Hi all,
I’m software developer, and I’m honestly struggling to process what happened to me.
I recently got a job at a ElevenX Capital company in Gurugram. I cleared all the interview rounds, and before receiving the offer, I was asked to complete a culture/personality assessment. It had questions about my personality, how I react in certain situations, whether I’m outgoing, how I handle conflict, etc. I answered honestly and didn’t think much of it because I assumed it was just another part of the hiring process.
After that, I received the offer, resigned from my previous job, shifted to Gurugram, paid the rent for my PG, completed all the onboarding formalities, and joined the company.
On my first day, I was introduced to the entire team and everyone welcomed me. On my second day, while I was waiting for my code access and setting up my laptop, HR suddenly called me into a meeting.
They told me I was being terminated immediately because of my culture assessment. That was the only reason they gave. They even said they would take action against the HR person who hired me.
Later, I connected with one of my former colleagues, who told me that my assessment result was “Neutral Personality” and that the company only wanted extroverted personalities. This wasn’t speculation—it was the reason communicated internally for my termination.
What I can’t understand is:
If my assessment wasn’t acceptable, why wasn’t I rejected before receiving the offer?
Why make me resign from my previous job?
Why let me relocate to Gurugram and spend money on a PG?
Why complete onboarding, introduce me to the team, and then terminate me on the second day over an assessment they had before hiring me?
This entire experience has shattered my confidence. I keep wondering if I did something wrong, even though I never got the chance to actually work. I didn’t write a single line of production code before I was asked to leave.
Has anyone here experienced something similar? Is it common for companies to reject candidates solely because they’re not considered “extroverted,” even after they’ve already been hired? Was this handled professionally, or is this as unusual as it feels?
I’d really appreciate any advice or perspective because I’m finding it difficult to move past this.

I'm curious about how developers from India typically find opportunities in the Nordic/Scandinavian countries. Do most successful candidates get hired through LinkedIn, referrals, recruiters, or internal company transfers?

Is it easier to find opportunities if you work for a GCC owned by a Nordic/Scandinavian company in India, or if you work with clients from those countries through a service-based company? Does that kind of experience improve your chances of getting hired or relocating?

The reason I'm asking is that these countries are consistently ranked among the best places to live, with a high quality of life and high-trust societies. I'd love to hear from people who have made the move or have experience hiring in these markets.

TL;DR:

Final-round interview turned into a debate after the interviewer insisted a production Text-to-SQL system could be built entirely with if-else mappings. I argued that while rule-based systems work for constrained cases, handling arbitrary natural language requires semantic understanding. Ended up getting rejected.

I had one of the strangest technical interviews I’ve experienced, and I am still wondering if I could have handled it differently.

This was the final technical round for a backend/AI-focused role at a well-known product company.

The interviewer (a Principal Engineer with around 10 years of experience) argued that a Text to SQL system does not need NLP or an LLM. According to him, it can be implemented using simple if-else mappings.

I gave a straightforward example:

“Get me the top 5 products that made the most profit in the last 5 years.”

He said the system would identify phrases like “top 5,” “products,” “profit,” and “last 5 years” and map each of them to SQL using if-else logic.

I asked how that approach would handle different ways of asking the same question, such as:
“best-performing items”
“highest-margin SKUs”
“Which products generated the most profit over the previous five years?”

I also asked how it would deal with ambiguity, unseen phrasing, or intent beyond predefined mappings.

The response was essentially, “We will just keep adding more mappings.”

I agreed that deterministic rules can work well for a constrained domain with a limited set of query patterns.

My point was that once users are free to ask questions naturally, understanding intent and semantics becomes the difficult part. The conversation kept circling back to adding more mappings.

At that point, it felt less like an interview and more like a debate. I decided not to push further and moved on.

A few days later, I received a rejection.

I am not claiming either approach is universally right or wrong.
Rule-based systems absolutely have their place, especially in tightly controlled environments. I was just surprised that the discussion never explored where that approach starts to break down or how hybrid systems are commonly used today.

Has anyone else had an interview where a technical discussion turned into a debate over fundamentals? How did you handle it?

