‘I’ve been moonlighting my entire career’: Techie earning over ₹70 LPA opens up about burnout, zero social life

A Reddit user claiming to earn nearly ₹70 lakh annually as a platform engineer has shared a candid account of juggling multiple jobs, financial decisions and the personal cost of chasing high income early in his career.The Redditor said he graduated from a tier-3 college and spent under ₹5 lakh on his entire education. (Representational image/Gemini AI generated)In a post titled “Been moonlighting as a Platform Engineer — earning -70L/year — now stepping back,” the user said that he had been working 2 roles simultaneously for over a year. One was with an Indian startup on contract, requiring over 4 hours daily, while the other was with a US-based company’s Indian office, officially an 8-hour job but often stretching beyond 10 hours on weekdays.“Both were WFH, so it was manageable — but my social life has basically been zero,” he wrote, describing a routine that left little room for personal time.(Also Read: CEO praises wife for taking work call in hospital hours after giving birth, hits back at critics)The Redditor said that he recently decided to step back from one role after receiving a hike from the US company, taking his compensation there to around ₹74.5 lakh. He cited both lifestyle considerations and tax implications for the move, noting that staying under ₹75 lakh would allow him to benefit from presumptive taxation under Section 44ADA. “Otherwise, I’d need to earn much more just to make it financially worth the extra work,” he explained.However, even after earning significantly, the OP said that he currently has no savings or investments in mutual funds or equities. Instead, he said that he channelled his income into purchasing a ₹1.3 crore property outright, without loans, and is close to finishing off a car loan.The Redditor further highlighted the personal trade-offs of sustained overwork. He said that he built a home gym but rarely had time to use it, bought a gaming laptop he hasn’t fully enjoyed, and largely gave up on social interactions. “I’ve been over-optimising for money,” he said, adding that he now wants to focus more on health, learning and relationships.Sharing his background, the Redditor said he graduated from a tier-3 college and spent under ₹5 lakh on his entire education, even taking a small loan during his undergraduate years due to financial constraints. He began his career earning as little as ₹1,000 – ₹2,000 a month as an Android developer and gradually moved into backend engineering, DevOps and platform roles.Now, with one job and more time on hand, he said he is re-evaluating priorities, including an upcoming arranged marriage and long-term lifestyle choices, after years of intense work focused primarily on maximising income.“Most of my career has been about being at the right place at the right time. Now that I’ve dropped one job, I’m getting some time back, once the notice period is over, and thinking about life (marriage, health, social life),” he wrote.(Also Read: