A 26-year-old Bengaluru software developer, Arka Mazumder, has gone viral after sharing his career journey of increasing his salary from ₹3.2 LPA at TCS to ₹80 LPA at Google in just three years. His story, detailing strategic job changes and intensive preparation, has sparked both praise and skepticism on social media.
A 26-year-old software developer from Bengaluru has gone popular after sharing his career path on social media, saying that he moved from earning Rs 3.2 lakh per year to Rs 80 lakh per year (LPA) by moving firms in only three years.
According to Arka Mazumder, a Google employee, loyalty does not always translate into higher compensation. In an Instagram video, he said that he began his work with TCS at the age of 23 and earned Rs 3.2 LPA. Mazumder transferred to Kuku FM two years later, earning Rs 14 LPA before landing a job with Google for Rs 80 LPA.
Mazumder stated that he began his career in 2021 as an assistant system engineer under TCS’s Ninja programme, earning Rs 3.2 LPA. After college, he characterised himself as “wide-eyed and eager to learn.”
After completing TCS’s digital programme (Wings 1), he was promoted to system engineer in 2022, raising his pay to roughly Rs 7 LPA. Around the same time, he began preparing intensively for data structures and algorithms (DSA), which are typically regarded important for product-based IT employment.
In 2025, Mazumder stated that he joined Google at a salary of Rs 80 LPA, calling it the “biggest leap” in his career. He went on to say that even after accepting the position, he continued to work on complex topics like graphs, attempts, and dynamic programming, bringing his LeetCode total to over 750 tasks.
Watch Viral Video
“Like every other BTech student, I aspired to work at Google while in college. “I ended up at TCS at Rs 3.2 LPA due to lack of guidance and constraints in a Tier-3 college,” Mazumder said, adding that “this is just the beginning.” He plans to retire in five years and launch his own business.
Social Media Reacts
While many praised him, his statements were also questioned. Several people questioned the increase from Rs 15 to Rs 80 LPA.
“Rs 15 LPA to Rs 80 LPA sounds really unrealistic,” one commenter said. Another person said, “How did you convince them to do this? Wasn’t the latest drawn salary considered?”
Others were tougher. One user said, “Fourteen years in TCS… earning one‑ninth of your salary,” while another asserted, “A person with 80 LPA will not disclose on such platforms.””It’s not real.”
Mazumder has continued to reply to critiques, claiming that his path is real and motivated by meticulous planning and strategic shifts.
“People only see my Rs 80 LPA package at Google,” he said. “They don’t see the struggle behind it.”