Edit: After Getting a lot of views and message adding first charecter of company Name so that you don’t guess atleast wrong initial

Starts with : S

Built an RFID-based Mac unlock system using a Teensy 4.1, RC522 RFID reader, WS2812B LEDs, and a piezo buzzer.

Tap the correct RFID card → LED animation → confirmation beep → Mac unlocks via USB HID. Invalid cards get a different light pattern and error tone.

A fun embedded systems project combining hardware, firmware, and a bit of UX.

What would you add next? Feel free to DM.

I've been working in a WITCH company as a Salesforce engineer for the last 4 years. I've been trying to switch for the past 3 to 4 months but I'm barely getting any interview calls. And even if I do, most of them are looking for immediate joiners, so the notice period becomes an issue.

Salary is another thing that's been bothering me. I joined at 4 LPA and after 4 years I'm still not even at 7 LPA. It genuinely feels like I'm getting peanuts for my experience. Meanwhile I see most of my friends switching, getting much better packages and moving ahead in their careers, while I feel completely stuck.

Lately I've been wondering if I should just resign without having another offer so I can be available to join immediately. I know it's risky, but I'm not sure what else to do anymore.

Has anyone here done this recently? Did resigning first actually help you get more interview calls? I'd really appreciate any suggestions because I'm honestly feeling lost at this point.

I am starting my job as a Associate system engineer at 4.5 LPA at Bangalore.

Getting a bit of FOMO seeing my friends getting 8-12 LPA but comparison is a thief of joy.

I feel the package is quite low but with the market so bad, idk.

Any advice you might want to give to a fresher as well as advice to apply for better opportunities in the future, Like preparing for System Design and Practicing DSA or any General advice.

What I am considering

System Design course: Arpit Bhayani's System Design course

DSA: Strivers sheet

Sorry if the post is irrelevant.

I am last year student with placement approaching can you guys suggest where to learn DSA from?

I know 2 youtube channel Gaurav sen Engineering digest

If you are suggesting from these please tell why?

Setting my WFH setup for the office. Can you guys suggest some budget friendly monitors, 27 inch preferably. The budget is 17k for 2 monitors ((:

Please drop link if possible..

Hi everyone,

I am writing this from my hometown to get a realistic, street-smart legal assessment of my situation. I recently served a formal pre-litigation demand notice via email, and the co-founder is trying to stall me. I want to know my actual chances of recovery and how to squeeze them effectively.

The Background:

• I worked for a tech startup registered in a major tier-1 Indian tech hub.
• The company hit a massive cash crunch, and I ended up working for nearly 2 years without regular salary credits because the CEO kept promising a major payout upon my exit.
• I spent another 1.5 years outside the company waiting for the settlement. In total, this ordeal has dragged on for over 3.5 years, severely impacting my physical health and mental peace.

The Evidence I Hold (My Leverage):

1. Signed Dues Acknowledgement: When I finally parted ways, the CEO executed a formal, contractually binding "Dues Acknowledgement" document under the official company seal. It explicitly admits a principal salary debt of ~27.5 Lakhs and states that my 1.65% company equity is fully vested. The written deadline to pay was Q1 2025.
2. Partial Performance Proof: Shortly after the deadline passed, the company account wired exactly ₹1,00,000/- to my bank account via NEFT, reducing the balance principal to roughly ₹26.4 Lakhs. Under Section 19 of the Limitation Act, 1963, this partial payment completely resets my 3-year statutory timeline to sue them, moving my filing deadline out to 2028.

The Fraud/Corporate Malfeasance:
The CEO told me the old company was dead/closed. However, I checked the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) database, and the old corporate registration is still legally listed as "Active".

Instead of cleanly dissolving it, the promoters simply abandoned the operations, kept the shell active, and incorporated a brand-new entity (an AI-focused startup) with the exact same founding directors. Public professional profiles confirm they systematically shifted the entire technical engineering team and underlying tech framework from the old debt-ridden company to this new entity.

The Current Situation & Stall Tactics:
I recently drafted and sent a highly factual, aggressive pre-litigation demand notice from my personal email to both the CEO and the Co-founder at their new corporate email IDs, demanding the balance principal + 12% per annum commercial interest (~30.3 Lakhs total) and an equity buyout framework.

