Amrish Rau, the CEO of fintech giant Pine Labs, has sparked a viral conversation on X by highlighting how rising salaries and endless opportunities are fueling boredom and job-hopping among young workers. His newest post is resonating with a generation that’s grappling for purpose beyond the paycheck.
Rau, an entrepreneur who previously co-founded Citrus Pay and led PayU India, drew from his deep experience in the fintech sector, stating, “Mid-career crisis has existed for many years. Well-settled mid-management folks (early 40s) suddenly get bored of their jobs and start wondering if they could do something different. They chuck away jobs to explore new avenues.”
Rau argues the timeline is accelerating dramatically. “This mid-career crisis is now coming earlier. With rising salaries, young folks feel settled and ‘arrived’ by their late 20s to early 30s. The search for constant excitement makes them get bored quickly in the same job. Aspirations are rising fast, and nothing seems impossible, making them wonder if there is something more to do than just the current job. This is reflecting in shortened job tenures or early career breaks,” he added.
He concluded his post with a bold statement, “30s is the new 40s for mid-career crisis.”
Pine Labs CEO comments on mid-career crisis
Rau’s observations come amid booming Indian job markets, where entry-level salaries in tech and finance have surged 20-30% annually, based on recent NASSCOM reports. However, this financial windfall is dangerous too. Young professionals, armed with skills from bootcamps and remote gigs, hit the “settled” status faster, but at the cost of fulfillment.
LinkedIn’s 2025 Workplace Report notes average job tenures dropping to 2.3 years for under-35s, up from 4 years a decade ago.
Netizens react to Rau
As expected, replies to Rau’s thread poured in, with some of them in agreement while others were in denial.
Tech founder Anand Chandrasekaran wrote, “With life spans increasing, time to rename it to 1/3rd life crisis :).” Developer Kumar Kislay countered it by stating, “The crisis is coming earlier, but so are the opportunities.”
“Mid career crisis come usually after 35+, when your kids demand your time, your parents need care and you are transitioning to senior roles in career. I don’t belive it hits in early 20s and 30s,” said Manish Khandelwal, another tech person.
Pallav Kaushish, head of innovation at Inc42, came up with a different angle, “My sense is this is only happening in hi-tech, finance, consulting. In all other ‘traditional’ industries, salaries aren’t as high and people still get financially comfortable in their 40s.”
