you are victim of your own success
It is another afternoon, but today I woke up with a slightly different idea. In the morning, I was having a conversation with an engineer over LinkedIn, where he was sharing his experience with Indian co-founders. While I agreed with a large part of the conversation, I started to think about it in the context of my own life. I also wanted a second opinion, so I spoke to a mutual connection on Twitter to hear his perspective.
The first conversation focused on the superiority complex of some founders who overwork their employees while keeping them underpaid. The second conversation leaned more toward how a scarcity mindset has contributed to this situation. I pointed out that many of us are first-generation professionals, and that this trend is likely to continue for another decade. Given that, such behavior might persist for the next 30 to 40 years.
While I can’t fully relate to why founders act this way—since I haven’t been on the other side of the table—I can draw a parallel with my college experience. The underlying dynamics feel quite similar and capture the essence of the broader issue.
I study at one of the top institutes in India. However, I have spent the last four years constantly on edge, struggling to pass courses. This pressure has taken a toll on my mental health, social life, affected my academic progress, and pushed me to seek validation through research roles, small internships, and other avenues I carved out for myself.
In contrast, students in lower-tier colleges and many state-owned government colleges often do better in terms of placements because their universities follow a more lenient grading system. These systems tend to give students higher grades, which in turn helps them during placements. That’s not the case where I study. Our courses are extremely difficult, and grading is relative, which means you’re constantly competing with some of the best minds in the country.
This kind of grading system doesn’t offer the same sense of security. You don’t know what to expect, and that uncertainty makes it harder to focus on other things—like building real-world skills or learning how to showcase them effectively. Students from other colleges often use that grade security to their advantage, investing time in personal projects, internships, or learning new tools that help them land good roles. Meanwhile, we are buried under academic pressure, frequently caught in cycles of stress, and often just trying to cope.
Of course, if you’re able to survive this kind of environment, you do develop a strong ability to work under pressure and handle difficult situations without breaking. But at the same time, you miss out on the early head starts that students from other institutions seem to benefit from because of their more forgiving systems.
Sometimes I feel like those early head starts—things like high grades and visible projects—make a bigger difference in your career than the ability to handle pressure. I know there’s a contradiction in my thoughts here, and an irony I can't ignore. I will try to address that as well.