The recession and large-scale layoffs in the technology sector have forced many professionals to change their career path. The story of an Indian software engineer named Mukesh Mandal is going viral on social media.
Mukesh was earlier associated with companies like Microsoft and was considered an expert in AI technology. Now he is working as a sweeper in St. Petersburg, Russia. However, you will be surprised to know that for this work he is getting a salary of around Rs 1 lakh per month.
Along with Mukesh Mandal, 16 other Indians are also engaged in road cleaning and maintenance work in Russia. At present there is a huge shortage of labor in Russia, taking advantage of which these Indians decided to go there. The company not only good salary Not only is she providing them, she is also taking the responsibility of their accommodation, food and security. Mukesh says that no work is small for him and his aim is to save money by staying there for only 1 year and then return back to India to fulfill his dreams.
Journey from software coding to road cleaning
Mukesh Mandal (26) told in an interview to Russian media outlet ‘Fontanka’ that he is a developer by profession. While living in India, he worked for companies like Microsoft and used ChatGPT based platforms. But due to financial uncertainty and change in career, he decided to go to Russia. These days, Mukesh is working with St. Petersburg’s municipal road maintenance company ‘Kolomyazhskoye’ to clean roads and remove garbage.
Salary in lakhs and amazing facilities
Mukesh Mandal and his colleagues get a salary of 100,000 Russian rubles (about ₹ 1.1 lakh) per month. Apart from this, the company also provides them free accommodation, food, protective clothing and transport facilities to the workplaces. The company has also taken care of their cultural and religious eating habits, such as not including ‘beef’ in their food. This salary is much higher than the starting salary of an average software engineer in India, which makes this job attractive for them.
Why did Mukesh Mandal choose this path?
When Mukesh Mandal was asked why he left coding and took up the broom, he answered very simply. He said that he is an Indian and work does not matter to an Indian. For them work is God. You can work anywhere – in the toilet, on the road, anywhere… it is his duty and he wants to do it in the best possible way. His statement has emerged as a great example of ‘Dignity of Labour’.
Labor shortage in Russia becomes opportunity
Russia is currently struggling with a labor crisis, especially in the field of manual labour. To fill this gap, 17 Indians have been called in St. Petersburg under a pilot project. These include not only engineers, but also architects, wedding planners, drivers and farmers. All of them believe that working conditions and economic benefits in Russia are currently better than in India. That’s why they feel better working there.
Mukesh says that this is a temporary arrangement. He will return to India after 1 year. His story teaches that an educated youth does not shy away from working hard for survival in difficult times.