A software engineer with a strong background in electrical engineering and a lucrative career in generative AI is questioning whether it is possible to reconcile passion with pay in India’s evolving tech landscape.
The engineer, who studied at a Tier-1 institute and has a longstanding interest in robotics and electronics, admitted in a Reddit post that a lack of focus during college pushed him into software roles for better job prospects.
“I studied electrical engineering at Tier1 institute and was always fascinated by robotics and electronics. Didn’t study well during engineering days and had to apply for software jobs to get a decent salary. It’s 5 years now and my annual TC is 50 LPA along with ESOPs. I am a full-stack developer mainly working on gen AI applications. But I want to know if I can switch to machine learning in the field of robotics or maybe even explore being an fpga developer,” he wrote.
Despite financial stability, the professional expressed a desire to switch to machine learning in robotics or explore FPGA (field-programmable gate array) development-areas closer to his academic interests.
“But I want to know if I can switch to machine learning in the field of robotics or maybe even explore being an fpga developer. Is anyone working in similar fields? Can the compensation of these fields match the salaries offered by software roles? I have emis and other responsibilities, so can’t go back to lower paying jobs just for passion sake.”
He sought advice from others in the industry, asking whether careers in robotics and FPGA design can offer salaries comparable to high-paying software roles, particularly in generative AI.