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Ask HN: Do Bangaloreans really make $6k-18k/year?

1 points by winter_blue ↗ HN
I'm in Bangalore right now, having been out of the country (an NRI) for the longest time. I'm going to be looking for jobs here soon.

The wages here sound absolutely horrible - or even ridiculous, to say the least.

I heard from one source the range for recent graduates is Rs. 30k-50k/month, which is $7k-$11k.

That's quite horrible, considering the work you do (as a software developer) isn't in any way substantially different from what you'd do elsewhere.

Does anyone have more data on this?

I would consider myself quite a computer geek -- been tinkering with computers since age 8, started off with BASIC, learned C when I was 15, and so on...

5 comments

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byoung2
That's quite horrible, considering the work you do (as a software developer) isn't in any way substantially different from what you'd do elsewhere.

The cost of living is also substantially lower there:

http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/city_result.jsp?country...

Compared to Los Angeles, where I live, it looks like most things are about 1/6 the cost, including meals, rent, and groceries. I could rent an apartment in Bangalore's city center for less than I pay on Cable TV here. So it makes sense that salaries would be much lower in Bangalore than they are here.

winter_blue
True, but there are also things that don't get cheaper.

One good example is hosting. Linode/Rackspace monthly charges can eat your lunch.

Another is electronic equipment. Computers, smartphones and all other gadgets are not a tad bit cheaper -- they cost the same, and sometimes even more than they do in other countries.

Same applies to cars. A Camry will cost you nearly double its sticker price due to 104% tax on foreign-made cars. Indian-made cars cost $10'000 and up -- for nothing that even comes close to comfort and cruising of a Toyota/Nissan engine.

I know, I know; these are not big points -- what really upsets me though is -- being paid peanuts when people doing the exact same thing as you are making 10 or even 15 times more in other countries. I know people in Google, Zynga and other places all making $140k or more (in the U.S.)

dilithiumhe3
One of the primary reasons not to work there! But then you do have to realize that the cost of living is a fraction of what it is in US. I think 30-50K is pretty much on the low-average end even for a new grad. When I graduated from college in bangalore (2004) I was offered a salary that would translate to about 21K USD (but in INR of course). So, you should probably look into it. Colleges such as RVCE (my alma mater) do publish median salaries and std. deviation every year on their website.
winter_blue
I actually have a bachelor's degree in Computer Science from a fairly highly ranked AAU[1] research university. I had to leave the US right after graduation for some reasons, so here I am in Bangalore.

Most of my fellow graduates (and those that graduated the year before) are making from $60k on the low end to $150k on the high end. That's $150k with less than 1 year's experience (but these are really smart hackers). $85k seems to be the sweet point for fresh graduates though.

Not sure where I'll be next though -- I'm looking for an interesting startup-like work atmosphere, and Bangalore seems to be mostly populated with dull outsourcing companies.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_American_Univers...

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