With many people considering a career abroad to be their dream, a software engineer based in Jaipur is causing a stir after revealing the reasons why he turned down a ₹55 lakh annual salary abroad. In his viral LinkedIn post, senior software engineer Yashaswi Soni mentioned that despite being offered a very good salary, he decided to remain in India and do remote work because family and work-life balance meant a lot to him. Career success means much more than getting paid well.
As stated in his LinkedIn post, Soni had received some offers while looking for his next job. Some of those were a London startup remote position worth ₹37 lakh annually, a Dubai-based role worth ₹47 lakh, a Japan-based role paying around ₹55 lakh per annum, and a remote job at EPAM worth ₹29 lakh annually. Although Japan offer was the most attractive financially and would give him international exposure, Soni decided to think beyond the salary.
One question that changed everything
Instead of looking for the most profitable job offer, Soni asked himself a simple but very important question, which was “What am I optimising for?”. As he stated, while on paper he was expected to accept the Japanese job offer due to the pay, Soni decided to evaluate not only the financial gain but also the consequences of the decision regarding his family, happiness, and well-being.
Family stability became the top priority
According to his LinkedIn post, Soni’s wife recently started her job in Jaipur, and now they finally managed to create the stable lifestyle they have been planning to. Moving abroad would mean giving up everything he had created and building something new in an unknown environment, which would make the decision complicated.
Here’s the post:
“I have also worked in a remote setup, and it’s something I am actively looking for again. Over time, I have realised that flexibility, peace of mind, and being close to family often matter just as much as the salary.”“This makes a lot of sense because you took your time to figure out the best opportunity for yourself and your family. Decisions made without being in rush do work out,” another commented.“Well done. Good decision. I also made decisions in the past favouring remote opportunities vs big brands with WFO, and it turned out to be a great career-boosting decision as well so far.”
More money didn’t mean a better life
Apart from that, according to Soni, the offer in Dubai had some attractive financial benefits, such as no taxes to pay. However, he admitted that the lifestyle associated with moving to that country does not suit him and his family. In his LinkedIn post, Soni mentioned that one should not focus only on the earning potential, but rather on how comfortable his life will be, how he will feel and how happy he will be.
A bold step during the interview
While looking for a remote job in EPAM, Soni was interviewing with his current company at the same time. After going through the last interview stage, Soni decided to take a bold step and messaged one of his interviewers via LinkedIn. He told the man that he had another offer and asked whether they are going to continue with his candidacy. Soni claims that the man assured him of their intentions to hire him.
Remote job instead of an international move
After he heard the answer from his current employer, Soni turned down the offers from Japan, Dubai, and EPAM and accepted the fully remote offer instead of moving abroad. He stated that the decision helped him keep the comfortable lifestyle while advancing his career. His story proves that thanks to remote work, professionals can get rewarding jobs without even relocating.