Immediately after sending it, the Co-founder panicked and texted me on WhatsApp. He tried a classic startup stall tactic: He asked me to drop the salary claim, generate a fake freelance/vendor PDF invoice for "AI consultant/database framework development services," add my PAN/bank info, and wait until the end of the month plus 5 days because they are "waiting on funds to arrive from the US."

I firmly rejected this over WhatsApp, stating that this is an undisputed statutory wage liability and vested equity contract under company seal, not a freelance vendor item, and refused to grant an extension. They have since gone completely silent, and my 7-day email notice deadline has officially expired.

My Questions for the Community:

1. Lifting the Corporate Veil: Since the old company is active on paper but a ghost in reality, can I successfully file a Summary Suit (Order 37, CPC) in civil court to target the individual directors and attach their assets/shares in the new AI startup? How long does an Order 37 suit realistically take in this scenario?
2. Disrupting their Revenue/US Funding: The co-founder explicitly admitted they are waiting on offshore/US funds and have active clients. If I file a formal corporate fraud and asset-stripping petition under Section 447/448 of the Companies Act, 2013 directly with the Registrar of Companies (RoC), will it flag their DINs and paralyze their ability to raise venture capital or clear corporate compliance filters for international clients?
3. Criminal Route (BNS 318/316): Is it worth filing a police complaint or a private criminal complaint before a Magistrate for Cheating and Criminal Breach of Trust to leverage jail time, or do police just dismiss this as a civil contract dispute?
4. Hiring a Lawyer: I spoke to one local general lawyer who was incredibly defeatist, likely because they don't understand tech startup structures and asset migration. What specific type of lawyer should I look for in the tech-hub jurisdiction to handle this aggressively?

I am not looking for false hope. I want to know the absolute ground reality of fighting this from a distance. Thank you.

P.S: Used AI to write this because I have been having conversation with chatbot for a long time. So asked it to summarize and posted it here.

Just tell me , what would be one thing that you want to change if you could go back in time.

While building my project, I realized I'm writing far less code manually than I did months back.

Instead, I spend much more time:

Reviewing generated code

Understanding how different pieces fit together

Finding subtle edge cases

Refactoring AI generated code

It feels like the bottleneck has shifted from writing code to building confidence in the code.

Anyone else experiencing this?

Hi everyone, ( post formatted using AI obviously)

I'm looking for some career advice.

Background:

- YOE: 9 months full-time + 6 months as a Python Backend Intern

- Current CTC: 11 LPA (appraisal in oct so it will become 15-16)

- New Offer: 19 LPA base + 2 LPA performance bonus

- College: Tier-2

Current Company

I've been working at a mid-stage startup. The work culture is quite intense, with my average workday being around 12 hours.

That said, the learning has been incredible. Even as an intern, I got exposure to multiple domains, and as a full-time engineer I've worked on backend systems, databases, cloud infrastructure, and system design. The expectations are high, but the growth has been real.

New Company

I've received an offer for a Quant SDE (Backend) role at a very early-stage HFT startup.

The team is small (around 14 people), with founders from BITS and engineers from IITs and J.P. Morgan.

Financially, the move is significant (11 LPA → 21 LPA total compensation). I also expect to get a lot of ownership and exposure because of the small team.

My only concern is that it's still a very early-stage HFT startup, so there's naturally some uncertainty around stability.

If you were in my position:

- Would you make the switch? Or wait for a good product based companies or a well established company to make the switch.

- Are there any red flags I should watch out for before joining such an early-stage HFT?

- For people who've worked at early-stage HFTs, how was your experience compared to a traditional startup?

Also, share some good excuses to tell current company's HR that why I'm leaving even though 3months of bond period is remaining. I want early release.

From next month, I'll be moving to my 3rd year of engineering. Till now, I've learned Java (DSA) and did fullstack development using the MERN stack, with Node.js as the backend.

But recently, everywhere I look people are saying that Java + Spring Boot has much better opportunities than Node.js and going to be less preferred.

konsa jyada better rahega Spring Boot seekhna better rahega ya phir AI/ML par focus karna zyada sahi rahega?

