In a country where engineering is seen as a golden ticket to success, a harsh truth is emerging — fresh B.Tech graduates, who spent about Rs.20 lacs and 4 years of their life to acquire that qualification, and working in top IT companies like TCS, Infosys, Wipro, and Cognizant, are earning less than skilled and semi-skilled workers like plumbers, electricians, and salon professionals. This story looks at the data and the disturbing reality behind such a huge gap in earning by B.Tech freshers placed from campuses.
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Back in 2007–2010, the average salary for entry-level software engineers in India stood at around ₹3.5 lakh per annum. Fast forward to 2024, and shockingly, that number remains unchanged for most fresher hires. Despite massive growth in company profits and a 100% surge in inflation, starting salaries at these tech giants remained flat. In real terms, they actually fell by more than half.
Company | Monthly Salary | Yearly Salary | Per Hour Income |
TCS (Associate System Engineer) | ₹ 28,072 | ₹ 3.36 lakh | ₹ 156 |
Infosys (System Engineer Trainee) | ₹ 30,000 | ₹ 3.60 lakh | ₹ 167 |
Cognizant (Programmer Analyst Trainee) | ₹ 33,499 | ₹ 4.01 lakh | ₹ 186 |
Wipro (Junior Member) | ₹ 25,000 | ₹ 3.00 lakh | ₹ 139 |
Assuming a standard 180-hour work month (9 hours/day, 20 days/month), the hourly earnings for these roles range from ₹139 to ₹186. These figures are shockingly low when you consider that they have remained largely unchanged since 2007-2010, when₹ 3.5 lakh per year was a competitive starting salary. Meanwhile, inflation has nearly doubled, and the cost of a B.Tech degree has surged from ₹1-2 lakh to ₹20-25 lakh over the same period. This means that graduates are investing significantly more time, effort, and money into their education, only to earn salaries that have not kept pace with economic realities.
In contrast, the profits of these IT giants have grown exponentially. For instance, companies like TCS have seen their profits soar from₹3,000-4,000 crore to ₹34,000 crore, an 8-10 fold increase. Yet, the starting salaries for fresh graduates remain stuck, highlighting a systemic issue of wage stagnation in the IT sector.
Let’s talk about the often-overlooked skilled workforce: plumbers, electricians, cleaners, massage therapists, pest control workers, beauticians, carpenters, etc. These individuals are often hired through platforms like Urban Company, which recently disclosed detailed earning reports as part of its IPO filings.
Details | Unit | All Professionals | >30 Services /Month | Top 20% by Orders | Top 10% by Orders | Top 5% by Orders |
Percentage of monthly active service professionals | % | 100 | 63 | 20 | 10 | 5 |
Gross earnings (average) | ₹ per month | 50,392 | 62,541 | 77,211 | 86,546 | 92,619 |
Urban Company fee % | % | 27.95 | 27.29 | 27.39 | 26.93 | 27.07 |
Indirect taxes borne by professionals | ₹ per month | 479 | 644 | 651 | 721 | 785 |
Travel costs | ₹ per month | 1,852 | 2,417 | 2,848 | 3,211 | 3,541 |
Product & additional personnel costs | ₹ per month | 7,490 | 8,451 | 11,267 | 12,489 | 13,504 |
Net average earnings | ₹ per month | 26,489 | 33,962 | 41,292 | 46,815 | 49,719 |
Hours spent on the platform | hours per month | 87 | 109 | 134 | 148 | 160 |
Net earnings per hour | ₹ per hour | 304 | 312 | 308 | 316 | 311 |
Yes, even the average service provider on Urban Company earns over ₹300 per hour, almost twice as much as a fresh B.Tech graduate.
Over the past 15–20 years, the starting salaries for B.Tech graduates at major IT firms like TCS, Infosys, Wipro, and Cognizant have barely changed. Despite inflation doubling, education costs rising 4–5 times, and corporate profits growing by 8–10 times, fresh graduates still earn around ₹3 to ₹3.5 lakh per annum — the same as they did in 2007–2010.
On the other hand, blue collar workers — like electricians, plumbers, drivers, and salon professionals — especially those working with platforms like Urban Company, Swiggy, Zomato, Uber, and Ola, are now earning more than engineering graduates, both monthly and per hour.
Company / Category | Earnings per Hour (₹) | Monthly Salary (₹) |
TCS (Associate System Engineer) | 156 | 28,072 |
Infosys (System Engineer Trainee) | 167 | 30,000 |
Cognizant (Programmer Analyst Trainee) | 186 | 33,499 |
Wipro (Junior Member) | 139 | 25,000 |
Urban Company (Skilled Professionals) | 311 | 49,719 |
Swiggy (Delivery Executive) | 315 | 25,234 |
Zomato (Delivery Partner) | 350 | 28,000 |
Uber (Driver) | 331 | 29,732 |
OLA (Driver) | 367 | 33,000 |
Urban Company’s average professional earns ₹311/hour, while even the top software firms offer just ₹156–₹186/hour. These skilled professionals — including plumbers, beauticians, pest control workers, carpenters, and massage therapists — often work 160 hours/month and earn up to ₹49,719 after deductions like taxes, commission, and material costs.
