I recently joined an early-stage startup at 3 LPA as a developer. I had 6 months of remote internship experience before this. The company doesn't provide equipment, so I'm using my own Mac m4

I'm considering buying a LG 27' 4K monitor (\~₹20k) for productivity (less than 4k resolution usually don't work with Mac and 20k is the least)

But I'm unsure because:

\- I may switch within 1 year.

\- Next job could be WFO, making the monitor mostly useless.

\- If the next job is remote, they may provide a monitor/equipment.

\- 3 LPA is not a very high salary, so I'm hesitant to spend on non-essential stuff.

For devs, would you buy the monitor now or wait?

I recently joined an early-stage startup at 3 LPA as a developer. I had 6 months of remote internship experience before this. The company doesn't provide equipment, so I'm using my own Mac m4

I'm considering buying a LG 27' 4K monitor (\~₹20k) for productivity (less than 4k resolution usually don't work with Mac and 20k is the least)

But I'm unsure because:

\- I may switch within 1 year.

\- Next job could be WFO, making the monitor mostly useless.

\- If the next job is remote, they may provide a monitor/equipment.

\- 3 LPA is not a very high salary, so I'm hesitant to spend on non-essential stuff.

For devs, would you buy the monitor now or wait? And which monitor?

Context - we are both M. Same age as 22. 5 yo friends.

So there was Sunday, I decided to surprise my friend that we will go hangout at some malls or a nice place

Usually I don't go much because of the 12 hr remote job 6 days a week.

So bring my two wheeler and extra helmet to go long somewhere.

He is already kinda jerk mentally i know. So during the ride i told him about kinda surprise that we are going somewhere and he has to wear a helmet, he will not wear it.

I got furious that he's bullshit behaviour. Then I said either wear it or get down from the vehicle right away.

He got down and I went ahead i was angry that I would work 70 hrs a week and want to hangout at some nice places. And I also brought a vehicle which is not mind and a pair of helmets which is also not mine, still he's behaviour is like that.

After 1 he called and we argued and decided to get along and we hung out in a couple of places. I got slowed down from my corporate job and felt nice.

But after a day, i am still mad about him. He is uneducated, less intelligent I know but how could someone be like that. IAO?

Hi folks, need some brutal honesty. I'm a B.Tech '26 grad and recently had to choose between two offers (both are remote):

• Offer 1: 6 LPA | Automation Testing | 35+ people | 5 days, 8-10 hrs (Good WLB)
• Offer 2 (its been 1 month since joined): 3 LPA | Software Engineer | 3-person startup | 6 days, 10-12 hrs (Toxic WLB)

I chose the 3 LPA SWE role. My logic was that taking a Testing job right out of college might pigeonhole me, and I wanted to stick to core dev and AI full-stack for my long-term career.

The learning curve is steep and I'm building things from scratch and initializing the new repos, but the 70+ hour weekly grind for half the salary is burning me out completely.

Did I make a huge mistake sacrificing my WLB and CTC just for the SWE tag and dev experience? Will this hustle actually pay off when I switch next year? Would love to hear from experienced devs.

Hi folks, need some brutal honesty. I'm a B.Tech '26 grad and recently had to choose between two offers (both are remote):

• Offer 1: 6 LPA | Automation Testing | 35+ people | 5 days, 8-10 hrs (Good WLB)
• Offer 2 (its been 1 month since joined): 3 LPA | Software Engineer | 3-person startup | 6 days, 10-12 hrs (Toxic WLB)

I chose the 3 LPA SWE role. My logic was that taking a Testing job right out of college might pigeonhole me, and I wanted to stick to core dev and AI full-stack for my long-term career.

The learning curve is steep and I'm building things from scratch and initializing the new repos, but the 70+ hour weekly grind for half the salary is burning me out completely.

Did I make a huge mistake sacrificing my WLB and CTC just for the SWE tag and dev experience? Will this hustle actually pay off when I switch next year? Would love to hear from experienced devs.

Hi folks, need some brutal honesty. I'm a B.Tech '26 grad and recently had to choose between two offers (both are remote):

• Offer 1: 6 LPA | Automation Testing | 35+ people | 5 days, 8-10 hrs (Good WLB)
• Offer 2 (its been 1 month since joined): 3 LPA | Software Engineer | 3-person startup | 6 days, 10-12 hrs (Toxic WLB)

I chose the 3 LPA SWE role. My logic was that taking a Testing job right out of college might pigeonhole me, and I wanted to stick to core dev and AI full-stack for my long-term career.

The learning curve is steep and I'm building things from scratch and initializing the new repos, but the 70+ hour weekly grind for half the salary is burning me out completely.

