3 min readNew DelhiNov 17, 2025 09:55 AM IST
First published on: Nov 17, 2025 at 09:54 AM IST
A backend developer with seven years of experience has sparked a discussion on Reddit after revealing how little his salary has increased over the years. Despite handling major responsibilities, working onsite twice, and shifting from a non-tech background to a full-fledged development role, his current pay is still just Rs 5.25 lakh per annum.
In a post titled “7 years of backend dev, still stuck at 5.25 LPA,” the man shared how staying with the same company since the start of his career has left him severely underpaid compared to industry standards.
Now, after clearing the technical rounds at a new firm, he’s gearing up for the HR negotiation. He wrote that he plans to quote around Rs 19 lakh per annum, hoping to settle somewhere between 16–17 LPA even after the usual back-and-forth.
While he believes a jump of over 200 per cent is fair given the market, he fears HR may try to “lowball” him because of his current package. Calling his existing pay “peanuts,” he pointed out the wide gap between what he earns and what most backend developers with similar experience take home in India.
Check out the post:
Screenshot of the Reddit post
The post quickly drew a flood of responses from people who said they’ve faced similar struggles or shared advice on negotiating better.
One Redditor encouraged him to aim high. “Go ahead and ask 20lpa. As long as you are within the budget, they should offer. HR will always try to low ball. Unless you ask, no one gives the salary you deserve. Accept anything in the range of 12-15lpa of they don’t offer. Keep giving interviews and target product based companies or startup where they can pay this easily. It’s difficult with service based companies.”
Another user suggested, “Bro stop undervaluing yourself. Go ahead and ask for 21LPA. HR would definitely try to under-buy you, so it would be safe for you to ask for 21LPA. P.S.: Although I’m a fresher, I’ve grown up around IT professionals all my life. I’m telling you this based on the talks I hear at our dining table at home all the time.”
A third commenter shared a more personal note, acknowledging how demotivating salary comparisons can be but reminding him not to lose hope. “I agree that most people here and ask for the same package . I am in the same situation as well. Most people in reddit are the best in the game. So don’t get too depressed when you see high packages. Keep up hope dude. I wanted to end it because I felt totally worthless because of my package. I am getting better now and hopefully things go well.”
The man shared how staying with the same company since the start of his career has left him severely underpaid 
Screenshot of the Reddit post
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