Bengaluru techie rejected 13 job offers for internship. 1 year on, she earns over Rs 20 lpa

'It was a tough decision to choose between stability or risk,' Riti Kumari, a senior software engineer with Walmart in Bengaluru, said. (Image credit: Riti Kumari/Moneycontrol)

When Riti Kumari was 21, she received job offers from 13 companies including TCS, Infosys, and Wipro with one of the companies offering her a salary of Rs 17 lakh per annum. But, Kumari decided to follow her heart and instead took up an internship with Walmart. It's been a little over a year since and now Kumari earns more than Rs 20 lakh per annum.

Speaking to Moneycontrol, the software engineer from Bengaluru said that even though other offers were lucrative and her family was keen on her accepting one of them, Kumari was inspired by her sister to follow her instincts which is why she eventually chose Walmart. The internship period was of six months and she was promised a stipend of Rs 85,000.

"I was happy when I received Walmart internship offer, I was firm on joining it," she told the publication, adding that her parents were not very happy with her decision especially because not only was she opting for a role that would pay her much less than regular jobs, the internship would also get over in six months.

"It was a tough decision to choose between stability or risk," Kumari said. "But at that time when no one was supporting my risk my sister advised me to follow my heart."

Her sister, Preeti Kumari -- currently a Ph.D. student at IIT Dhanbad -- had rejected job offers to take Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) instead, against her family's wishes.

"That time also not everyone was in her favour but she took the decision and proved everyone wrong. So, I listened to my heart took the internship offer at Walmart, worked really hard, gave my pre-placement offer interviews, and ultimately got a job offer from Walmart," Kumari told Moneycontrol. According to reports published after she landed the job, Kumari was offered a salary of about Rs 20 lakh.

When asked about her parents' reaction to her career choices now, Kumari said, "Right now they are extremely happy with my success. Being one of the highest-placed students in my school and college history makes them proud. My father used to teach in the same school where I studied so he feels extremely proud as all the teachers praise me and keep congratulating him."

Read more: 'Failed JEE, couldn’t get into IIT': Walmart techie who cracked interviews with over 13 companies