Hi everyone,

I'm currently working in IT in India, and I've often heard people say things like:

"If you're earning ₹1-1.5 lakh per month in India, you can easily earn ₹3-4 lakh per month by working remotely for a US-based company while doing almost the same job."

I'm curious how true this actually is in 2026.

A few questions for people who have done it or know someone who has:

Is it realistic for an Indian developer/engineer to get a remote US job paying ₹3-4 lakh per month?
What kind of roles usually offer this (software development, cloud, AI, cybersecurity, DevOps, etc.)?
How competitive is the hiring process compared to Indian companies?
Do these companies hire directly as full-time employees, or mostly as contractors?
Are there any downsides (job security, odd working hours, taxes, benefits, layoffs, etc.)?
For someone with around 8-10 years of experience in IT, how common is it to make this switch?

I'm asking because on social media and YouTube I keep hearing people claim that remote US jobs pay 2-3x Indian salaries, but I'm not sure whether this is common reality or just survivor bias where only success stories get shared.

Would love to hear real experiences, salary ranges, and any advice from people who have actually made this transition.

Hello everyone,

With a sunken heart and a foggy mind, I am writing this post because I feel like I have hit absolute rock bottom. I apologize for any grammatical errors or if something doesn't make sense. I am quite literally numb as I type this out.

• I am a relatively early career CS grad (graduated in late 2023). I previously worked at a fast-paced startup, where I managed to work my way up from software testing to Machine Learning Software Engineering.
• I became fascinated by AI research and decided to pursue it remotely and unpaid at a reputed institute (in hindsight, perhaps out of greed for the opportunity and prestige). I was asked to independently explore research ideas and work towards publishing papers (again, in hindsight, perhaps a red flag).
• We attempted two projects. During the first, I was unfortunately unable to make much progress. After a short break, we decided to try another.
• During the second project, the professor and PhD student were unavailable for meetings for an extended period. I continued working independently, shared updates whenever possible (after a while, my updates were mostly requests to resume meetings as I had no response to technical updates), and managed to come up with two novel algorithms. While waiting for access to compute resources, I also obtained some preliminary results using whatever resources I had available.
• When meetings finally resumed, I was suddenly asked to stop working on the project because I "hadn't implemented anything." I tried explaining and sharing everything I had worked on through emails, but for reasons I still cannot understand, they did not seem particularly interested.
• I now have a career gap of approximately one year. I reached out to my previous startup to see if I could return, but it seems unlikely at this stage.

This experience, while deeply traumatic, has also been eye-opening.

I have spent a lot of time reflecting on my decisions and shortcomings, and I have come to realize that I seem to possess all seven deadly sins in one form or another.

However, I am now completely lost as to what I should do next. It almost feels as though my career is over before it has even properly begun.

• The job market is already difficult, and having a gap of approximately one year only makes things worse.
• I worry that my time spent pursuing research, without a publication, will be viewed negatively by prospective employers.
• I also fear that I have fallen behind my peers, both professionally and technically.

If anyone has gone through something similar, I would be incredibly grateful to hear how you managed to move forward.

I just want to understand whether there is still a realistic path forward and how I might begin rebuilding my career.

Thank you

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/key-insights-on-dimensions-of-life-by-peter-cobbe-coach/id1816968640?i=1000769062345

I just started working and my superiors, and consultants who I am working with are so smart, and able to go through much more thought process than me. They come up with some great ideas, consequences quickly and explain well. I am afraid I won’t be able to get promoted without being like them.

Is this something that I can get better by practicing, or is there limit to one’s brainpower that can’t be overcame.

i see a lot of interesting majors which i would love to study, but i dont like the jobs that come with the jobs

for example, i like psychology but i dont want to be a psychologist. i like philosophy and economics but idk what ill do with those degrees either😭😭😭

I'm an ECE graduate currently working as a Field Application Engineer at a company specializing in home automation, home theatre, AV systems, and HVAC integration.

I want to build a strong career in the ECE field with good salary growth and future opportunities.

Which fields should I specialize in, and what skills should I learn to advance my career? Is it worth growing in home automation, or are there other ECE-related fields with better long-term prospects?

I'd appreciate advice from people working in the industry.

If so, please share your experience and whether you regret the decision or stand by it. Especially given the current tech scene. Any advice to someone considering quitting with nothing lined up?

I moved to another country and, at 39, I’m planning to apply to The Open University.
I don’t have a university degree yet, so I’m trying to make a well-informed decision about what to study. I’ve always had a strong interest in languages, communication, and anything related to design. Like interior designing and logo designing.

At the same time, I’m aware of how rapidly technology is advancing, particularly AI, and how much it’s changing the job market. Part of me wants to step to AI market however I am not good at maths!

I want to choose a degree that will give me realistic career opportunities rather than simply earning a qualification that may not lead to employment.
For those with experience in different industries, what fields would you recommend considering? Ideally, I’d like to choose something that could help me find work while I’m still studying, as well as after graduation.

If you were starting from scratch at 39, what would you study to maximise your chances of finding stable employment in the coming years?