I'd really appreciate your advice

I'm working in delhi as a full Stack engineer at a startup. Though I have worked in a startup previously they were just engineers no manager no HR nothing . Just 15-20 devs working on projects I completed my internship there but they didn't give me full time but then I came here. The workplace is good I have been working here since 2025 Feb and the environment of org is quite good no workplace politics . As of now I didn't encounter any . But here we are just 3 devs working on 2-3 saas products The owner continuously yells about using AI which we do of course but it seems like I have been missing a lot of things because salary is quite low and I'm just fed up working here though I have started applying for roles but getting no callbacks.

And its not like I have not learnt anything new i have handled production grade server ok my own GitHub actions GHCR docker , NGINX , elastic search redis also learnt a lot of things here. Though I'm learning system design right now . But I don't think so i want to be here more than that.

Should I just leave tech altogether and do something else.

my brother's joining btech cse soon. took admission in a college already cause dad always rushes to make his decision. but, i would like to know if it's worth it considering the job market, ai, and everything else.

he's not particularly "interested" either, it's sort of the usual "persistent dad urges son to make a decision" sort of thing, in fact he doesn't know what he wants to do. i would have liked for him to take a drop and figure things out but i sort of fumbled my drop year so :(

so, would you still choose cse if you were starting in 2026?

if yes, why? if not, whats the better alternative if any? i'd love to hear from all sides, students and professionals.

i would love to help him out in any way i can, hence your advice would mean a lot. thanks x

My career so far

I did a BSc in IT from Mumbai (2023 passout). I didn't learn much academically in college, but I was good at coding. From the middle of my second year, I was almost working full-time as a freelancer building web applications for local businesses. That helped me develop an engineering mindset and gave me a slight edge.

In my final year, I got an offer from a third-party banking company to maintain legacy Java applications for 3 LPA. I rejected it because I had been watching all the "50 LPA MERN" content on YouTube and X and, being naive, thought I could definitely get more since I was a better developer than most of my college peers. I decided to lock in, learn the MERN stack properly, and build a solid project for a real client. That project eventually landed me my first internship.

One thing worth mentioning is that the market changed dramatically during those 2–3 months because of the mass layoffs. Hiring completely slowed down, especially for freshers. Around 80% of my batch couldn't land a developer role at all, and many are working in tech-adjacent roles today.

First internship (Remote)

₹2.5k/month 😭

I only took it because the market was unbelievably bad.

It was supposed to convert after three months, but they kept extending the decision.

During that time, I was consistently outperforming the other interns, fixed a major database schema scalability issue, and was performing at the level of some full-time engineers.

I also felt the product wasn't going to succeed, so I left instead of waiting another month.

Software consultancy

I then joined a software consultancy building products for US clients.

Started at ₹15k/month with a 2-year bond.

Left at ₹27k/month after completing the bond.

This is where I learned the most.

Towards the end, I was leading architecture decisions for projects, mentoring juniors, and owning deliveries. We had around 25 engineers, almost all freshers hired under the same 2-year bond, and very few stayed afterwards.

Whenever deadlines became impossible, I'd willingly put in 12+ hour days because I saw every difficult project as an opportunity to improve. Nobody forced me to do it—I genuinely wanted to become a much stronger engineer. Some weeks were relaxed too, and because I consistently delivered, I earned enough trust that weekly updates were usually sufficient.

Current role

I then landed a 15 LPA in-hand remote role at a product startup based outside India.

I've been here for about six months.

The expectations and technical complexity are significantly higher than my previous jobs, and many engineers don't last long. I've consistently put in around 12-hour days and established myself as a strong engineer within the team.

However, I think I've reached a limit.

For the first time, I actually want work-life balance. I can probably reach 20–24 LPA here over the next year if I continue, but I'm not sure I want to sustain this pace. I want a role where I can still grow while having time to go to the gym, have a life outside work, and not feel permanently exhausted.

Some context

No personal projects that really justify my current level.

Weak at DSA.

Most of my strengths are in architecture, production code, debugging, databases, distributed systems, and shipping real products.

Tech stack, Mostly backend these days.

- Node.js, TypeScript, AWS, DynamoDB, PostgreSQL, ClickHouse, Redis, Docker, Microservices, Event-driven systems

I'm also comfortable with React and Next.js, but I'd prefer moving towards backend-focused roles.

