all pan out in the end.
Thank you. I'll give it a thought. I have realised the importance of money over the time because of the sheer lack of it. But maybe that's the reason I am getting slightly away from it as well that I have that experience. I don't know - it's so much to think and complex for me even if it is a easy decision for others.
There are couple of points as the what you have described is too vast. First of all I would like to congratulate you that you have reached so far so pat for your self. Now regarding you moving to a new company it is IMO a right move - please do make a move and keep in touch with your colleagues and Managers in TCS - so that if things do not go bad you can easily come back (BTW with the salary hike given in the other company - so be happy) Now in regards to money, the point is that you need financial advice on how to handle money , I was also in the same boat as you were. You need to understand that you need to start looking for a financial advicer or read about managing your finances. Managing your money is not investment it is also about first creating a emergency fund, a life insurance and a health insurance . Once you have all of these in place believe you would be in a much better position in terms of the money and mental stability. You would also be empowered to be audacious.
TCS has a policy of not hiring it's Alumni ever again. Thankyou for the money management advice. I am too scared to invest because I don't want to risk what I have earned till now and don't want to go back to my previous life finance wise. The health insurance at TCS is far superior than what the current company is offering. The only up this company has is better CTC than TCS. Rest everything in TCS is better. Also, I have tried applying for other companies - asked for a few referrals on LinkedIn and other places but seems like no one wants to hire TCS folks even when I have a good project under my belt and I am spending time in improving my skills every single day. That's why I am in a dilemma to jump to a new company.
The market isn't great. Don't panic. Keep adding good skills and try when market opens up
I feel you’re more into the TCS comfort zone . Never fall for it, stand up and face any challenges life throws at you, they’ll either be great experience or a life lesson. 80% hike is a lot and you’ll definitely need it in future, These TCS Infy hardly give Hikes which can’t even keep pace with Inflation. Be brave and Stand up to the new challenge in life!
I am currently in between clearing the internal exams in TCS (I have cleared most - just a few remaining) for a role with near to 50% to 60% hike internally. This is also one of the reasons of my stress. Being in the comfort zone it's more because of the sense of financial security for my family (TCS never fires) and not that I admire the comfort culture here. I do want to work for and experience better companies like product companies as yours and many others here.
Why so greedy? High salary means more stress more responsibility and less time. Just gain experience and chill
That is wrong, it is team dependent
That's why I posted this to gain advice. It's not greed - it's just that money has been a differentiator in my decisions all my life and it always mattered to me. Greed is when I want it even when I don't have a lack of it. I don't want money for cars and stuff - I want it to secure the future of my family so that if something happens to me like my father - my family shouldn't have to go through this phase again. I just want a happy life for them where they don't stress about basic necessities.
Be mindful of the future while staying in the present ~watch star wars Money is a tool to : Maintain health, luxury of u and ur family Do what u truly like doing (don't just jump into anything new u like at first sight, spend time on things with your job)
Basically, don't resign and focus on studying for higher studies, product based companies. You need to handle that with ur job on weekends or something. And always be greedy for money, even after you do higher studies, you will do a job sooner or later
Thank you. I'll think about this. I have received very polar advices till now and I'll have to make a mindful decision for this after going through each of them again and see what makes sense. Thanks for taking time for this.
I think I can relate a bit to your situation, as I joined TCS as a fresher coming from a Tier 3 college. I quit after my 2 year bond. Fast forward 8 years, zero regrets. Were there challenges ? Absolutely. Did life kick me in the sack whenever it had an opportunity ? Absolutely yes. Do I regret it all ? Fcik no. A lot of my colleagues from TCS are still there 10-15 LPA, waiting for an onsite, living their lives in a secure bubble. I'd never say that I've done a lot but I know for a fact that I have far more technical knowledge than them. From 4.2 to 50+(Base) YOE - 10 Current - an okay profitable startup. Number of switches - 6. So relax, it's going to be a good life.
It's good to read from successful people like you who went through similar background like me. I am just not sure how changing companies will affect me in the long run. Seems like switching to lesser know service based company will affect me in the long run. It's okay if it was a pbc or a good startup but again going to a service based is my concern. Will I better off being at TCS - which is a big name in services - and then make a switch when I get a better company with atleast a decent reputation in engineering or maybe a known service based company like Accenture or Infosys rather than switching to a lesser known one. I am not getting interviews from any product companies now - and I don't want to be in the same situation even after switching.
Successful, I'm not sure. There's tons of people on blind far better, no comparisons or anything I'm content. As for Big names, absolutely the tags matter, but then again. At the start you can take risks. Relax and don't worry. Karm Karo, fal ki chinta mat karo.
Hey, I had similar background, in fact it was much worser than you. I had gone through this not just once but several times, I can relate to very well. The stakes are very high, if it doesn't work out - that's what you are going through. Believe in you and more than that believe in companies recruitment process. They are seasoned and when they want to onboard you, they need you. Just move forward and take risks. Worst case you will be in the job market and can find job in few months. A suggestion to make you feel better would be to maintain an emergency fund to deal with uncertainties. You will need diverse experience to grow, so this is needed - don't hold yourself back.
Thank you for your advice. I'll give it a thought.
Come out of the mindset of x or y The rich are rich because they do x and y . Shift jobs work hard ,save more , crack GRE , go to US and work there. Everything is possible , you have come a long way but you are just starting off. You need to calm down and focus. Don't worry about the result,just do the right thing You are lucky you have hard working siblings , lucky you got into engineering ,lucky your dad left a home for you , you have so many advantages ,you should come out of this victim mindset and dream big . Only those who dream big ,achieve big.
Thank you for this but I want disagree with the victim mindset part. If I had the victim mindset I wouldn't have given the scholarship exam and settled for 12th and C/D grade govt jobs. Wouldn't have appeared for NQT and wouldn't have got in TCS in the first place. I don't know what's a victim mindset because I never experienced it from those whom I have spent my life with - my family. We all made it till here because we had a great leader in our life - my mother. It's just that I am in a dilemma of decision making here because no one in my family experienced this before. So, that's the only reason I came here for advice. I am sorry if it felt like a victim mindset - I have gratitude for the things I have not despise for what I don't.
Being indecisive is coming from the inertia of the struggle , you have just found a breather in the form of a regular salary and your mind is telling you don't go back to those days of struggle again. Salary is the opium of the masses. It makes you relive all struggles from past and ensures you stay worried ..instead of betting it all . Only betting it all and going all in has got you this far.
You will find gems only if you search for them. I started my career at TCS and after 15 years and multiple companies landed at FAANG. It’s always good to come out of comfort zone and try something new … Good that you did moved out of comfort zone at TCs…
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Hey buddy, take it slow. Your life is better now. Enjoy it a bit and evaluate where you are every 3-4 years until you are senior enough to not grow fast.
So, should I continue at TCS for a few more years? Or should I join this new company and see where it goes? I am still not able to make up my mind.
You are young and can take risks when the returns are good. Here money is good and probably the learnings too. In my opinion, you must move. But be aware that there are going to be challenges, they will only make you stronger.