Background
- Graduated from a tier-1 engineering college (among the top 3 NITs) in 2025
- Worked ~2.5 years at an early-stage startup during college (4-member team, remote, unpaid, but basically full-time hours) across product, building, and distribution
- Skipped campus placements because I was set on product roles
What happened at my current company
- Joined a famous mid-size company in Hyderabad in late 2025 as a 6-month intern (25k stipend), with a verbal promise of 6–8 LPA on conversion and a product role. Nothing in writing (my mistake)
- Got a marketing ops designation on joining; was told "ignore it, focus on the full-time role"
- Took ~17 days (Not a continuous one) of leave + remote work for my sibling's wedding. The internship was then extended by 2 months "to cover the leave", even though I kept working remotely during that time
- The senior manager who made the promise left, and now denies it
- At conversion time, they offered 4 LPA. I said I'd leave. They converted me to full-time anyway, without my consent, ~9 months after joining
- After more back-and-forth: 5 LPA, arrears "pending founder approval", designation Junior Product Associate
- When I asked to at least drop the "Junior", I was told that title sits in a higher salary band
What I've worked on in ~10 months
- an AI doubt-solving app for Class 11–12 students. Photo of a problem in, step-by-step video explanation out, in regional languages, with voice. I own it end-to-end: PRD, roadmap, key product decisions, development, distribution planning
- Owned a RAG chatbot end-to-end: payment and CRM integrations, reduced token consumption, chunking and fine-tuning improvements
- Built a second RAG bot, revamped a lead-prediction tool's logic, and led a chatbot-to-website transition (planning, development, marketing dashboard)
- Multi-channel campaigns (SMS, WhatsApp, email)
All this on a 6-day week, often working late.
Job search so far (APM / product roles)
- Some say I'm "overqualified" because their role is mostly coordination
- Some ask if I'd rather apply as a developer
- Recent ones say my ask for Market band (12–14 LPA) is too high and offer ~30% over current CTC
- Cleared some rounds, failed some
Seniors and Peers say do not leave the current role without an Offer in Hand.
Constraints
- Need to stay in Hyderabad for family health reasons. Open to remote
- Current pay doesn't cover my living expenses
What I'd love advice on
- Is 12–14 LPA unrealistic for my profile, or am I just being anchored to my current CTC?
- How do I handle the "current CTC" question without badmouthing my company?
- Which roles or companies value a "builder + PM" profile? AI PM, product analyst, founder's office, GCCs, something else?
- Should I take a ~7–8 LPA offer with a proper PM title just to reset my base, or hold out?
- Has anyone been in a similar spot? How did you get out?
Honest feedback welcome, including if I'm overestimating myself.