Ajay Nanavati, former chairman of Syndicate Bank, has reignited the age-old debate over whether young professionals should prioritise learning or salary in the early years of their careers after sharing his first appointment letter from 1977.
In the LinkedIn post accompanying a picture of the letter, Nanavati recalled returning to India after studying chemical engineering in the US and accepting a job at Tata despite a monthly salary of just Rs 960.
His father, who was then the managing director of a multinational company and had spent heavily on his education, was initially taken aback by the figure but still encouraged him to take the offer.
“I’d thought I was cat’s whiskers and companies would be falling all over themselves to hire me,” Nanavati said, admitting that he had better-paying offers at the time. However, he chose Tata because the opportunity to work at Bombay House mattered more than the pay gap.
Looking back, Nanavati described it as “probably the smartest career decision” he ever made, arguing that “compensation follows competence far more often than the other way around.”
Drawing a comparison with today’s hiring landscape, Nanavati said many young professionals now view investment banking, consulting and private equity through the lens of compensation first. His advice, however, remains unchanged: “In the early years of your career, optimise for learning, not earning.”
He encouraged young professionals to build deep domain expertise, work with exceptional leaders, seek challenging environments and develop sound judgment and credibility before chasing higher salaries.
Take a look at the post here:
An active discussion is what followed in the comments section as several professionals shared their own career journeys.
Several agreed with Nanavati’s philosophy, as one professional said curiosity, learning, organisational culture, purpose and values remain more important than maximising compensation, even for experienced employees, adding that both health and wealth compound over time.
Others argued that learning and earning should not be viewed as mutually exclusive. A user said prioritising learning makes sense if financial circumstances allow it, as the first decade of a career shapes technical expertise, decision-making, professional networks and problem-solving skills that continue to pay dividends later.
In their view, the ideal role combines fair compensation with a steep learning curve, making long-term professional growth more valuable than a larger first paycheck.
Many also shared stories of modest beginnings. One recalled graduating first among more than 5,000 students from Calcutta University in 1980 before joining Price Waterhouse in Kolkata as an audit assistant for just Rs 60 a month, with parents covering daily lunch expenses because entry-level chartered accountancy salaries were so low.
Not everyone agreed that Nanavati’s salary was unusually small for its time. A chemical engineering graduate from IIT Bombay pointed out that the typical starting salary for their 1985 graduating batch was around Rs 1,500, suggesting Rs 960 in 1977 may not have been exceptionally low.
Others felt career priorities have changed across generations. While broadly agreeing with Ajay Nanavati’s advice, a user observed that many young professionals today are less focused on spending decades with a single employer.
Instead, they tend to weigh compensation, work-life balance and time off alongside opportunities for skill development, arguing that perspectives from professionals in their 20s and 30s may differ significantly from those of older generations.
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