An IIT graduate and former mid-level IT manager, who once drew a ₹70-lakh annual salary, has taken to Reddit to share a stark account of unemployment that has stretched for seven months—highlighting the growing strain on India’s mid-career tech workforce.
The manager, who worked at a Nifty50 firm before being let go during a restructuring exercise, said the layoff came at the worst possible time: mere weeks after he exhausted his savings on a new home. Now, the property is rented out to cover EMIs while his financial buffer rapidly disappears.
“My savings are depleting really fast… I have a runway of just two months,” he wrote, adding that despite paid LinkedIn and Naukri subscriptions, his job search has yielded almost nothing. “In seven months, I have only received a few calls from consultants and just two interviews.”
Even industry connections, he said, have offered little help.
“At this level, options are few. I’m okay with lower pay, but I’m not even getting calls. It’s all crashing down,” he wrote. The personal toll is equally heavy: “I have a family and everyone is so stressed.”
A crisis many mid-level tech workers relate to
His post resonated widely, with several commenters describing a similar slowdown in hiring for mid-career roles—particularly middle management positions that are being squeezed between entry-level talent and senior leadership.
One user described being in the “same boat,” blaming automated resume filtering for rejections:
“Recruiters ghosting, no calls. AI filters don’t care who you are. I only got callbacks after tailoring my resume using tools.”
Another advised leaning on family assets in the interim:
“If money is a challenge, liquidate ancestral land or gold. That’s what they’re meant for.”
A third commenter called the current IT job market “brutal” and warned that volatility may persist. “One should always have multiple income sources,” he wrote, adding that he supplements his own income by trading Nifty options. “Multiple income streams are crucial today.”
