OP got an offer: 10 LPA @ SBC → 32 LPA @ PBC (3 YOE, ~6 months grind) — Bangalore, India

Offer: 32 LPA (CTC) Java / Spring Boot Backend Developer Role Location: Bangalore, India Breakdown: - Fixed: 18.8 L - Bonus: 3.6 L - RSUs: 9.5 L - Joining Bonus: 3 L (\~3.5× jump!) A year back, I

Offer: 32 LPA (CTC) Java / Spring Boot Backend Developer Role Location: Bangalore, India Breakdown: - Fixed: 18.8 L - Bonus: 3.6 L - RSUs: 9.5 L - Joining Bonus: 3 L (\~3.5× jump!) A year back, I was frustrated: low-quality work, stagnant learning, and a package that didn’t reflect my effort. So I decided to prepare for interviews, but tbh, I was very inconsistent at first: Study for 1 day → chill for a week → feel guilty → repeat. On top of that, I made all the classic mistakes: unstructured preparation, solving random problems, and endlessly watching “how to prepare properly?” ahh videos and articles. This vicious cycle went on for a couple of months. Around May 2025, I finally got serious. Prep routine: Weekdays: Managed to squeeze \~1.5 hrs. in the morning + \~1.5 hrs. at night Weekends: 6–8 hrs. max prep spree For \~6 months, I kept distractions to a minimum — barely any social media (except \~30 mins of Reddit/day 😁) and no movies or outings. Though I did allow myself a few cheat days just to stay sane. This time, I went for a structured preparation: Phase 1: DSA (first \~4 months) - Almost completely focused on DSA - Mild System Design prep occasionally on weekends After 4 months, to test my DSA skills under real pressure, I applied to a few “dummy companies” (offers below my target). I attended 4 such interviews and cleared the DSA rounds in all 4! Trust me - that confidence boost was unreal and I was no longer "scared" of interviews. Phase 2: System Design (\~1.5 months) Once I knew my DSA was solid, I picked up System Design seriously and started applying again - this time only to my target companies. - 1500+ applications - 200+ companies - Only 2 actual interview callbacks 💀 (tried referrals - didn't help me though) Guess what? I bagged both the offers 😎 The other offer was from a PBC as well → 25 L CTC + 5 L Joining Bonus (I also had a client-conversion offer and a counter-offer from my current employer along the way, but these were the two I evaluated seriously) Takeaways: - LeetCode DSA grind is frustrating - but unavoidable (I'd recommend spending \~60-70% of your prep-time on DSA) - Don't solve random problems - follow a list: LC150/NC150/Striver's DSA sheet (I solved \~230+ problems over \~4 months) - Maintain short notes (intuition/patterns) for every problem — this massively helps during revision - System Design is all about discussion. Get your fundamentals thorough - SOLID, OOP, Design patterns, etc., (Use technical terms confidently to sound smart 🤓) - ChatGPT is a great resource for learning System Design - Apply aggressively! (more applications = more chances of getting a callback. I spent 30–40 mins/day just applying :) - Keep grinding! - Take breaks - burnout kills consistency faster than rejection. Resources I used are mentioned below in the comments. Feel free to AMA!