My Return to India (R2I) story > R2I Chapter 7
At the time of planning my return, I had talked to my manager about my decision to move back. He was outwardly sympathetic to my predicament but indicated that he would not be bending-backward to accommodate my request to work remotely. It should be noted that this was two years before the pandemic when remote-working and Work-from-Home (WFH) were an exception, not the norm in Corporate America. My manager suggested that after exhausting my leaves, I could apply for a Family Medical Leave (FMLA) to the extent allowed by the corporate policy.
I realized that this was perhaps the best outcome I could
expect, under the circumstances. It would keep me on the rolls of Syngenta and
I would continue to enjoy the medical insurance and other benefits.
After moving back to India, I began casually networking with
old friends and colleagues to gather inputs on the job market. During the past
decades, the Indian IT sector had grown substantially, but was largely
bottom-heavy. Large tech companies recruited fresh graduates (‘freshers’) from
Tech campuses and put them through a six-month long boot-camp. After that,
these techies would gain hands-on experience for a couple of years before they
began seeking growth and pay-raise opportunities. Not surprisingly, bulk of
job-wanted posts were for junior-level hands on programmers and analysts with a
hands-on background in specific technologies.
The next layer was that of junior managers and tech-leads,
folks with 8-10 years’ experience. Given the global nature of IT, most folks in
this cadre had traveled to client locations in western countries. Hence,
“international experience” was the norm, not the exception in Indian IT.
Those at a more senior levels like me - folks with 15-20
years in the industry - were expected to lead “large teams,” essentially be placed
at the top of the bottom-heavy pyramid. A few roles were for individual
contributors – sales and marketing specialists who could drive large proposals
and deals, and a few technology ‘specialists’ with a breadth and depth in
technologies. Most of such individual-contributors roles are home-grown and the
turnover of such people is extremely limited.
During my networking, I realized that my key selling point was my American Passport, that would allow me to travel frequently to engage with clients and stakeholders. However, the reason I had moved back to India was to minimize my travels.
Career options for those returning to India; I began to refine my search criteria and options to explore opportunities in
- Freelance consulting
- Startups
- Mid-career professional at a multinational
My experience in exploring a few of these options follow.
Consulting roles for those returning to India
I came across an interesting job post for a “Director of
Innovation Incubator” at the US Embassy in Delhi. I was intrigued by this for a
couple of reasons – an opportunity to consult with a US Government, and to work
with innovative technologies. The application process was rather tedious, as
one had to fill several forms and send copies of credentials with one’s resume.
After an initial background screening, I was called for an
interview at the US Consulate in Chennai. I got an opportunity to visit the ‘back
area’ at the consulate and meet a few key officials along with a
video-conference with the leaders in Delhi.
After the discussion, the HR representative informed me that
this was a ‘local hires’ role at the embassy on a long-term contract, and the
salary would be governed by local market rales. The amount budgeted for the
role was about 12 lakh rupees per annum (about $ 16,000). I was flabbergast. Based
on general yardstick in the IT Industry, I was expecting 3-4 times that amount
at least.
During my conversations with peers, I was told that the
general norm was about 2.5-3 lakh for every year of experience. By this
yardstick, a techie with about 10 years’ experience could expect 20-25 lakhs
per annum. I thanked the recruiter for the opportunity and returned back to
Bengaluru.
While money wasn’t the prime motivator, I didn’t want to
undersell myself. Based on this experience, I decided to filter-out
governmental agencies and such consulting roles from my search.
Startups and Entrepreneurship
The startup ecosystem in the “Silicon Valley of the East” is
rather vibrant and has been bubbling up for the past decade or so. As I
networked with peers, I realized that many who had got burnt in the corporate
rat-race took refuge as entrepreneurs, investors, and venture capitalists. Tech
executives who had built some savings in Dollars and Euros were eager to jump
on to the bandwagon.
The term startup, however, is highly nebulous since it
includes the entire gamut of entrepreneurship and small business ventures in
the tech sector. On one end of the spectrum are small-scale outsourcing firms
that take on application development or a small project support for a large
organization, and on the other end are startups innovating on new tools and
technologies that are eventually acquired by larger ones like Google, Microsoft
or Facebook.
A few friends were taking the former route, supporting
software applications for clients they had worked for in the past. They had
rented small office-spaces in the suburbs of Bengaluru and hired a dozen or so
techies and trained them on the basic tools and systems. Such annual support
contracts would net them $ million or two, and after paying for the expenses
and staff, they would end up with a margin of 20-30%. I was offered an
opportunity to be a ‘passive investor’ in some of these ventures, essentially
to help them invest in infrastructure or tide over short-term cashflow issues
while they awaited payment of their Purchase Orders from clients.
