Microsoft techie’s Rs 1.9 crore salary began with his mother’s gold bangles

A Bengaluru-based Microsoft engineer has struck an emotional chord on LinkedIn after sharing the sacrifice that laid the foundation for his career.

In a heartfelt post, Manu Agarwal revealed that years before he was earning a Rs 1.9 crore salary in Seattle, his father had sold his mother’s jewellery just to pay a single semester of his college fees.

Agarwal, now a Senior Software Engineer at Microsoft, looked back on a time when his family struggled to arrange even Rs 15,000 for one semester of his Bachelor of Computer Applications (BCA) course.

“My father sold my mother’s jewellery to pay my BCA fees. Rs 15,000 per semester. That’s all it cost. But we didn’t have it,” he wrote.

He recalled one moment that has stayed with him ever since. “I remember watching my mother hand over her gold bangles without saying a word. She didn’t cry. She just looked at me. I didn’t sleep that night.”

Years later, life had changed dramatically. Agarwal found himself working in Seattle at Microsoft, earning an annual salary of around Rs 1.9 crore. It was then that he made a call home that had been years in the making.

“I called home and told my mother to buy back whatever she wanted,” he wrote.

Her response, however, was far more valuable than any jewellery. “Son, since your arrival everyone has gone back. (Son, with your success, everything has already been returned),” she told him.

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Reflecting on the journey, Agarwal added, “Some debts aren’t financial. If you’re from a family that sacrificed for your education, this one’s for you.”

According to his LinkedIn profile, Agarwal’s journey to Microsoft began with a summer internship at the company’s Hyderabad office in 2016. Before joining Microsoft full-time, he also interned at GE Healthcare in Bengaluru, gradually building the career that would eventually take him to the company’s Seattle headquarters.

His post has resonated with thousands online, particularly those who saw echoes of their own families’ sacrifices in his story.

Many users shared similar experiences of parents going to extraordinary lengths to fund their education, while others said the post was a moving reminder that behind many professional success stories lies a family’s quiet, often unseen, sacrifices.

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