By Saloni Jhunjhunwala on Jul 26, 2011, 12:00 AM

I am a mechanical engineer. When I graduated, a company like Tata, lets call it Triyama, offered me a monthly salary of Rs. 20000 and a foreign establishment that around Rs. 70000. Triyama's policy was to switch an employee on probation to a permanent employee after 2 years in service. An engineer, a permanent employee, gets upwards of Rs. 100000 in Triyama to begin with. Where as, the foreign establishment would keep one at 70000 for the longest possible duration and then consider whether the employee is worth an increment or not.

Which one do I choose would depend on how much I value my career and its growth over the long run and how much I value money today. There are enough examples out there. Things like training, honesty, reliability, permanence, stability, brand name, long term career, career dynamics and of course compensation play a significant role in one's decision around his/her career. Most of these would often make one ignore the value of money but that attitude is getting lost with each passing generation. The young would choose to earn more today and figure out things as they come along in the future. And an argument on this would be without a winner.