Is asking 14–15 LPA unrealistic with AI/GenAI experience as a 2025 grad? For Big 4
So Had one of the weirdest HR calls today for a GenAI Engineer role at a Big 4.
I have around 12 months internship experience (2 startups - 100 employee size) and ~7 months contractual experience.(indian PBC)
HR asked current CTC, and I explained my previous role was more of a contractual AI consulting setup after my internship got extended post-graduation (\~40k/month).
Then they asked expected CTC and I said around 14–15 based on the kind of AI/backend systems work I’ve been doing recently (RAG workflows, backend orchestration, operational AI systems, etc).
After that the energy on the call completely changed 😭
Long silence, weird tone, then eventually the call dropped and they never picked up again when I called back.
I genuinely don’t even mind if the expectation is outside budget. Just say that normally? Why make the conversation awkward 😭
Curious how others handle this “current CTC vs expected CTC” situation early-career, especially when previous roles were internships/contracts but the next role is more specialized. Also, is it better to ask their budget first before sharing expectations?