Did I make a huge mistake sacrificing my WLB and CTC just for the SWE tag and dev experience? Will this hustle actually pay off when I switch next year? Would love to hear from experienced devs.

Hi folks, need some brutal honesty. I'm a B.Tech '26 grad and recently had to choose between two offers (both are remote):

• Offer 1: 6 LPA | Automation Testing | 35+ people | 5 days, 8-10 hrs (Good WLB)
• Offer 2 (its been 1 month since joined): 3 LPA | Software Engineer | 3-person startup | 6 days, 10-12 hrs (Toxic WLB)

I chose the 3 LPA SWE role. My logic was that taking a Testing job right out of college might pigeonhole me, and I wanted to stick to core dev and AI full-stack for my long-term career.

The learning curve is steep and I'm building things from scratch and initializing the new repos, but the 70+ hour weekly grind for half the salary is burning me out completely.

Did I make a huge mistake sacrificing my WLB and CTC just for the SWE tag and dev experience? Will this hustle actually pay off when I switch next year? Would love to hear from experienced devs.

Hi folks, need some brutal honesty. I'm a B.Tech '26 grad and recently had to choose between two offers (both are remote):

• Offer 1: 6 LPA | Automation Testing | 35+ people | 5 days, 8-10 hrs (Good WLB)
• Offer 2 (its been 1 month since joined): 3 LPA | SWE | 3-person startup | 6 days, 10-12 hrs (Toxic WLB)

I chose the 3 LPA SWE role. My logic was that taking a Testing job right out of college might pigeonhole me, and I wanted to stick to core dev and AI full-stack for my long-term career.

The learning curve is steep and I'm building things from scratch and initializing the new repos, but the 70+ hour weekly grind for half the salary is burning me out completely.

Did I make a huge mistake sacrificing my WLB and CTC just for the SWE tag and dev experience? Will this hustle actually pay off when I switch next year? Would love to hear from experienced devs.

Hi everyone, I’m a final-year student (2026 grad) facing a major career dilemma and could really use some honest perspective from folks who have been in the industry for a while. I need to make a decision fast.

Here is how the two options stack up:

Option 1: My Current Job (Joined 1 month ago)

• Title: Software Developer
• CTC: 3 LPA (100% Remote)
• The Setup: A tiny, unfunded, early-stage startup. The entire core team is literally 3 people.
• The Reality: Keeping the "Software Developer" title is great on paper, and I am actively building an AI-powered SaaS backend. However, the environment is chaotic—extreme hours (+12 hours daily), tight budgets, and a high risk of immediate burnout.

Option 2: Campus Placement Offer (Just cleared) - Zombie company

• Title: Automation Engineer
• CTC: 6 LPA (A clean 100% salary jump, 100% Remote)
• The Setup: A stable, bootstrapped US-based SaaS company that has been around for 20 years (Indian operations team is around 30 people). Fixed Sat-Sun off, but has strict 8-hour daily activity tracking.
• The Reality: Roughly 80% of the employees in India are test engineers. The interview was basic—loops, 5 git commands, and Postman. It's obviously an automation infrastructure and QA scripting role (Playwright/Appium) rather than core product engineering.

The Dilemma: I'm torn between two completely different career risks:

1. Stick with the 3 LPA Software Developer role: I protect my development title and work on actual backend systems, but I remain severely underpaid, overworked, and tied to a volatile micro-startup that could run out of runway.
2. Take the 6 LPA Automation role: I instantly double my salary floor. The fixed 8-hour shift means I can easily log off, grind DSA, and build my full-stack side projects in my free time. But I risk getting filtered into the "QA box" by ATS parsers later.

To be clear: I plan to switch to a core Software Developer role after one year regardless of which company I choose. My primary motivation for considering Option 2 is to use the 6 LPA salary as a higher baseline for my market value and future negotiation leverage.

My questions for the seniors:

• Is it a bad move to reject a 100% salary hike as a fresh grad just to keep a "Software Developer" title at an unfunded micro-startup?
• If my personal portfolio and GitHub are heavily packed with actual full-stack web apps (MERN stack, Next.js, TypeScript) and system design projects, how difficult is it realistically to transition from an "Automation Engineer" title back to core SWE roles during my next switch using my 6 LPA salary as leverage?

Appreciate any brutal honesty or guidance from those who understand the current hiring market.

Hey everyone,

I’m facing a major career dilemma as a final-year student (2026 grad) and could really use some honest perspective from folks who have been in the industry for a while.

I’m currently torn between two completely different paths, and I need to make a decision fast.