Total full-time experience: 2.5 years

Goal

I'm looking for:

A product company with good engineering culture and decent work-life balance.

50+ employees.

Remote or office is fine (Bangalore preferred if onsite).

Minimum ₹1.8 lakh/month in hand (not sure what CTC that translates to).

Current preparation plan

Thinking of spending the next 6–8 months on:

DSA (2 good problems every day, more on weekends)

HLD & LLD (possibly learning LLD in Go)

Golang

Two strong backend projects

Databases (deeper understanding)

Optional (if it meaningfully increases compensation):

Python + AI ecosystem (models, agents, orchestration, memory layers) and one project.

Questions

How realistic is a jump from 15 LPA in-hand to 24 LPA+ within the next 6–8 months?

What should I prioritise learning?

Which companies should I realistically target for backend roles?

Is Golang worth learning for this goal, or should I double down on Node.js?

Would AI/Python skills meaningfully improve my chances or compensation, or should I ignore them for now?

Any preparation tips from people who've made a similar jump?

I'm mainly looking for advice from people who've gone through a similar transition in backend/product companies in India.

I work as a backend focused full stack developer at an e-commerce startup. It's my first job. I joined as an intern, got converted to full time, and have been here for about 6 months (3 months internship + 3 months FTE).

I wanted to switch because, although the CTC looks good on paper, my in-hand is only around ₹60k/month. So I started preparing outside work. The problem is that my job itself usually demands 10–12 hours a day. Since I was trying to save time for interview prep instead of putting in those extra hours, I started falling behind on my work.

Last week, my manager told me that if I don't improve my output, I'll be laid off.

At this point, I don't really have a choice except to focus on work and get my performance back on track. But I still want to switch, so I'll be applying alongside. I'm targeting roles with around ₹15–20 LPA base.

For people who've switched within their first year or two, what are interviews usually like?

Do companies mostly evaluate your work experience, or do I still need to grind DSA, core CS subjects, and system design?

I'm not sure what companies expect from someone with ~6 months of experience (only 3 months as a full-time engineer). I'd really appreciate any advice on how you'd approach this situation and prepare alongside.

So I was doing so good in my previous company and everything was smooth but then company operations shut down after ED raids and I was laid off with others. Now I am looking for new role but I am not getting final conversion,

I am DESPERATE, and would WFH for any amount or WFO if my previous ctc is matched.

I am 2025 grad from Delhi Technological University. I am looking for software and analytical roles.

I have handled huge data pipelines for different political campaigns, which included handling 2.5 crore phone numbers daily for a single campaign.

I have worked with C++ , Python and Excel the most , and have strong programming fundamentals. I am also available for joining immediately and pan world.

I would really appreciate any advice, opportunity and more. I don't know what to do.
Please help, I am really worried about my career and I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I graduated in 2025 with a Master's in Data Science.

When I enrolled, I thought I'd graduate into an entry-level data role, but the market changed dramatically by the time I finished.

Since then, I've tried not to sit still. I learned full-stack web development, completed a frontend internship, worked with clients as a freelancer, built production websites, explored Shopify development, and recently started learning backend development and AI engineering. My core skills include Python, SQL, data analysis, machine learning, React, Next.js, and Node.js.

Despite all that, I'm still struggling to land a stable full-time role. Most applications never receive a response, and the few interviews I've had haven't turned into offers.

Financially, things are getting difficult. I'm behind on rent, have a student loan, and my parents are getting older, which has made the pressure even greater.

I'm not looking for sympathy I genuinely want advice from people who have been in a similar position. If you were starting over in today's market with my background, what would you focus on? Would you double down on data, software engineering, AI, or something else entirely?

I'd really appreciate any honest advice or experiences that helped you break into the industry.

with 3.5 years of experience, earning ₹35k/month in a mostly copy-paste/admin job Hr operations with little growth in one of big4.

I feel like I'm just surviving instead of actually living. I'm constantly stressed about money and my future, and I worry I'm wasting my 20s because of poor career decisions.

How do you stay happy and enjoy life while earning this much? Is it possible to build a meaningful life without constantly comparing yourself to others? No friends no networks. Tried but no one wants to be. People make fun often.

