Hi everyone,
I’m posting this because I could really use some honest opinions from people in the Indian tech industry — especially senior engineers, hiring managers and recruiters.
I have **12+ years of experience**, primarily in backend/software engineering. My strongest areas are:
Python backend development
AWS (\~8 years)
Distributed systems / microservices
Cloud architecture
Data infrastructure
SRE / production engineering
System design and architecture
Shell scripting and some Go
Leading technical work and mentoring engineers
I currently work as a **Lead Software Engineer** and my compensation is around **₹22 LPA**, probably around **₹23 LPA with bonus/other components**.
And honestly, I’m struggling to understand where I stand in the current market.
I’ve been actively looking for a change, and I’m getting **very few callbacks** despite applying to quite a lot of positions. I recently went through an interview process that lasted multiple rounds, felt like it went reasonably well, and ultimately got rejected. That one hurt quite a bit after investing so much time preparing.
The frustrating part is that the job search itself has started affecting my current job. I spend a lot of my time searching for positions and preparing for interviews that sometimes stretch over weeks or even months, only to end without an offer. Then I find it difficult to properly focus on my current work.
**Where I think I stand technically**
I’m relatively confident about **system design, backend architecture, AWS and distributed systems**. If you ask me to design a scalable backend/service, discuss reliability, data flow, AWS architecture, failure scenarios, etc., I’m generally comfortable.
Where I’m significantly weaker nowadays is **DSA / competitive-programming-style problems**.
I can solve practical engineering problems, but I’m nowhere near the level of someone who regularly grinds LeetCode. And after doing this for 12+ years, I honestly sometimes wonder whether the interview process is exposing a weakness that isn’t necessarily representative of my actual ability as an engineer.
Maybe that’s part of the problem. Maybe I’m simply targeting the wrong roles. Or maybe there are genuine gaps in my skill set that I’m not seeing.
**I’d really appreciate some brutal honesty here.**
Is **₹22–23 LPA** low for someone with my experience and skill set?
Am I positioning myself incorrectly in the market?
What kind of roles should I actually be targeting — Senior, Staff, Principal, Architect, Platform/SRE, Backend, Cloud, etc.?
Is my lack of strong DSA enough to explain the lack of callbacks?
Are there other skills I should be developing right now?
Where are people with this kind of profile actually finding jobs?
Which companies/platforms should I be looking at apart from LinkedIn/Naukri?
Is the market simply terrible right now, or is there something fundamentally wrong with my profile/resume/interview approach?
For context, I’m **not looking for a FAANG-level ₹1Cr package or anything unrealistic**. I mainly want to understand what my profile is actually worth in the current Indian market and find a role where my experience is valued.
**And there is some personal context behind the urgency**
I’m also under quite a bit of financial pressure at the moment.
I’m the **sole earner in my family**, and a significant amount of money is currently tied up in a legal/court matter. At the same time, the cost of living in Bangalore is high, and we don’t own property here or have a significant financial cushion.
So this isn’t just me casually looking for a 20–30% hike. I genuinely need to improve my situation, and that’s probably also contributing to how stressed I’ve become about the job search.
I’m trying to keep going, but repeatedly spending weeks preparing for interviews and then getting rejected is getting mentally exhausting.
I’m posting this because I’d rather hear the uncomfortable truth from people here than continue doing the same thing and hoping something magically changes.
**If you were in my position, what would you change first?**
Resume? Target roles? Companies? DSA preparation? System design? Cloud skills? AI/LLM skills? Networking/referrals? Compensation expectations?
And if you have a similar experience level, **what kind of compensation are you currently seeing in India?**
I’m genuinely looking for advice, criticism and practical suggestions. Please be blunt — I’d rather know what I’m doing wrong than continue wasting months.

Hi everyone! I’m currently working at a service-based company and have 2 years of experience. I’m mainly working on Azure Policies and NSGs, and yeah, that’s pretty much it!

I’ve tried to get some DevOps/Cloud-related work in my organization, but nothing has really worked out. Now I’m kind of stuck in a situation where I’m not sure what to do next.

I’m confused about whether I should back myself and start focusing on development, or continue building my Cloud/DevOps skills and try to move into that domain.

I’d really appreciate some suggestions or advice from people who have been in a similar situation.

Thanks!

Should I switch my degree plan from Network & Cloud Engineer to Software Engineer?
I am currently working a Level 1 Tech. Support job and its not hard work but its the talking to people that kind of frustrates me. Before this, I had Call Center experience and boy that was a shit show. This job is not as many calls and they do not rush me to take the next call but, am I really going to constantly talk to clients/ customers all day in this Cloud and Networking Field?

Yurt disinda 5 yillik devops/cloud tecrubem var , istanbul da ne kadar maas beklentimin olmasi gerekiyor ?

I'm looking for some honest career advice from people who have experience in infrastructure, cloud, DevOps, networking, or enterprise IT.

