Some career stories look dramatic only in hindsight. In the moment, they feel like tiny decisions the kind that happen on a random weekday evening, with no fireworks, no big announcements. Just a slight pause… and a “yes.” And somehow, that one yes slowly pulls your life onto a new track.
This is exactly what happened to Aarav Sharma, a mid-level engineer who went from earning ₹15 LPA to a massive ₹90 LPA package in just four years. No fancy degrees added midway, no overnight miracle, no godfather in the industry just one opportunity he chose not to ignore.
His story is not just about salary jumps; it’s about how courage, timing, and a little discomfort can completely transform a career.
The Life Before the ‘Yes’
Back in 2020, Aarav’s life looked like that of thousands of Indian professionals. He had a safe job at a mid-sized IT company, a comfortable salary, and predictable work. Weekdays were a loop of tasks, tickets, meetings, and the occasional weekend debugging. He wasn’t unhappy, but he wasn’t growing either. His salary ₹15 LPA was enough to live decently in Bengaluru, but not enough to build the life he had imagined. He wanted to invest, travel more, maybe buy a house before 35… but none of that seemed practical.
Whenever he thought about switching companies or learning new technologies, the same doubts returned:
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“What if I fail?”
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“What if I don’t clear interviews?”
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“What if the new role is worse?”
So he stayed where he was.
Like many of us do.
The Unexpected Phone Call
One ordinary Thursday afternoon, Aarav received a call from a former teammate. The guy had moved to a fast-growing startup and was now part of a team building AI automation tools. He told Aarav:
“We’re hiring. There’s a role that fits you perfectly. Just apply once. Worst case, nothing happens.”
Aarav’s first reaction was predictable:
A mix of hesitation and self-doubt. He hadn’t done interviews in years. He wasn’t sure if his skills were fresh enough. The word “startup” scared him instability, crazy work hours, risks… all the usual fears.
But then the teammate said something that stuck:
“You don’t have to say yes to the offer. Just say yes to trying.”
That line stayed with him the entire day.
By evening, with zero preparation and a lot of hesitation, Aarav submitted his application.
That was the first “yes.” The most important one.
Step One: Saying Yes to Discomfort
The interview process wasn’t easy. In fact, it pushed him harder than he’d been pushed in years. But something interesting happened he realised how much he actually knew. He rediscovered skills he hadn’t used in a long time. He noticed where he was lacking, but he also noticed how quickly he could learn.
Two weeks later, the offer arrived:
₹26 LPA, almost double his existing pay.
It wasn’t the ₹90 LPA miracle yet, but it was the door that led to everything else. He almost declined because the job sounded tough. But he remembered that first call. So he said yes again.
The Startup Storm That Became His Training Ground
Nothing could have prepared him for what came next. The startup felt like a different universe. Deadlines were brutal, expectations were high, and the team moved at lightning speed. There were days he felt lost, days he felt overwhelmed, and days he questioned why he joined at all.
But he also grew faster than ever.
He learned things that big corporations never gave him the space to explore:
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how to design architecture from scratch
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how to work directly with founders
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how to solve problems without waiting for “approval”
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how to lead juniors who depended on him
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how to make decisions that affected thousands of users
While his friends complained about boring meetings and unchanged job roles, Aarav found himself gaining skills he never imagined owning. A year later, the startup offered him a promotion and bumped his salary to ₹40 LPA.
Opportunity 2: The Unexpected Leadership Role
Around his second year, the company faced a sudden team restructuring. Two senior developers moved to a different project, leaving a leadership gap. The founder casually asked him:
“Do you want to take over the team until we find someone else?”
This wasn’t part of the plan. He had never managed a team before. And he was terrified of messing it up. But he had learned something about himself in the last two years fear didn’t mean he was incapable. It only meant he was stepping into unfamiliar territory. So he said yes. Managing a team changed everything: He became the person everyone looked to during crises. He started conducting interviews. He became the one making decisions instead of waiting for instructions. This responsibility made him grow in ways technical skills alone never could.
The Big Jump: A Global Company Comes Calling
By 2023, Aarav’s LinkedIn profile had quietly become powerful. He wasn’t actively looking for a job, but recruiters had started noticing the combination of skills and leadership he had built. One day, an international tech giant reached out. They were expanding their India office and looking for hybrid engineers people who understood both technology and leadership. He initially laughed off the idea. Him? In a global company? Competing with people who had Ivy League degrees and 15 years of experience?
Still, he said yes to the first screening call.
That call turned into a second interview.
Then a third.
Then a live coding round.
Then a managerial round.
And a final culture round.
A month later, the email arrived:
“We are pleased to offer you a package of ₹72 LPA.” Aarav stared at the screen for almost ten minutes. He had imagined numbers like that only for people far ahead of him. He said yes.
The Final Leap: Crossing ₹90 LPA
After joining the international firm, Aarav’s exposure multiplied. He worked with global teams, solved problems at a scale he hadn’t seen before, and got the chance to present internal tech innovations to senior executives.In his first year, his performance rating placed him in the company’s top 12% contributors. That came with a massive raise and stock benefits. His total compensation crossed ₹90 LPA something that would have sounded like fantasy just four years earlier. When he told his parents, they didn’t know what to say. When he told his old colleagues, most of them thought he was joking. A few asked for his “secret.” But the truth was simple.
It wasn’t a secret.
It was a decision.
A decision to stop playing safe. A decision made years earlier when he nervously clicked “apply” on a job he wasn’t sure he deserved.
The Real Lesson Behind His Journey
Aarav’s story isn’t about luck. It isn’t about being the smartest person in the room. And it definitely isn’t about some magical shortcut. It’s about understanding one brutally honest truth:
Growth never happens inside comfort.
It always begins the moment you say yes to something that scares you. In those four years, Aarav did three things consistently:
1. He said yes to opportunities before he felt ready.
Most people wait until they feel “perfectly prepared.” That day never comes.
2. He kept learning while everyone else kept complaining.
New technologies? He learned them.
New responsibilities? He accepted them.
New challenges? He didn’t walk away.
3. He didn’t let fear make decisions for him.
Fear stayed, but he acted anyway. To know more subscribe Jatininfo.in now.
