My current salary is 42LPA. I am from IIT, have 7 years of experience and work in product. Honestly, my value in the market is higher than what I’m being paid but I am very demotivated to optimise for that. When I do see less deserving people minting more money, I feel that I am doing injustice to myself and playing the wrong hand.
More and more though, the thought of earning more money chokes me a bit. I have dreams of building something of my own - that gives me control to build something my way and freedom to live my life as per my terms. But the mindset of “zyada paisa pareshaani hai” doesn’t leave me.
My family also is not dependent on me and whatever is needed from my side, I actively contribute to. I also lack any motivation to focus on my investments and see my money grow. I just have money sitting around in my bank account purely for nothing
I also look at my lifestyle choices from time to time and go into existential debate of why we need the things that we do. This has come to a point where I really do not understand my relationship with money and why we earn and spend it.
For me at this point, it’s just a show for the world. There’s very little that you need, and really no limit to what you want to show. And I just don’t see a point in it anymore.
What's your perceived market value that's causing you so much distress?
My peers are earning 55-70.
I can empathise with you. Do you have any hobbies? Things you do to switch off and occupy yourself completely, while losing track of time?
There's no real point to money and at the same time, it's one of the most important things around which our society is structured. You won't find answers on grapevine of all places. I'd be happy to recommend some books if you'd like.
If you don't want to make more, don't. If you want to start your own thing, work weekends to throw up something on bubble.io and ask friends for feedback.
Hey @Hungryninja
Extremely relatable and very beautiful write up
I get the trouble you face. When you’ve almost figured out what you like and what you don’t like (that money isn’t thaaat needle moving, I have basic needs) but at the same time, the opportunity cost of relaxing is too high - everybody from your batch will remind you of how far you can go, and the middle class boy in you will find it difficult to stomach letting go of all the money, even though you can make it
Went through this at one point. I have ultimately sided with money. I cannot sit back and relax. Money will only unlock a lot of foreign travel and good lifestyle for me. But more than that, I am lucky to be in a position that allows me to earn money easier than other people do. So I’ll make it, help extended family and people who cannot earn as easily, because at least in a country like India, it’s almost a responsibility. We’re not fucking Europe.
I’ll just not kill myself for it as much as I used to :)
But also, if the last point does not relate to you that much, you should stick to taking it slightly easy
But just completely own it. Don’t be caught being in the middle for too long, the middle is always the worst place to be.
Thanks for this compassionate message. Really helped me widen my perspective. Really liked “the middle is always the worst place to be” :)
It feels less like rant / demotivation message, more of showoff saying I earn this much and enjoy life to fullest.
Maybe. It’s sad though that I feel perplexed with this thought.
Don’t you feel that jumping ranks and getting more package is the way people think of progressing in their career? Or is my understanding incorrect?
That's a sad way to look at a career. Sure, with promotions and money, you can count yourself as a great professional. But there's millions of people like that who stand for nothing. Maybe work for shit you believe in?
By the things that you’ve listed, you’re exactly where you deserve to be. The whole “less deserving people making more” is cope. And it seems like you’ve accepted defeat. It’s okay, nothing wrong with that - but stop vilifying people who actually want to do something with their lives.
Wow that hurt.
I might have been wrong in writing the less deserving people thing, but you do get what you ask for. When I feel that money is a problem, asking for more becomes an internal issue.
Writing all of this also doesn’t mean that I do not want to do anything with my life - just that my purpose is maybe not to earn more money which is the socially acceptable answer really.
You can also try to be a little compassionate, it took me some courage to accept my feelings about money and write on an anonymous platform too. Nothing really for me to gain here by secretly boasting.
Humblebrag
Welcome to the world of 'what is my purpose'
From a young age, we have always been pushed. In school, get into IIT. in college, get into MBA, and after that get a good job.
Now once everything has been done, and every box has been checked, we are wondering what the hell are we really here, in this world, to do ?
This is the mid life crisis, that is now coming earlier. This is not a easy question to answer, 'what do I want to do'
Suggest trying out different things, see what you like, what you enjoy. Try reading some philosphy also, to know how others thought of this
C'mon.... Just buy a flat/house, car and get married. 42 lakhs will seem nothing to you and your wife will spend every dime you saved till now. That surely will motivate you to earn more .
Haha, I’m actually a girl 😂 aisa husband milna toh tough rahega
Bad luck that you cannot marry a girl 🤣😉. Anyways, Nirmala Sitaraman already takes 12-16 lakhs from you. Remaining amount is not so much lucrative. If you are still saving, spend it for your parents who raised a achiever like you.
Buddy, you are doing fine. Been in your situation before. My 2 cents:
How did you become okay with point 1 and 2? These are the exact two things that I get stuck in.
Wow, surprised and happy+great to see so many mature replies unlike the absolutely immature retarded ones on Fishbowl. Guess I'll be visiting here more often then..
That's true, the quality of replies here are top notch. Really good crowd gathering here at GW so far. I hope it never becomes Quora.
No IIT tag here but I had a very similar feeling a few months ago. I took a break and figured out my relationship with work and money. It has been a beautiful journey.
I wrote about it here. Not trying to promote my article lol but I do want to share my thoughts -
I struggled with the trade-offs between making money and making an impact in the business world. Seeing some of my networks achieve success in both areas left me confused and frustrated. To address this, I decided to focus on financial growth while working for relevant businesses. Eventually, I realized that both goals were achievable and that there was meaning in every action we take. The depth lies not only in what we do but in how and why we do it.
If money is not a challenge then just focus all your attention towards what engages your brain the maximum. You’ll get paid your worth or more anyway.
I’m glad you took out the time to ponder on this and get an answer for yourself. Can you share the link to you post?
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