Here is how the two options stack up:

Option 1: My Current Job (Joined 1 month ago)

• Title: Software Development Engineer (SDE)
• CTC: 3 LPA
• Work Model: 100% Remote
• The Setup: A tiny, completely unfunded, early-stage startup. The entire core team is literally just 5 people.
• The Reality: Keeping the "SDE" title as a fresher is great on paper, but the environment is exactly what you'd expect—extreme hours (12-14 hours), chaotic management, tight budgets, and a high risk of burnout. I am building scalable AI-powered Saas backend.

Option 2: The Campus Placement Offer (Just cleared)

• Title: Automation Engineer
• CTC: 6 LPA (A clean 100% salary jump)
• Work Model: 100% Remote (Fixed Sat-Sun off, but strict 8-hour daily activity tracking)
• The Setup: A stable, bootstrapped US-based SaaS company that has been around for 20 years, though the Indian operations team is lean (around 30 people).
• The Reality: Looking at their LinkedIn, roughly 80% of the employees in India are test engineers. The technical interview was a joke—basic loops, 5 git commands, and making a quick Postman request. It's incredibly obvious this is a glorified manual QA / regression script maintenance role (Playwright, Appium) rather than actual product engineering. They basically wrapped a standard QA job in trendy "AI vibe-coding" buzzwords to attract college grads.

The Dilemma

I'm torn between two completely different risks:

1. Stick with the 3 LPA SDE role: I protect my development title, but I remain severely underpaid, overworked, and tied to a volatile 5-person startup that could run out of steam at any moment.
2. Take the 6 LPA Automation role: I instantly double my salary floor. The fixed 8-hour shift means I can easily log off, grind DSA, and keep building my full-stack side projects. But I risk getting trapped in the "QA box," and I'll have to aggressively rebrand my resume a year from now to switch back to dev roles.

Is it stupid to reject a 100% salary hike as a fresher just to keep an "SDE" title at an unfunded micro-startup? If my personal portfolio and GitHub are packed with actual full-stack web apps and system design projects, how hard is it really to jump from an "Automation Engineer" title back to core SWE?

Hey everyone,

I’m facing a major career dilemma as a final-year student (2026 grad) and could really use some honest perspective from folks who have been in the industry for a while.

I’m currently torn between two completely different paths, and I need to make a decision fast.

Here is how the two options stack up:

Option 1: My Current Job (Joined 1 month ago)

• Title: Software Development Engineer (SDE)
• CTC: 3 LPA
• Work Model: 100% Remote
• The Setup: A tiny, completely unfunded, early-stage startup. The entire core team is literally just 5 people.
• The Reality: Keeping the "SDE" title as a fresher is great on paper, but the environment is exactly what you'd expect—extreme hours (12-14 hours), chaotic management, tight budgets, and a high risk of burnout. I am building scalable AI-powered Saas backend.

Option 2: The Campus Placement Offer (Just cleared)

• Title: Automation Engineer
• CTC: 6 LPA (A clean 100% salary jump)
• Work Model: 100% Remote (Fixed Sat-Sun off, but strict 8-hour daily activity tracking)
• The Setup: A stable, bootstrapped US-based SaaS company that has been around for 20 years, though the Indian operations team is lean (around 30 people).
• The Reality: Looking at their LinkedIn, roughly 80% of the employees in India are test engineers. The technical interview was a joke—basic loops, 5 git commands, and making a quick Postman request. It's incredibly obvious this is a glorified manual QA / regression script maintenance role (Playwright, Appium) rather than actual product engineering. They basically wrapped a standard QA job in trendy "AI vibe-coding" buzzwords to attract college grads.

The Dilemma

I'm torn between two completely different risks:

1. Stick with the 3 LPA SDE role: I protect my development title, but I remain severely underpaid, overworked, and tied to a volatile 5-person startup that could run out of steam at any moment.
2. Take the 6 LPA Automation role: I instantly double my salary floor. The fixed 8-hour shift means I can easily log off, grind DSA, and keep building my full-stack side projects. But I risk getting trapped in the "QA box," and I'll have to aggressively rebrand my resume a year from now to switch back to dev roles.

Is it stupid to reject a 100% salary hike as a fresher just to keep an "SDE" title at an unfunded micro-startup? If my personal portfolio and GitHub are packed with actual full-stack web apps and system design projects, how hard is it really to jump from an "Automation Engineer" title back to core SWE?

Hey everyone,

I’m facing a major career dilemma as a final-year student (2026 grad) and could really use some honest perspective from folks who have been in the industry for a while.

I’m currently torn between two completely different paths, and I need to make a decision fast.

