For years, many students in India have grown up believing that cracking IIT and completing an engineering degree is the safest route to a high-paying career. But a 22-year-old from Uttar Pradesh is challenging that belief with his own story. Lavanya Jain, who dropped out of his BTech programme before graduating, claims he now earns around Rs 4.8 lakh every month by working with AI startups and building multiple income streams.

His recent post on X, where he shared screenshots of salary credits, has gone viral and raises questions about whether skills and real-world experience can sometimes matter more than college degrees.

Lavanya Jain grew up in Shamli, Uttar Pradesh, and studied at Scottish International School. He scored more than 95% in Class 12 and even secured full marks in Mathematics. Like many engineering aspirants, he appeared for JEE but did not get the result he wanted despite two attempts.

He later enrolled in Jaypee Institute of Information Technology (JIIT), Noida, to pursue BTech in Electronics and Communications Engineering. However, during college, he found himself more interested in startups, growth marketing, content distribution and technology than in following the traditional engineering route.

Eventually, he left the course in his final semester.

Speaking about that decision, Jain said, “I’m not even from an IIT. In fact, I dropped out from my Btech, majoring in electronics and communications engineering in my final semester. I think it was one of the best decisions of my life.”

Instead of preparing for campus placements, Jain began taking up freelance work while still in college. According to his LinkedIn profile, he has worked with organisations such as DRDO, LangDB, Dualite, Runable, Social Capital Inc., Kairos Computer and Fold in growth, SEO, developer relations, influencer marketing and go-to-market roles.

He has claimed that one of his biggest achievements came while working with AI startup Runable, where he helped scale the company's launch from zero to US$1 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) within 10 days. He also says he has generated nearly 30 million views for AI product launches, negotiated influencer campaigns worth more than US$250,000 and built online communities across X and Reddit.

Today, he says he works with global AI startups in growth leadership roles while also taking up freelance consulting assignments.

In his viral X post, Jain shared screenshots showing two bank credits of around Rs 3.74 lakh and Rs 1.12 lakh, taking the total to nearly Rs 4.86 lakh for the month.

He also claimed that his annual earnings are now above US$100,000 despite working part-time as a contractor.

“I’m earning more than the highest placement of my college (100k USD) that too working part time, as a contractor,” he wrote.

Jain further said, “I have 5 sources of passive incomes, and my main income covers everything I spend on myself (and I spend a lot btw).”

Jain insisted that the purpose of sharing his earnings was not to boast but to question the belief that success depends only on graduating from a prestigious institute.

“This is not a flex, really it’s not. Just a subtle reminder that IIT is just a tag. Sure it will give you that alumni network and a couple of eyeballs, but what’s the use when you got a couple of IITians working under you lol,” he wrote.

His remarks triggered mixed reactions online. While many users congratulated him and praised his unconventional journey, others argued that his experience is an exception and that IITs continue to provide significant advantages through education, placements and alumni networks.