A few others I knew were hiring developers to develop
‘solutions’ for problems they had seen in corporate world. An example was an
event management platform that a friend’s startup was developing. The App based
solution was designed to onboard participants to events, manage their
attendance at different sessions and breakouts enable QR based digital ID to
welcome participants at the venue. I spent a couple of months reviewing the
solution and consulting with the team but realized that the business model
didn’t account for paying a high-wage consultant like me, at least not for the
long term. Given my professional network in the west, my friend was probably
expecting me to take on a sales or marketing role and travel to meet with
prospective clients in the US and Europe, but recognized my personal constraint.
After all, I had moved back to be around for my parents.
During this time, I got an invitation to attend the Pravasi
Bharatiya Divas hosted by the Indian Government in Bangalore. The PBD, under
the leadership of Prime Minister Modi has evolved into an annual festival
planned to attract investment and talent from the global Indian Diaspora.
Thousands of people of Indian origin travel back to India, primarily to network
with Indian political leaders and bureaucrats during the three-day event.
On the third day of the session, I joined a tour of startup incubators in Bangalore sponsored by NASSCOM, which was a rather intriguing experience. Many of the startups pitching to this audience of Indian diaspora were like my friend’s enterprise - some were developing mobile applications, mashing up tools from other software giants like Google’s maps or Meta’s WhatsApp chat solution. I was a bit underwhelmed by the ‘innovativeness’ of these startups since most were simply trying to build a better mousetrap. The founders were techies themselves, and after exhausting the bootstrapped funds, they were looking for external dollar investments to sustain their ventures till the time they attracted the attention of a larger firm that might buy them out. Link: My observations on PBD 2017
Jobs in Corporate roles
I spent a few months exploring consulting and startup
opportunities, but I decided to shift my focus back to corporate roles across
Captive IT centers and service companies. After all, this was my forte, where
my skills and experiences would be most valued.
While I reviewed several job boards, LinkedIn was my primary
tool of choice for networking and exploring roles. I am relatively active on
the platform where I post occasional articles and also catch up on updates from
peers and others I have worked with.
I also started actively searching for roles in the job posts
section, sometimes connecting directly with the recruiters using my LinkedIn
Premium ‘inMail’ features. I began fielding responses from recruiters and
hiring managers, and also got a few interview calls. To say that the process of
hiring is a bit slow would be an understatement. Recruiters begin initial
screening, after which one talks with the hiring manager. In many cases, the
hiring manager is not the only decision maker, and one is screened by a ‘panel’
either together or in a sequence. The screening may involve technical and
functional rounds before eventually heading back to the HR for a discussion on
compensation.
Knowing this protracted recruitment process, I began to
interview for several opportunities at several organizations simultaneously
while tracking my status and contacts in a spreadsheet. While juggling a couple
of interviews, I got a call back from a recruiter at Conduent, a Business
Process Outsourcing company that also had substantial IT systems. After a brief conversation with Rajeev, a
Senior VP of the IT group, the HR partner informed me that I was screened for
the final discussion. She highlighted the commute – and the fact that
Whitefield Tech Park where the office was located was about 20 kilometers from
where we lived. Would I be willing to commute that distance?
This question wasn’t surprising. Indian cities are known for
their traffic jams and gridlocks. So much so that the hiring managers want to
make sure candidates are willing and able to commute an hour or two without
frequent burnout.
A couple of days after that meeting, the recruiter called me
back to discuss the salary and numbers. I had googled the average salaries for
an IT Director level position and after a quick back-and-forth, we agreed on a
number. She then indicated that it would take a few weeks for the approvals for
the offer letter to go through internally.
The timing was apt. I had exhausted my FMLA with Syngenta
and emailed my resignation. I was ready to transform from an American employee
of an American company to an Indian one of an American organization, drawing an
Indian salary.
I thought the salary I had negotiated sounded great on paper,
but I was in for a shock. I was extremely underwhelmed on seeing my first
paycheck, especially as I had figured I was among the “top 1%” earners in India,
but the Taxman took a huge cut – more than 30% since I was considered a
high-earner.
You may also be interested in these sections
- Chapter 7.1. Income Taxes - “Silver Certificate of Appreciation”
- Chapter 7.2 Observations on Work life balance in India
What does this mean to you?
The intent of sharing my experiences and anecdotes was to
give you a glimpse into the contemporary job market in India. Those relocating
with the support of their employers may not find this relevant while those in
niche career fields may need to work harder to network with peers while
relocating to India.
- While planning a return-to-India move, keep your mind open on your next gig or job or consulting role
- Career opportunities for returning expatriates do exist, but be prepared to network a lot, and budget several months for a job-search
- As you begin your job-search, be prepared for ageism and related bias.
- Income Tax rates for high-earning salaried individuals is rather huge, and generally can’t be avoided
- Traffic jams and lengthy commutes are a way of life in urban India. Be prepared for it, and don’t be shocked. Acceptance is the key to adapting.
If I can leave you with one piece of advice when it comes to job market in contemporary India, keep an open mind and network extensively.
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