The Job That Took Everything Out of Me (2025 Grad)
Hello everyone,
This is the first time I am expressing myself publicly, I am 2025 grad from tier 2 college with Specialization in AIML,It all started from Campus placements, I got placed as Data Scientist/ML Engineer at one of the Indian Unicorn companies with package 7.5LPA on 12th December 2024.I wish i hadn't been selected for this company. I was really happy as i got placed ,due to college placement rules i got blocked from further campus placements, as i already got placed with the role i liked, i stopped applying off-campus.
My college placement rules were like
A student can have a maximum of two offers, but only one offer from any particular category
Category 1- <5 LPA
Category 2- 5-11 or 12 LPA
Category 3- above 12 LPA
In June 2025 ,i got my offer letter but with lower CTC 4.5 LPA(4+.5) but still i was like its okay as they are providing me the role which i was interested ,as i was placed in category 2,so i was only eligible for category 3, only very few companies came in this category, and i know about myself that i wont get placed in higher package, but moreover i wanted a job in AI domain, and these were of different roles. when i was not eligible in category 2 many good products based companies came around 10-12 LPA.
when i joined they handed me a testing role, the irony was others were earning 7.5 LPA ,as i come from tier 2/tier 3 my CTC was low. I was drained and exhausted in the company so i left with just 3 months of experience without any other offers.
I started searching for job, in February i got a job at a Startup as R&D (AI) Engineer, i accepted although it was a 6 day work week as i got the role which i liked. Here comes the twist my joining date was on February 2nd 2026, they already shared me the offer letter and even asked how will you collect your laptop(i insisted i would collect on the date of joining). on January 30th of 2026 they withdrew my offer due to organizational restructuring and unforeseen circumstances. They took 5 rounds of interview to withdraw my offer at last moment.
It's been 8 months and i am still searching for an entry level role in AI/ML domain , I am about to break with the fate i am carrying.
Skills: Python, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, NLP, PyTorch, Langgraph, RAG, LLMs, SQL, FastAPI(basics)
Preferred Location: Bengaluru,
If you know of any entry-level opportunities in AI/ML , I would be truly grateful for your help.