'Drivers Earn More Than That!' Cognizant Job Offer Of Rs 2.5 LPA For Fresh IT Graduates Goes Viral

New Delhi: IT giant Cognizant has found itself in the midst of social media criticism after one of its job postings for fresh graduates went viral. The job offer, targeting the 2024 graduating batch for an information technology role, advertised an annual salary of ₹252,000—an amount that has drawn significant attention and ridicule online.

The X page "Indian Tech & Infra" shared the job posting, noting, "Cognizant has announced an exciting off-campus mass hiring drive, welcoming applications from candidates belonging to the 2024 batch. Application deadline - August 14. Package - INR 2.52 LPA." The post quickly gained traction, amassing over 1.5 million views within a short period, and sparked a flurry of reactions from social media users.

The comments section was filled with users poking fun at the salary offer. One user sarcastically remarked, "2.52 LPA is very generous. What will the graduates do with so much money?" Another, Manu, pointed out that this salary package was typical of what was offered to graduates in 2002, highlighting the challenges of living on such a modest income in today's economy, especially in metro cities.

“Wow, 2 lakhs per year? My driver makes way more than that, working just 4 days a week. Lol,” an X user wrote. 

"2.5 LPA? No wonder GenAlpha want to make reels and aspire to be a successful YouTuber," another wrote. 

Other users expressed concerns about the broader implications of the salary offer. Himanshu Rajawant quipped, "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 is offering Rs. 2.52 LPA for engineers! Meanwhile, a helper job at a momo shop earns Rs. 3LPA!” wrote another user.

Meanwhile, Vishnu Pradeep noted, "Tech companies hiring is a good sign while taking the recent layoffs into context. But 2.52 LPA is seriously concerning. 10 years ago, the average package was around 3 LPA. Instead of the emoluments growing, we have lower payouts now. Not sure if it's due to higher competition (excess supply of candidates), lower projected profitability or something else."

The post, which was shared on August 13, continues to generate buzz online, highlighting the growing discontent among job seekers over stagnant or declining salary offers in the tech industry.