Cracked JEE, GATE, India’s toughest examination, pursuing Phd at IIT Delhi, yet earning only Rs 35000 monthly due to….
One of the significant struggle in a PhD student’s life is the low stipend, which often makes it difficult to manage living expenses. Every year, lakhs of students appear for the competitive examination such as Joint Entrance Examination(JEE), Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering(GATE) with an aim to get admissions in the country’s best top colleges. However, a viral post on LinkedIn presents a different picture.
The post shared on LinkedIn revealed that despite clearing JEE and GATE and being enrolled in a PhD program at one of the country’s most prestigious institutions, the student is living on a meager stipend of Rs 35,000 per month. This has ignited a debate on the financial challenges faced by students in such esteemed academic institutions.
The post shared by a LinkedIn user, Rehan Akhtar wrote, “A friend of mine is 33, married, and pursuing a PhD in IITD — earning just ₹35,000/month.” As per the post, Rehan’s friend has cracked examination such as JEE, GATE, Phd Interview and has spend his days conducting cutting-edge research in AI, teaching undergraduates, reviewing hundreds of research papers, and publishing several of his own. Yet, he struggles to cover basic expenses like rent and cannot even support his family. In contrast, a graduate from a lesser-known college, with basic skills, earns twice his stipend and lives much more comfortably.
“He is brilliant, cleared competitive exams(JEE, GATE, PHD INTERVIEW), and spends his days doing cutting-edge research (AI) and teaching undergraduates, Reviewed 100 of research Papers and Publish 10s of papers, Yet, he struggles to pay rent or support his family. Meanwhile, a graduate from a lesser-known college, with basic skills, earns double his stipend and lives far more comfortably,” the post reads.
Later in the post, he questioned why the system rewards mediocrity with money, while brilliance is left to survive on the bare minimum. He emphasized that PhD scholars aren’t just students—they are educators, innovators, and the architects of the future. Yet, they seem to be overlooked and undervalued.
“Passion shouldn’t demand poverty. To all the researchers silently grinding: your work matters. You matter. It’s time the system showed it,” the post reads. Soon this post has gone viral on the platform, receiving hundreds of comments and likes.
A user on LinkedIn wrote,”We are always too late to realize the truth …. The industry never bothers on your JEE,GATE score, your publications etc but focus on whether your skills are sufficient to meet their requirement…We also have a number of phDs receiving the stipend and at the same time preparing for competitive exams…!!! Does this look healthy…????”
“Firstly, this system is not just restricted to India and is evident in all other countries as well.
Secondly, the salary of a person in any field depends on the market value and this is dictated by several other factors. Respectfully, I believe this is a very crude comparison,” wrote another user.
Another user commented, “Respectfully, PhD scholars do valuable research, and yes, it contributes to national development. But they’re not employees—they’re students and future researchers, which is why they receive a stipend, not a salary. People working in jobs get paid for delivering services or products, not for learning. Let’s not compare the two unfairly.”
“This is not fair…you can not glorify anyone by shaming the other. The other from the so called Lesser known college shouldn’t be demeaned here. Try to find ways of earning better and leading a better life than blaming the system and your stars… This ranting of being from a top college and still not earning and living comfortably shows you lack the skills or talent which the industry demands or else every other person doing a PHD would be facing the same fate today,” commented a user.
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