India vs UK Labor culture – Bengaluru Techie compares work culture in India and the United Kingdom after moving to London

Six months after changing his main residence from Bengaluru to London, a technician detailed his experience in a long thread over X, since he listed the key differences between the Indian technological industries and the United Kingdom.

Having moved in a global talent visa, Gupta promised several new companies before he finally comply with a role in a large technology company.

Reflecting on his experiences, Gupta observed a marked contrast in work culture between India and the United Kingdom. In London, Gupta said there is an obvious passion for software engineering crafts beyond job security or financial incentives.

“The greatest ‘change of environment’ for me was to see the average level of passion for ‘work’ (not for work, or the product, but only the work itself, and I am sorry if you do not get the difference) is out of the lists, compared to what I have seen in India,” he said.

He said that discussions felt collaborative even in formal interviews, focusing on exploring multiple solutions and participating in passionate debates about compensation, instead of only evaluation.

One of the main differences that Gupta highlighted was the way in which compensation structures formed the dynamics of the workplace. While technological salaries in India vary drastically, ranging from RS 8 LPA to RS 150 LPA for similar roles, the United Kingdom maintains a more balanced salary scale.

“Also unlike India, Tech here does not pay 10-20x literally any other work. In fact, here, finance is more that place where people go if they want to optimize purely for profits, regardless of loving their work. Technology pays well here, but it is not that 95% of people do it for money, without really like. It makes a lot of difference, ”he said.

This made him notice a “second order effects that arise”, since he listed them in these subsequent tweets.

Gupta also explained how the vast wage disparity of India in technological roles creates a toxic dynamic where compensation often depends on “randomness” instead of experience, skill or work complexity.

On the other hand, software engineering salaries in the United Kingdom vary from £ 60k to £ 200k, a modest 3x gap compared to the 20X disparity of India, Gupta observed. With lower inflation and slower salary growth, the United Kingdom professionals focus more on the development of skills, rather than aggressively changing jobs for mass salary increases.

In addition, Gupta added that the absence of authority bias in the United Kingdom is a change of play, since technical discussions are judged by merit instead of hierarchy. The arguments are freely discussed without personal crime, which leads to a collaborative work environment. However, he acknowledged that his perspective could be influenced by the “honeymoon period” of his experience and that he has not yet completely discovered the possible inconveniences.

Gupta concluded its publication by explaining that “in terms of seeking a technological career there are some advantages in India.”

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