‘Bhed Chaal’ vs reality: Unemployed IIT graduate at crossroads; asks Internet what is better — PhD or low-paying job?

Published 8 June 2026 · india

An IIT degree, once seen as a sure-shot ticket to a high-paying tech career, is facing a stark reality check. A fresh graduate’s viral plea

An IIT degree, once seen as a sure-shot ticket to a high-paying tech career, is facing a stark reality check. A fresh graduate’s viral plea for career advice has sparked a massive online debate about a tightening software job market, growing AI anxiety, and the collapse of traditional placement expectations. Caught between the “bhed chaal” of software engineering roles and the looming threat of AI (artificial intelligence), the fresh BTech holder said he's facing a tight deadline to choose between a low-paying startup internship or pivoting to a PhD in Quantum Computing. In a viral post, the fresh graduate said, “I have just graduated from Btech IIT and as a usual ‘Bhed Chaal,’ I had also started preparing for SDE (Software Development Engineer), AI ML (artificial intelligence machine learning), Data Science Roles.” The graduate shared that during the placement season, he gave 7-8 interviews for different roles, including PM, ML, DS, etc., but some were rejected in the first round & 1-2 were rejected in the HR round.

However, the graduate said he had prepared strongly for DSA (Data Structures and Algorithms) but still couldn't secure a single interview in that domain. “Now my college is just over, and I am continuing DSA, System Design, and an off-campus internship (small startup, very low paying),” he wrote in the post. So, the unemployed IIT graduate turned to the Internet to solve his dilemma: a PhD in Quantum Computing or to continue with a small-paying job. “Whether to choose now a PhD path, because I am afraid of AI taking over & so many layoffs already started, in my respective branch (preferring QC) or still apply till the end of June and see the results,” the Redditor asked. Also Read | Indian mom shares story of stranger's kindness on Singapore metro in viral post “Should I really still continue grinding DSA and system design until I have an offer?” He said, while urging the social media users to help him “make a decision fast”.

What did netizens say? Several social media users acknowledged that the tech job market is very bad right now, but suggested that a PhD is hard too and should only be considered if the IIT graduate actually likes research. Also Read | Techie walks away from ₹72 LPA job offer because of toxic professional demands “I am also from IIT... Job market is totally f**ked up.. I am not getting the R&D jobs I want... Most of them are maintenance or troubleshooting jobs... I rejected a 23 LPA job offer just to do a PhD,” a user suggested. Another user added, “Dude, same boat, non iit tho lol. If you actually like research, then phd is fine, but don’t do it just to dodge layoffs. industry exp + strong projects > endless leetcode. Also, focus on 1–2 roles, not everything at once.