Techie earning ₹12 LPA opens up about burnout in first job: 'Good pay but I'm drowning'
A techie has described how a lack of onboarding support, heavy workload and constant pressure in his first job has left him mentally exhausted.
A Reddit post by a young software engineer has sparked a discussion online about fresher burnout and the lack of onboarding support in large tech companies. In his post titled “First job outta college -12 LPA — good pay, but I’m drowning with zero guidance, unrealistic expectations and constant anxiety,” the anonymous user shared that he recently joined an MNC as a developer. He said the role has become “mentally draining” due to unrealistic expectations and little to no guidance.
“I recently joined my first job as a developer in MNC at a good pay and with good tech stack, but things have been rough. What seems like a dream job for many is mentally eating me up ngl,” the Redditor wrote. He said that within weeks of joining, he was assigned multiple development tickets and asked to “figure things out” independently, despite being unfamiliar with the company’s internal systems.
Further, he said that the codebase is “massive and undocumented,” and even small changes require navigating several files. While his seniors expect him to be self-sufficient, he claimed they take hours to respond to queries and later accuse him of “relying on them too much.”
“I get where he’s coming from, but I genuinely don’t even know where to start sometimes,” the user said.
The OP also pointed out disparities in onboarding between teams. Other freshers, he said, are getting lighter work, time to understand the codebase and gradual hand-holding, while he is handling six stories in a 12-day sprint with pressure to avoid spillovers. “The Scrum Master gets angry if anything slips and on top of that my team lead won't even protect me because the ‘things assigned to me are pretty straightforward’ according to him,” he wrote.
The long hours have added to the stress. Although his official timings are 10 am to 7 pm, he said he often works longer and continues thinking about tasks even after logging off. “Can't quit as well have family responsibilities and loans,” he said.
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Social media reactions
The post has resonated with many, especially first-time developers, who say the industry increasingly expects new hires to deliver without proper mentorship.
“Welcome to real world away from college. Sorry to burst your bubble but that's how things are. You are paid X expecting a multiple as roi to the company and this applies to everyone, and each one based on their seniority have some or the other challenge. If someone says otherwise they are either lying or delusional. Most of us are lucky if we get a decent mentor. College teaches nothing useful so blaming anyone else is futile,” one user wrote.
“had the same experience in my initial 2.5 years at my first company. It was quite difficult but that experience taught me that I could handle any technical challenge. Explore and figure out things now, no matter how frustrating it is. Now, my life is chill primarily because now everything else seems easy,” commented another.
“If its possible, set up a time with your senior to discuss their expectations from you . Tell them you think there is a misalignment of expectations and you want to correct / improve yourself. Write down what they can expect from you and then go for the meeting . In case of misalignment , nudge the conversation around to align it. Set timelines and ask them to review. Remember to set it up as that you are eager to improve. No manager would deny someone who wants to improve and take away their burden,” suggested a third user.
