Chetan Kakkar’s Achievement
In the latest instance that has been very widely reported, Google (the search engine and technology company) has made an offer of an annual pay packet of Rs. 1.27 crore per annum. What is interesting is that very few people – certainly from the educational, institutional networks that Kakkar comes from – have been offered a salary on this kind of scale. This is a true testament to Kakkar’s achievement – that he has been able to achieve so much despite the social and institutional background he has. It is a tribute to the effort and motivation that Kakkar himself has clearly been able to apply to his work and interests.
Previous Records at Delhi Technological University
What is also interesting is that the pay packet that Kakkar has been offered is significantly higher for a Delhi Technological University student. The previous highest offer made – not this year, though – was Rs. 94 lakh rupees per annum. The current offer appears to be nearly 35% more than the previous highest offer.
Effect on Peer Group
Of course, making an offer of that kind of salary to one person is one thing. But is his salary any guide for what Kakkar’s peers and classmates may themselves also expect? No – that would be a very unrealistic expectation. Even though middle class parents may start expecting that their son or daughter too – that also go to DTU – should start to be able to command or earn salaries in crores of rupees. Unfortunately, such an expectation would be highly unrealistic and would only serve to put a lot of pressure on Kakkar’s peers and classmates.
Nurturing Family
Invariably, in all such cases where an individual has been able to achieve something very significant and great, the family he grew up with plays an extremely significant supporting role. His parents, not surprisingly, are middle class professionals themselves. His mother is a teacher of chemistry and his father is a teacher of management studies. So – it appears that their nurture and care allowed Chetan to achieve so much so early in his life.
Prediction For The Future
It is now apparent that the pattern of these high salary offers is likely to continue in the future. This is because the talent scouts with the companies with the money would have been looking at the market place to look for young students that they could hire keeping their aggressive growth plans in mind. While the scale of the offers may not necessarily alter radically, the number of individuals to whom such offers would be made would very likely increase over time.
Keeping a Sane Head
Parents need to understand that salaries on the scale that Chetan Kakkar will be earning – are really not realistic expectations so far as their own children are concerned. What is even more important than the amount of the salary – is whether the individual finds job satisfaction and contentment in any job that they may choose to work in their own lives.