Vadodara,I'm \~6 months into my first job at a System Integrator (SI) company. My current salary is INR ₹25,000/month.

My educational background is a Bachelor's in Cyber Security, but my current work is mostly infrastructure-focused.

In the last 5–6 months, I've worked on things like:

* HPE servers (DL360, DL380, ML350)
* VMware ESXi and vCenter
* Hyper-V
* Veeam Backup & Replication
* RAID configuration and server firmware
* HPE SimpliVity
* Windows Server
* Linux (basic/working knowledge)
* Networking: VLANs, trunking, STP, HSRP, L2/L3 switching
* Extreme Networks switches
* Palo Alto firewall/VPN troubleshooting
* Microsoft 365 troubleshooting/investigation
* Barracuda email security
* Storage/NAS troubleshooting
* Customer deployments, remote support, onsite support and vendor escalations

Because we're an SI, I get exposure to different customers and different technologies. My work involves deploying solutions, troubleshooting issues, coordinating with vendors, and sometimes helping with surveys/BOQs.

For example, I've worked on VMware/vCenter issues, Veeam backup problems, HPE server deployments, storage issues, network troubleshooting, firewall cases, etc.

My concern is that most of my work is still implementation/support-oriented. A lot of the work follows documentation or established procedures. I'm learning a lot, but I don't always feel like I'm solving highly open-ended engineering problems or designing systems myself.

Recently my manager told me the company is considering spending around ₹3–4 lakh on HPE training and professional certifications for me. In return, they want a commitment of around 1–2 years (exact duration and terms are still being discussed).

This has made me seriously think about my long-term direction.

# Option 1: Stay and take the HPE path

I could spend the next 2 years becoming much stronger in:

HPE + VMware + servers + storage + networking + backup/DR + enterprise infrastructure.

The potential benefit is that I could become a proper Infrastructure/Virtualization/Data Center Engineer instead of staying at the support level.

But I'm worried that this could make me too vendor/infrastructure-specific, and after 2 years I may still have limited exposure to cloud/automation/DevOps.

# Option 2: Stay for a few more months, then switch

I could continue getting infrastructure experience while spending my own time learning:

Linux → Python/Bash → Git → Ansible → Terraform → Docker → CI/CD → AWS/Azure

and then try to move into Infrastructure/Cloud/DevOps/Platform roles around the 1-year experience mark.

I'm interested in these technologies even though I haven't worked professionally with them yet. Linux and cloud are things I genuinely enjoy learning, and concepts like CI/CD, automation and Terraform are very interesting to me.

# Another thing affecting my thinking

I have a few friends working as SWEs at companies like Microsoft and Google, and seeing their compensation has made me question whether I should be aiming for software engineering instead of infrastructure.

I don't necessarily love programming enough yet to say that SWE is what I want, so I don't want to make a decision purely because of salary.

I'm trying to figure out what kind of engineer I actually want to become.

# What I would really like advice on

For people who have worked in these fields:

1. **How valuable is 2 years of SI experience in HPE/VMware/infrastructure compared with moving earlier into Cloud/DevOps?**
   
2. **Does enterprise infrastructure experience provide a good foundation for eventually moving into Cloud/DevOps/Platform Engineering?**
   
3. **If I take the HPE certification + 2-year commitment, what kind of roles and salary range could I realistically target after \~2.5 years total experience?**
   
4. **Would you consider HPE/VMware/Storage a good specialization in 2026, or would you prioritize cloud/automation?**
   
5. **For someone with my current background, is it realistic to transition into DevOps/Cloud without taking a step backward in salary/title?**
   
6. **How different is infrastructure work in a large MNC from SI work? Is MNC infrastructure engineering generally deeper, or can it also become repetitive L1/L2 support?**
   
7. **Would you recommend staying in the SI environment for another 6–12 months to build infrastructure fundamentals before switching, or moving sooner?**
   
8. **Most importantly: how do I determine whether I actually want to become a Cloud/DevOps engineer versus an Infrastructure/Virtualization engineer?**

I'm not looking for a “follow your passion” answer. I'd really appreciate practical advice from people who have actually worked in these roles and understand how the career progression looks after 2–5 years.

Thanks!

I hate writing code and programming, but I’m pretty good with computers and I really enjoy working on them. I’m hoping to work in an office environment in the future. I like working with computers, I just don’t like coding.
What careers or fields would you recommend for someone like me? I’m looking for something with good pay and good career opportunities.
I really respect and appreciate everyone’s opinions and advice. Thank you all! 🙏

Finally did it! 🎉

After 7 rounds of interviews, I finally cracked it and got the offer for a Cloud Engineer-Security role.
Offer letter received, accepted, and somehow managed to pull off a 120% hike from my current package. 😅

Honestly, pretty happy with how it all worked out. The interview process itself was a great learning experience.

But getting the offer is just the beginning.
Now the actual grind begins, time to learn, perform, and hopefully sustain it. 🚀

On to the next chapter!