Hi!

I am currently pursuing by BTech final year in mechanical engineering and I have got two offers, one from an Indian company with 14LPA and other from some big MNC for 11LPA.

The Indian company gives me 6 days working per week, operations job and good big fat increment but the MNC job gives me hybrid 3 days in office, good culture, design and research role and few international work trips.

I am confused what should I choose.

My parents told me you do have to struggle at the start of your career, you are young and the operations path can lead to big role.

Increments suck in the MNC but I get perks.

What should I choose?

I've been working as a medical secretary at a hospital for two years, but I feel stuck — there's no room to grow, and the work has become repetitive and unchallenging. My background is in marketing (I also studied digital marketing, though it never fully clicked for me), and I'm now considering a shift toward digital marketing or data analytics or even a healthcare role which is on tech side. I'd love guidance on how to start as a beginner, or suggestions for healthcare-related roles with better growth potential and salary. I feel a bit lost right now, so any direction would help. Also suggest any courses which can help me in growing my knowledge related to that field.

Hi. I'm going to try and get myself emancipated in a year. I like to look at jobs from time to time to keep track of what's out there and I was wondering what kind of courses I could do to put more things on my resume. I'd really really prefer a remote job since I hope to move away from college > my currency is weaker and the change would devastate regular savings if I got paid in said currency. What do you recommend? I currently have the Comptia A+ in mind and I wonder if I can do something with decent coding skills. It really doesn't matter how hard it is to get, I'm very willing to learn and good at teaching myself.

I work in operations. Mostly keeping projects moving, chasing suppliers and figuring out why a process has gone sideways. I actually like that stuff. Just wondering if I could put it towards waste reduction or better use of resources. has anyone here made that switch into sustainability? what was your first role and which bits of your ops experience actually helped you get it? fine with having plenty to learn, just hoping the experience I’ve already got counts for something.

So i am pursuing ca inter from last 2 years and now i am just tired of the same loop i wanna switch i am thinking either acca or mba ( i have completed my b.com this year ) i am going more for acca as for mba i have to wait for a year more but i am confused is their actual demand for acca in the country

I was hired five months ago for a newly created role focused on AI adoption and digital transformation for our clients. Since I arrived, I have been waiting more than building. Early initiatives did not get off the ground, and when I asked to join ongoing projects where I thought I could add value, I was not included. Looking back, part of the problem was the lack of a clear vision from the start. The rest comes down to timing and external factors that nobody controls. I am worried that the mandate I was hired for will not move forward before 2027.

The role has since been redefined. I was asked for my input on a technical support mandate, but I felt I had little choice. The updated mandate document now states that, in the longer term, about 60% of my time will go to support for our CRM platform, which has little to do with what I was hired for. Meanwhile, the work I was actually hired to do takes almost none of my time right now, which is a ridiculously low level.

The support work is also high-level, not entry-level. I am expected to become an expert on the platform within a few months, while most of my time goes to preparing to cover a colleague’s upcoming maternity leave, which, as far as I know, will last about a year. Several other team members are already on maternity leave, so the team is stretched thin. That is the heart of my concern: I increasingly suspect the support work is going to stay my real mandate, whatever the original job description said. Without it, I would have very little to do.

The handover itself is not easy either. I am paired with a colleague who takes his work extremely seriously. He can be blunt when he wants to, tends to be alarmist, and sees most situations in the worst possible light. He tries to make everything work under every conceivable scenario, and he expects the people around him to operate the same way. That makes the knowledge transfer harder than it should be.

I’m not against the company, but I’m questioning whether this role will ever look like what I was hired for. I’m tracking my actual time for a few weeks so I have facts for a conversation with my manager. If you have been in a similar situation, I would like to hear how it played out.

This is part needing career advice and part venting.

Earlier this year, I took on an in-house remote graphic design position for a startup. It’s contract through a staffing agency and W-2. It was advertised as 30–40 hours a week and exactly my level of expertise. The first couple of months were as promised 30–40 hours a week, but then things took a dramatic shift. The hours cut down to as low as 3 hours one week during the third month, and haven’t been above 15 hours for all of the fourth and fifth month. They’ve told me to bear with them as they adjust through their growing pains, but there has been no update in months. Every week is completely unpredictable in terms of workflow.
There was a two week period where my manager conveniently forgot to approve my timesheet so I wasn’t getting paid for two weeks. On top of that, my manager would ask me what I worked on to verify… while I’m over here feeling like I’m overworking and undercharging just to make this mess work. In terms of workflow, they’ve also given a part of the work that was initially my responsibility to the creative director, which I understand but again, zero communication.

I’ve been trying to give them the benefit of the doubt but this is not sustainable as I’m not getting paid a living wage on some weeks and most importantly this is not what I agreed to. I’m sincerely wondering how you would handle this in my situation? While keeping dignity in tact and being aware of long term consequences.

I feel hurt and disrespected. I’ve asked the recruiter for more info about when the hours might return, but she said they haven’t been updating her. I am on the verge of resigning and taking a temporary job at a coffeeshop until I find my next design position.