Lagatar24 Desk
The year is 2022. You have just cracked the Infosys placement interview at your college. You turn off flight mode on your mobile, wait for the connectivity bars, and dial your mother.
“Ma, your son is joining Infosys,” you exclaim, unable to contain your excitement.
Your mother, overwhelmed with emotion, shares the news with your father. “He has done it,” she says, her voice trembling. Your father rushes over, eager to hear the words himself.
You turn your face toward the wall, wiping away tears of joy—tears that hold the weight of your parents’ sacrifices, the years of struggle to afford your engineering degree. Tears that tell the story of how your father wore the same shoes for six years, getting them repaired each time instead of buying a new pair.
That evening, you celebrate with friends, treating them to pizzas at a local fast-food joint. Money had always been tight, but Infosys was your golden ticket—a step toward financial security, a way to repay your parents for their sacrifices.
The Two-Year Wait Begins
Then come two years of uncertainty. You are not alone—2,000 other students across India have been offered jobs at Infosys but are still waiting to be onboarded.
Relatives, who once heard your mother boast with pride, now relish their schadenfreude. “When are you joining Infosys?” they ask smugly. Others offer advice: “Why wait? Start looking for another job!”
Your marriage prospects take a hit. A rishta that once seemed promising quietly fades away. The girl—well-educated, English-speaking—stopped responding to your messages. Her parents stopped calling yours.
The Call from Infosys
Then, one day, out of the blue, Infosys calls. You are finally being onboarded. But there’s a catch—you must pass internal training tests to be regularized.
“It’s not that tough,” seniors reassure you. But they were wrong.
You fail—not once, but three times. The test is brutal, far more difficult than anything in college. You question your abilities.
Was your college degree a fluke? Were you ever meant to be a techie?
An overwhelming majority of trainees fail alongside you. But that’s no consolation. What will you tell your parents?
The Walk of Shame
You have no choice but to tell them. Because Infosys has asked you to leave immediately.
You stand outside the campus gates with your luggage, alongside hundreds of others. Some laugh nervously, trying to mask the tension. One girl cries uncontrollably. Another faints.
You dial your father.
“I’m coming home,” you say. He senses something is wrong. “What happened? Are you unwell?”
“I will tell you once I am home. Don’t tell Ma yet,” you reply.
This job was their hope—for you and for themselves.
The Harsh Reality Sets In
You wonder why you didn’t take your uncle’s advice and look for another job. But there were no jobs. The only offer you ever got was ₹18,000 per month, including bonuses.
How could you accept that, after your parents spent ₹8 lakh on your degree?
The News Spreads
Your return home can’t be hidden—it’s all over the newspapers.
Your nosy neighbor, Rati Aunty, drops by for tea. Her son is preparing for IIT. “Will there be any IT jobs left?” she wonders aloud. If a topper like you is jobless, what hope does her son have?
Your old Physics teacher corners you at the mall. “What happened, beta?” he asks kindly.
“Don’t know, sir,” you reply. Because you really don’t know.
“This is a dangerous situation,” he sighs. “1.3 million students are currently enrolled in Computer Science. Is it even worth it?”
You nod, even though you know it’s a rhetorical question. Because you really don’t know.
