Rs 2.5 Crore Package from IIT Hyderabad: A Wake-Up Call for Parents on Career Guidance
Hyderabad, Telangana | 02 January 2026
In a defining moment for Indian higher education and career planning, Edward Nathan Varghese, a 21-year-old final-year B.Tech student in Computer Science and Engineering at 0, has secured an extraordinary annual compensation package of Rs 2.5 crore from global proprietary trading firm 1, headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
This is the highest salary package ever recorded in IIT Hyderabad’s 18-year history—achieved at a time when global tech hiring remains cautious. The offer, received through a pre-placement offer (PPO), followed Varghese’s exceptional performance during a two-month summer internship, underscoring a powerful truth for parents and students alike: early career awareness and skill-based preparation matter more than ever.
Why This Story Matters to Every Parent
Edward Varghese’s success is not accidental, nor is it limited to a single campus or degree. It reflects a long-term, well-aligned journey—one shaped by early exposure to mathematics, logical thinking, and problem-solving. Born and raised in Hyderabad to engineer parents, and later educated in Bengaluru from Classes 7 to 12, he steadily built a strong foundation in mathematics and computing.
His academic milestones are impressive: AIR 1100 in JEE Main 2022 and AIR 558 in JEE Advanced, earning him entry into IIT Hyderabad. But what truly sets him apart is what followed—his deliberate focus on competitive programming, algorithmic thinking, and quantitative reasoning from his very first year.
This is a crucial lesson for parents: rank alone does not build careers—direction does.
Skills Over Degrees: The New Hiring Reality
During his undergraduate years, Varghese ranked among the top 100 competitive programmers in India and secured 6th place in the 2024 India International Collegiate Programming Contest (IICPC) Summer Camp finals. He also scored a remarkable 99.96 percentile in CAT 2025, demonstrating versatility beyond pure coding.
Among two IIT Hyderabad interns at Optiver, he alone converted the internship into a full-time offer. This highlights a decisive shift in elite global hiring: demonstrated skills, problem-solving ability, and project execution now outweigh mass applications and conventional credentials.
Leadership, Not Just Marks
Beyond academics, Varghese served as Overall Head of the Office of Career Services (OCS) at IIT Hyderabad, managing over 250 coordinators and 8 managers. This leadership experience strengthened his communication, decision-making, and organizational skills—qualities global employers actively seek.
For parents, this reinforces a critical point: career readiness is holistic. Grades, skills, leadership, and clarity must grow together.
IIT Hyderabad: Proof That Career Awareness Multiplies Opportunity
Founded in 2008, IIT Hyderabad has rapidly emerged as a global academic hub, ranking 7th in Engineering and 6th in Innovation in NIRF 2025. Its flexible curriculum allows students to blend technology with finance, management, and research—exactly the environment where future-ready careers are born.
In the 2025 placement season, the institute recorded an average CTC of Rs 36.2 lakh with 24 international offers. Earlier top packages hovered around Rs 1 crore. Varghese’s Rs 2.5 crore package sets a new benchmark—and a new aspiration.
What Parents Must Do—Starting Today
While traditional career paths remain relevant, emerging domains like quantitative finance, algorithmic trading, AI, and data science are creating unprecedented global opportunities. Parents must initiate career conversations as early as middle school:
- Encourage coding, logic games, and mathematics Olympiads
- Expose children to problem-solving platforms like competitive coding
- Build awareness of careers beyond medicine and conventional engineering
- Seek structured career guidance instead of last-minute decisions after Class 10 or 12
Careers such as Quant Developer, Algorithmic Trader, Risk Analyst, and AI Engineer now offer international compensation once thought unimaginable. But these paths require early clarity and guided preparation.
The Road Ahead: Guidance Is No Longer Optional
Edward Varghese’s journey is not just a success story—it is a roadmap. With the right guidance, exposure, and planning, Indian students can compete—and win—on the global stage.
For parents, the message is clear: career guidance is not a luxury; it is a necessity. The earlier the intervention, the stronger the outcome.