Back in 2007, a B.Tech student could recover their education costs in 2–3 years. Now, it can take 6 to 8 years, or more — assuming they get placed at all.
This isn’t just a salary comparison — it’s a reflection of India’s broken employment structure. Companies are capitalising on the desperate need for jobs, while skilled labourers in the gig economy are gaining financial independence faster and with fewer barriers.
Unless fresher salaries are revised in line with inflation and education cost, the engineering dream may soon lose its value — both emotionally and economically. The RoI are now against the students and in favour of the educational institutions and the companies that hire the freshers. The real losers are the students and parents. Would any one look at this and have the courage to correct this?
On Question asked by student community
Hello there,
Understanding and solving different question papers is one of the best practices for preparation ,especially when it comes to JEE. It gives you a proper understanding of the exam pattern, important topics to cover, and the marking scheme.
Here is the link attached from the official website of Careers360 which will provide you with the question papers of JEE exam. Hope it helps!
https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/jee-main-question-papers
thank you!
Hello aspirant,
In order to prepare for the JEE Main 2026 exam, it is strongly advised that students complete the JEE Main 2025 Question Paper. This will help them comprehend the exam's difficulty level and question kinds. The JEE Main 2026 session 1 test will be administered by NTA from January 21 to 30, while the session 2 exam will take place from April 2 to 9.
To get the previous year question papers, you can visit our site through following link:
https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/jee-main-question-papers
Thank you
With a BC-E category certificate, EWS certificate, and Telangana home-state quota, your chances of getting admission to AIML or related CSE branches in CBIT, VNR VJIET, or similar top private colleges in Telangana depend mainly on your JEE Main percentile and the TS EAMCET counselling process, because these colleges fill seats through both TS EAMCET ranks and JEE Main scores (Category-B seats).
For Category-A seats (through TS EAMCET), JEE Main percentile is not considered. Admission is purely based on your TS EAMCET rank, reservation category, gender, and home-state status. CBIT and VNR are highly competitive, especially for AIML, CSE, and IT branches, so you generally need a very strong TS EAMCET rank (usually within a few thousand for BC-E candidates, sometimes slightly relaxed for girls).
For Category-B seats (JEE Main quota), JEE Main percentile matters. Based on recent trends, to have a realistic chance:
For CBIT (AIML / CSE / IT), a JEE Main percentile of around 95+ is usually expected, even for reserved categories, because Category-B seats are limited and competition is high.
For VNR VJIET (AIML / CSE / IT), candidates with 92–95 percentile sometimes have chances, depending on availability and the specific branch.
If your percentile is below 90, getting AIML or core CSE in CBIT or VNR becomes difficult, but you may still have chances in slightly lower-demand branches (like ECE, EEE, or emerging specialisations) or in other good private colleges affiliated with JNTU or autonomous institutions.
Your BC-E and EWS certificates do help mainly in TS EAMCET counselling (Category-A seats), not significantly in Category-B (JEE Main) admissions, where merit largely dominates. Home-state status is already assumed for these colleges, so there is no extra advantage beyond eligibility.
In summary, if your JEE Main percentile is 95 or above, you can reasonably target AIML/CSE in VNR and possibly CBIT through Category-B. If it is 90–94, VNR or related branches are more realistic than CBIT. Below that, it is better to focus on TS EAMCET performance or consider other reputed Telangana colleges offering AIML. If you want, you can share your exact JEE Main percentile and TS EAMCET rank, and I can give you a more precise college- and branch-wise estimate.
Hello,
JEE Mains is a national level entrance examination conducted for admission to UG engineering course in IITs, NITs, etc. This also is a qualifying test for JEE Advanced.
Practicing with previous year question paper will give you on overview of the entire exam pattern, marking scheme, types of questions asked, etc.
Check out the official website of Careers360 for the question papers, preparation tips, etc.
https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/jee-main-question-papers
Careers360 is also conducting a free JEE Mains mock test which you can attempt. The last date for registration is 8th January, 2026.
https://learn.careers360.com/test-series-jee-main-2026-free-mock-test/
Thank you.
Hello,
The link to the mock test series is attached here. The mock test of Careers360 is completely free, and the structure and questions were prepared keeping in mind the exam of JEE Mains. The registration is ongoing. the last date of registration on 8th January.
https://learn.careers360.com/test-series-jee-main-free-mock-test/
Thank you.
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