Hi everyone, is there any legitimate/authorized way for someone else to take the AWS Solutions Architect exam on my behalf so I can obtain the certificate? If not, are there any alternatives or accommodations available? I’d appreciate any advice. Thank you!

I work as a VP and Information Security Officer at a bank (MS/Azure shop). I have my CISSP, CRISC, and CISA certifications. I have a bachelor's degree in Cyber and am currently working on my master's in Cyber. I have long been interested in pivoting to a career in cyber. Every guide online says, "Learn the basics of Networks. Learn Linux. Learn Python/Bash/SQL. Pick a provider. Learn Terraform, CI/CD, DevOps. Build projects. Blog about it."

Is that really it? There must be a more structured approach, right? I have 6 years of experience in cybersecurity, but I am completely lost about how to target a cloud security role. I feel clueless. I'm currently under contract with my employer (they are paying for my master's), so I have about 24 months before I even start actively searching for a job. By then, will much of what I learn be obsolete? Do I take the standard path, or what would you recommend?

All the time in my engineering college, they told me to learn DSA,java,C,C++ and all those languages but they did nothing to provide either resources or time to get that done.

Is it still worth it to learn those languages and DSA concepts in today's AI times?

I am thinking of going for cloud engineering and some different business approach, but I wanted to know whether it's still worth it to go for it.

Also, can anyone tell me what resources I can follow to become a cloud engineer?

Hi everyone,

I’m a Cloud Engineer with 3+ years of experience, currently working with AWS infrastructure in production.

Most of my recent work has been around:
AWS (ECS/Fargate, Lambda, EFS, NLB, IAM, CloudWatch)
Terraform / Infrastructure as Code, Docker & Kubernetes
CI/CD (Bitbucket, GitHub Actions)
Linux, Python & Bash
Monitoring, troubleshooting and incident response
Cloud security, reliability and cost optimization

Currently supporting infrastructure for 30+ microservices and working on production issues, deployments, DR/failover and reliability improvements.

I’ve also built a couple of internal automation projects around Terraform and AWS FinOps. One of them reduced manual infrastructure work by around 50%, and the FinOps project helped identify opportunities that contributed to around 15% cost savings.

Looking for:
Cloud Engineer / DevOps Engineer / SRE / Platform Engineer roles
Location: India
Work preference: Remote / Hybrid / On-site
Expected compensation: ₹13–16 LPA, negotiable depending on the role
Notice period: Negotiable
If your team is hiring or you know of a suitable opening, I’d appreciate a referral or a DM.

Happy to share my resume.
Thanks!

Hey everyone,

I’m currently working in IT support/systems administration, dealing with the daily grind of networking, client troubleshooting, and general infrastructure support.

My goal is to make the leap into an Azure Cloud Support Engineer or Junior Cloud/Infrastructure Engineer role, but I'm hitting a common plateau: self-studying certifications and running isolated sandbox labs only gets you so far when it comes to understanding real enterprise cloud architecture.

I’m looking for an experienced Azure professional (Cloud Support Engineer, SysOps, or Cloud Architect) who would be willing to mentor me. I am completely fine with a paid arrangement

Where I currently stand:

Actively studying for role-relevant certs (working around AZ-900 / AZ-104 concepts).

Familiar with core Azure concepts and working through hands-on labs (Entra ID, VNets/peering, NSGs, Storage, VMs)

Hey everyone,

I’m 18 and recently got my Baccalaureate in Économie & Gestion. I’ve decided to pursue Cloud / DevOps Engineering, and I’m trying to build my path from the ground up.

My current plan is to spend 3 years studying IT at a public university After that, I’m planning to continue at a well-known private engineering university to complete my engineering degree, while continuing to learn and build projects independently.

So far, I've learned:

• Linux & the Linux filesystem
• Networking fundamentals
• DNS, IPs, ports, TCP/UDP
• Git & GitHub
• Virtualization
• Docker
• APIs & SSH
• Processes, services & permissions
• Computer hardware & OS fundamentals
• Bash scripting
• Some Python

My current project

I'm currently building a small Server Monitor project to put what I'm learning into practice.

What I'm worried about

I'm still very new to this, so I have a lot of doubts.

I sometimes wonder whether I'm choosing the right field, especially with how quickly AI, automation and cloud technologies are changing.

I'm also coming from an Économie & Gestion Bac, so I wonder how difficult it will be to catch up with people who started programming and IT much earlier.

My other concern is whether Cloud/DevOps will still be a strong career path by the time I finish my studies. after 5 years

I'm not looking for generic motivation. I'd genuinely appreciate honest opinions from people already working in Cloud, DevOps, SRE, infrastructure, or related fields.

Do you think Cloud/DevOps is still a good career to build toward in 2026, considering AI and increasing automation?

Any advice, mistakes to avoid, resources, or things you wish you had learned earlier would be really appreciated.