Here is how the two options stack up:

Option 1: My Current Job (Joined 1 month ago)

• Title: Software Development Engineer (SDE)
• CTC: 3 LPA
• Work Model: 100% Remote
• The Setup: A tiny, completely unfunded, early-stage startup. The entire core team is literally just 5 people.
• The Reality: Keeping the "SDE" title as a fresher is great on paper, but the environment is exactly what you'd expect—extreme hours (12-14 hours), chaotic management, tight budgets, and a high risk of burnout. I am building scalable AI-powered Saas backend.

Option 2: The Campus Placement Offer (Just cleared)

• Title: Automation Engineer
• CTC: 6 LPA (A clean 100% salary jump)
• Work Model: 100% Remote (Fixed Sat-Sun off, but strict 8-hour daily activity tracking)
• The Setup: A stable, bootstrapped US-based SaaS company that has been around for 20 years, though the Indian operations team is lean (around 30 people).
• The Reality: Looking at their LinkedIn, roughly 80% of the employees in India are test engineers. The technical interview was a joke—basic loops, 5 git commands, and making a quick Postman request. It's incredibly obvious this is a glorified manual QA / regression script maintenance role (Playwright, Appium) rather than actual product engineering. They basically wrapped a standard QA job in trendy "AI vibe-coding" buzzwords to attract college grads.

The Dilemma

I'm torn between two completely different risks:

1. Stick with the 3 LPA SDE role: I protect my development title, but I remain severely underpaid, overworked, and tied to a volatile 5-person startup that could run out of steam at any moment.
2. Take the 6 LPA Automation role: I instantly double my salary floor. The fixed 8-hour shift means I can easily log off, grind DSA, and keep building my full-stack side projects. But I risk getting trapped in the "QA box," and I'll have to aggressively rebrand my resume a year from now to switch back to dev roles.

Is it stupid to reject a 100% salary hike as a fresher just to keep an "SDE" title at an unfunded micro-startup? If my personal portfolio and GitHub are packed with actual full-stack web apps and system design projects, how hard is it really to jump from an "Automation Engineer" title back to core SWE?

Is automation that bad?

​

I'm 26 grad, working as sde 3lpa remote at startup for 1 month.

​

I have interview for automation engineer for 3-4 lpa. Deciding to grab if it offer me 4.5.

​

Will it be the wrong decision?

Is automation that bad?

​

I'm 26 grad, working as swe 3lpa remote at startup for 1 month.

​

I have an interview for an automation engineer for 3-4 lpa also at startup. Deciding to grab if it offer me 4.5.

​

Will it be the wrong decision?

Hey guys, finishing up my BTech CS in 2 months and just landed my first full-time Software Engineer role after a 6-month full-stack internship. The company is a very early-stage bootstrapped startup (only 3-4 people total).

The whole process took forever and felt unusual, so I want to get some reality checks from seniors on how to navigate this while I prep my next switch.

The Weird Hiring Timeline (2 Months Total)

• Mid-March: Given a take-home architecture assignment (building a food ordering app backend).
• March 19 (Tech Round): 1-hour live interview. Instead of heavy MERN grilling or DSA, I explained my architecture and built a feature live using "vibe code."
• April 15 (Culture Round): Waited nearly a month just to have a 1-hour managerial/behavioral fit round.
• May 17 (Offer): Waited another whole month to finally get the offer letter.

The Setup & Pushback

• Pay: 3 LPA base. (I know it is low, but I took it to get production-level backend experience on my resume).
• Location: Fully remote. The founder actually asked me to relocate, but I flat-out declined. He accepted the remote setup.
• Probation: 2 months, which they can extend or reduce at will. 7-day notice period.

The Onboarding Form

Because they have no HR, the founder sent a mandatory pre-onboarding Google Form. It asked for standard legal stuff (Aadhar, Bank Details) right alongside middle-school slam book questions like "What are your Vice Habits?" and "Who is your Favorite Personality?" I kept my answers extremely generic, but it was a bizarre mix of professional data and forced quirky culture.

What I need guidance on:

I am graduating in 2 months and honestly want to switch from this job as soon as possible.

1. Leveraging the Title: How soon can I start applying to mid-sized companies with this "Software Engineer" title without it looking like immediate job-hopping?
2. The 7-Day Notice Period: Since my notice period is only 7 days during this 2-month probation, is it safe to aggressively interview right now and drop this job the second I get a 6+ LPA offer?
3. Setting Boundaries: How do I avoid getting squeezed for 12 hours a day by a demanding founder so I still have time to grind for my next switch?

Would appreciate any brutal honesty on how to use this startup as a stepping stone!