The Old Joel on Software Forum: Part 4 (of 5)

A good salary in India.

What's considered a good salary in Bangalore, India.

Here's some of the info.
- Software engineer with seven years expierence.
- Worked in North America up to this point.
- Job offer is for a North American company with a Bangalore R&D office.
- Will be hired as a Senior Software Engineer.

What other factors other than just salary are there to consider, i.e.
- Do indian companies typically give workers housing (I've heard this is common in some parts of the world).
- How many days of vacation should I expect.
- Will I get a season pass to the Taj Mahal :)

Any other info. would also be appreciated. Especialy if your a north american who moved to India. Was it a huge cultural shock, how long did it take to adjust to life in India.

nojuan@nowhere.com
Wednesday, May 12, 2004

What languages are you looking for work in? What work did you do in the last seven years? Was it all strictly speaking software development? What has been your education?

These are some of the questions on which your salary would depend.

If the company you're going to work for is a large concern, you're going to get anywhere in between Rs.50,000 to Rs. 1,00,000 a month, as a Senior Software Engineer, considering your foreign nationality. If you were an Indian you'd still get around Rs.40,000 to Rs.60,000 a month with that much of experience if you were really good at your work.

Accomodation might not be offered if you manage to get that much for a salary. However, some very large concerns do have company accomodation but they're not going to be nice at all. Not for American standards at least. Normally, Indian companies pay you 1.5 days a month for leaves, that cannot be accumalated.

But the market is so diverse that if you work in a small start up, you might not even expect Rs.20,000 a month.

Sathyaish Chakravarthy
Wednesday, May 12, 2004

You will get around 1200-1500 $ per month. Now, dont get so upset about it. A good meal (in a high class hotel) will cost you 2$ and rent would probably be paid by your company. Anyway, a decent home should cost around $150 per month.

Indian companies give good benefits, but no housing. But your company might.

Bangalore is something like california. Warm and friendly people. But you might get some shock since some parts of it are extremely crowded. But the places where IT engineers usually live are quite calm.

You will get around 15-20 days of vacation. But indian companies are quite flexible. Cozzy upto the HR/Boss and you might get more.

I think you will have enough friends in your company to help you get started.

Karthik
Wednesday, May 12, 2004

this report has some information about salaries in technology industry in India, though its specific to usability professionals. http://www.uzanto.com/papers/UXIndiaSurvey2004.html
It might give you ballpark figures though.

Wednesday, May 12, 2004

You don't say if you are from the US or not. If you have a weblog could you post a link? I would be really interesting to get an insiders view of the Indian software industry through the eyes of someone from the US.

If you really move to India to work in the software industry, you should document it.

christopher baus (www.baus.net)
Thursday, May 13, 2004

Here you go: a blog of an Indian who went back to Bangalore. http://vsbabu.org/mt/archives/2004/02/05/relocation.html

I love this bit below (from his weblog). I was in Bangalore recently, and this is quite representative:

"...here is a conversation I had with a perfect stranger in a restaurant:

him: Software?
me: Yes.
him: Me too. Electronic City?
me: No, International Technology Park.
him: Java?
me: No.
him: .NET?
me: No.
him: Then?
me: Then what?
him: Platform, platform.
me: Oracle, Zope, Python.
him: Python?
me: Never mind.
him: Oh. Ummmm... I’ve 5 years experience in Java. J2EE.
me: Good.
him: WebLogic only.
me: Good for you.
him: Now, these web services and all are popular.
me: Indeed.
him: You work in 2-tier? I work on n-tier systems only.
me: (annoyed) Does it matter?
him: What? (his mobile rings). Oh, I have to take this call.
me: Thank you.
him: Uh?
..."

rs
Thursday, May 13, 2004

"A good meal (in a high class hotel) will cost you 2$"

$2? That's about Rs. 90. Karthik, I don't know where you live, but while you can get a meal for that here, you certainly won't get it "in a high class hotel". That would be closer to Rs. 500 or about $11.

Homo sapien
Thursday, May 13, 2004

Yeah, let me give you a little budget for a metro like Delhi.

A single-person meal in a decent eatery: Rs.300

A meal in a ritzy joint: Anywhere from Rs.500 to Rs.25,000 depending on what ritzy means

A can of coke (330 ml): Rs.18

Accomodation for a three-bedroom flat in an average B-class area in New Delhi: Rs.5,000 per month.

Laundry & Dry Cleaning: Rs.1,000 per month

Toiletery: Rs.500 - Rs. 1,000

A bottle of popular brand beer (650 ml): Rs.40 - Rs.150

Shirt: lesser-known brand - Rs. 300
Shirt: Peter England (mid-range): Rs. 500
Shirt: Arrow or Van Heusen or Color Plus: Rs.1,400 - Rs. 3,000

Trousers (lower-end): Rs.400
Trousers (middle-range): Rs.700
Trousers (classy, Allan Soley): Rs.1100 - Rs. 1800

Sneakers: Rs.500 to Rs. 2,500

Sathyaish Chakravarthy
Thursday, May 13, 2004

Thanks for the response guys.

I'm located in Canada.

I might put together a web-log, but first I still have to decide to take the job or not.

To summarize:
- I should be looking in the 50,000 - 100,000 Rupee range, but that varies depending on company, person, etc.
- Cost of living is very low in India (but we're not sure about the $2.00 meal).

So what about rents, so far we have a $150 (US I'm assuming), any other figures? I'm guessing it varies a lot by location.
My main concern right now is that the apartment be relatively clean, and be close to work (i.e. walking distance). Of course I have no idea of where the company is actualy located in Bangalore, but I'm assuming all the high-techy companies are probably in the same general area? What are rents like in this area.

nojuan@nowhere.com
Thursday, May 13, 2004

100,000 rupees is about $2,210.68. Or $26528.16 a year. If you are young and stay a short time (a year), this might be a good opportunity.

If you are planning on coming back to the US (or Canada), this low salary will be a problem. You won't be able to accumulate enough savings to ever afford coming back.

njkayaker
Thursday, May 13, 2004

Also, if you own real-estate in the US or Canada, you might consider renting it. That way, you'll have a place you can afford to come back to or you'll have equity to liquidate in the future.

njkayaker
Thursday, May 13, 2004

Your shirt prices for Van Heusen are wrong Satyaish.

- I buy them imported into Sri Lanka and they cost between 800-950Rs including VAT.

Mind you they are much much better than American or English Van Heusen are now, since they are made to the quality standards of fifty years ago.

Incidentally, the same firm, Madurai textiles, also produces Emerald, which are almost as good as Van Heusen except for the stitching (which is nevertheless still miles better than that on the average Italian shirt) and come in at about 400Rs.

Stephen Jones
Thursday, May 13, 2004