A job offer from IT giant Cognizant for freshers of the 2024 batch has sparked widespread reactions on social media.
The offer, which promises an annual salary of ₹2.52 lakh, has led to a surge of memes and critical comments, with one user quipping, “That’s barely enough to cover a year’s rent in a village and a few packets of Maggi. Cognizant must be running an experiment to see if people can live on chai and hope.”
Cognizant’s off-campus recruitment drive kicks off on Wednesday, and is reportedly targeted at candidates with a three-year full-time degree.
The compensation package, which breaks down to roughly ₹20,000 per month, is notably lower than the typical salary range of ₹3.5 lakh to ₹4 lakh offered by Indian IT firms to engineering graduates.
“Wow, 2 lakhs per year? My driver makes way more than that, working just 4 days a week. Lol,” commented one user, mocking the job posting. Another added, "2.52 LPA is very generous. What will the graduates do with so much money?"
The outrage has raised concerns within the industry and among job seekers, particularly in roles related to business process management, testing, and infrastructure management services.
The announcement has reignited debates about the state of entry-level salaries in the IT sector, with many questioning the industry's direction.
In a report by the Times of India, Krishna Vij, business head of IT staffing at Teamlease Digital, stated that the compensation benchmark of ₹3-6 lakh for fresh engineering graduates has remained largely unchanged over the past decade.
Rival company Wipro has reportedly introduced its Work Integrated Learning Program 2024, which offers BCA and B.Sc students a stipend that gradually increases over four years, starting at ₹2.6 lakh annually. The package, however, comes with a catch—a penalty clause requiring trainees to pay ₹75,000 if they leave before completing their five-year training agreement. BT was unable to independently verify the details of Cognizant's job offer.
The broader mood in the hiring landscape reflects a cautious approach from IT companies, which seem to be prioritizing margin growth over employee compensation. With cost pressures mounting, companies are scaling back on salaries, leaving fresh graduates to grapple with offers that many see as insufficient to meet basic living expenses in metropolitan areas.