An anonymous engineer has sparked a heated debate online by asking graduates of Tier 2 and Tier 3 colleges to leave India to escape workplace discrimination.
Posting on Reddit, he said that IIT alumni often look down on graduates from lower-ranked institutions, creating an environment of bias and exclusion. “Dear 2/3 guys, if you want to lead a dignified life, you should leave India,” he wrote.
The engineer shared his personal experience of working with IIT graduates, describing years of subtle and overt discrimination. “You will never get respect here because you are in a tier 2 college,” he said. According to him, IITians used to dismiss his contributions, marginalize him in meetings and exclude him from social events. He alleged that they even sabotaged his career growth when interacting with upper management, especially regarding promotion or leave requests.
Facing such treatment for years, the engineer found a solution: left India. He revealed that pursuing a master's degree at a top-five US university dramatically changed the way he was treated. “Now that I've been in the US for the last year, the way I'm treated is very different,” he wrote. While he acknowledged the bias of IITians abroad, he emphasized that the choice not to interact with them was liberating.
The Reddit post sparked discussions about systemic bias in the workplace and pressures faced by graduates from non-IIT institutions. While many users supported his perspective, others questioned whether leaving the country was the only solution.