TCS Employee Salary Drops Viral Story: After Five Years Of Service, The Claim Has Left The Reddit Users In Shock
Think of it the other way around: you toil for five years, and instead of more money, you get less. Such was the case of a TCS Java dev, and this was so shocking that Reddit has been buzzing about it for days. He was recruited in 2020, and his initial salary was ₹25,000 a month. Jump to 2026, and he gets only ₹22,800! Sad but true.
What caused this? Wrong decisions made at the start of his career. He could have used the time to learn more about Java and focus on backend development, but instead, he was preparing for government exams. The outcome: low performance ratings, a frightening PIP (Performance Improvement Plan), and no salary hikes. Even after upskilling, HR is still eyeing his salary slips suspiciously.
What did Reddit suggest? Move to a startup, focus on skills instead of salaries, or maybe pursue an MBA. The lesson: loyalty is nice, but skills are what really pay the bills.
How Early Career Choices Turned Loyalty Into a Pay Cut: TCS Employee Explains After Salary Drop
At times, what you pay attention to at the beginning of your career can be a major drawback later on. A Java programming expert who came from a third-rate college experienced this very thing. Rather than improving his Java and backend skills, he spent his initial years pursuing government jobs. The outcome? Low performance ratings (C and D) that kept repeating and affecting him during several appraisal rounds.
Then came July 2025, the feared Performance Improvement Plan (PIP). For every IT professional, PIP is like balancing on a rope above a lava pit. He was able to get onto a new project and stay through the PIP period without losing his job, but he was already harmed, his appraisal was put on hold, and significant salary hikes were lost.
The message of the story is quite simple: initial focus counts. Skills are the ones that bring the money, and just being loyal won’t save your salary. Invest in your skill development early on, or it might be your wallet that suffers!
Upskilling, But Salary Slips Bite Back
By January 2026, our TCS Java dev finally leveled up his skills, diving into backend development. But past pay came back to haunt him, HRs reportedly ghosted him after seeing tiny salary slips, questioning how five years of experience could earn so little!
Reddit Users Speak Up And Filled Comment Section With Advice For The TCS Employee
The viral TCS salary saga sparked a mix of sympathy and straight talk from netizens:
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Startups: Jump into smaller firms where skills outweigh past pay, fast growth awaits.
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MBA Move: Shift to management to escape the technical salary trap.
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Tell Your Story: Be honest with HR, prove your skills, and craft a credible career narrative.
(With Inputs)
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Aishwarya is a journalism graduate with over three years of experience thriving in the buzzing corporate media world. She’s got a knack for decoding business news, tracking the twists and turns of the stock market, covering the masala of the entertainment world, and sometimes her stories come with just the right sprinkle of political commentary. She has worked with several organizations, interned at ZEE and gained professional skills at TV9 and News24, And now is learning and writing at NewsX, she’s no stranger to the newsroom hustle. Her storytelling style is fast-paced, creative, and perfectly tailored to connect with both the platform and its audience. Moto: Approaching every story from the reader’s point of view, backing up her insights with solid facts.
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