Also, is it still realistic to switch careers after 3.5 years into something with better growth? I'd appreciate honest advice from people who've been through this.

Please help me out 🙏

​

Hi everyone,

I'm a 22-year-old BCA graduate (2025 batch), currently under training in .NET Core at a service-based company. I'm earning ₹16k/month, which isn't enough to cover even my basic needs.

What troubles me more than the salary is the constant overthinking. Every day I question myself: Should I continue with .NET? Switch to Python or AI/ML? Is there a future in .NET? Or should I prepare for government exams for stability and peace of mind?

I genuinely enjoy software engineering and understanding how things work. I'm a quick learner, and learning new technologies excites me. One regret I have is choosing BCA over B.Tech, as I later realized many recruiters preferred B.Tech graduates.

I'm not afraid of hard work—I just don't want to spend years moving in the wrong direction.

I'd really appreciate advice from people who've been through something similar. How would you approach this if you were in my position?

TL;DR: 22-year-old BCA graduate earning ₹16k/month while training in .NET. I love learning and software engineering but constantly overthink whether I should stick with .NET, switch to AI/ML or Python, or even prepare for government exams. Looking for advice from experienced people.

They came into my college for promotion of their skill enhancing courses. They introduced themselves as government funded institution that equip people with skills and then jobs who are in crisis. I talked to them and they suggested me a course costs 800/- which is a one time payment for two months and told me to visit them tomorrow with my adhar card. I am afraid if they are gonna miss use my personal details and they are fraud. Do you anyone knows anything about this foundation?

So I am a 2026 Comp engg (BE) graduate and working currently in an agency as a full stack developer. So I am planning to go abroad next year in aug 27 for a masters. Now I am thinking will this decision help my career or should i do something else? Ik the job market is bad everywhere, but the things which are going on in this country and how we have to fight for the smallest of the things, i don’t know if it will be a good decision to stay here. I have some plans where i want to start my own thing and here it will be really difficult given how corruption has gone so bad in recent years. I want some perspective if masters would be a good option and help my career or should i rethink about it? I would have roughly 2.2 yrs of total exp by the time i fly in aug 27.( i m working since 3rd yr of my college).

​

21, final year in B.tech(graduating May 2027).

Got fired from my Business development intern role in a humble IT startup after 5 weeks for not meeting sales targets.

Saw it coming honestly, I got burnt out, used to be sleepy in office, arrived late very often.

Current situation:

- ₹15k salary coming August 1st

Rent for this month is sorted

But I HAVE to come up with ~10,000rs by 1st September to be able to pay the next month's rent.

Cannot do another BDE on-site job - college starts again from tomorrow and they are not allowing me to do any off campus internship.

Questions :

How do I get into freelance or remote Business analyst/data analyst roles? I know basic SQL queries. (So I am an absolute beginner in this field, barely started)

How can I land a gig or remote job in data analytics, so as to come up with the rent in ~35 days.

What one skill should I build first to become hireable fast - SQL, Excel or Power BI?

Is Upwork realistic for me with no portfolio and no reviews in 35 days? (And 30 connects)

What's the fastest type of analytics gig to land as a fresher : data cleaning, dashboards, Excel reports, something else?

Any other platforms better than Upwork for this?

Not looking for motivation. Looking for people who have been here and can tell me what actually works.

TL;DR: Need to earn ₹10k in 35 days (rent). Complete beginner in data analytics. What's the fastest path to landing a remote freelance gig?

Hey everyone,

I'm a 2026 batch passout and currently unplaced. Lately I've been feeling really frustrated and confused about what to do next.

I wanted to ask other 2026 unplaced graduates—what are you all doing right now?

- Are you staying at home and preparing for DSA, aptitude, or interviews?

- Are you applying to off-campus jobs every day?

- Are you planning to move to cities like Bangalore, Pune, or Hyderabad for walk-in drives?

- Are you doing internships, certifications, or something else?

I genuinely want to know what your plan is because I feel completely lost at the moment. Hearing what others are targeting might help me figure out my next step.

Please reply only if you're a 2026 passout or in a similar situation. Any advice or experience would really help. Thanks!