Entrepreneur and content creator Ankur Warikoo has shared how he went from earning just ₹14,750 a month at the age of 24 to making ₹33 lakh annually within five years, opening up about career struggles, education loans and the risks he took early in life.
In a recent Instagram video, Warikoo spoke about returning to India after dropping out of his studies in the United States and feeling completely uncertain about his future.
“My first job at age 24 paid a salary of ₹14,750 per month. In 5 years, I was earning ₹33 lakh,” Warikoo said in the video.
He recalled spending nearly 45 days searching for jobs through newspaper advertisements and walk-in interviews before finally reaching the last interview round at NIS Sparta.
At the time, he hoped he might get a salary of around ₹10,000 a month, but was eventually offered ₹15,000.
MBA loan became a turning point
Warikoo said working alongside MBA graduates made him feel underqualified and pushed him to think seriously about management education.
Around the same time, Indian School of Business launched its one-year MBA programme, which he decided to pursue despite the financial pressure it created on his family.
He described the education loan as “the biggest loan in the Warikoo family” and said the monthly EMI itself was around ₹20,000.
“So I asked myself: can I get a job paying ₹35,000 after ISB? ₹15,000 which I already earned and ₹20,000 which is the EMI. The answer was yes,” he wrote in the caption.
Warikoo also shared how intimidating ISB initially felt because he was surrounded by IIT toppers, chartered accountants, lawyers, doctors and defence professionals.
“At ISB, I didn’t have anything to share, I just had to absorb,” he said.
Salary jumped from ₹12 lakh to ₹33 lakh
During his MBA, Warikoo discovered consulting as a possible career path and started preparing for interviews.
After multiple interview rounds, he secured what he described as “one of the best jobs on campus” following his final interaction with a managing director.
According to Warikoo, his salary rose to ₹12 lakh annually after graduation.
He later received a promotion within one-and-a-half years, and by the time he resigned three years later, he was earning ₹33 lakh a year.
Reflecting on his journey, Warikoo said success was less about intelligence and more about effort and consistency.
“I am not the most intelligent person. But when someone trusted me, I worked hard to deserve it,” he said.
He ended his message with advice for young professionals trying to build their careers.
“Opportunities may come because of others. What you do after that is on you. Never stop working hard,” he added.
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