At the outset let’s ruminate the notion: How Much Salary is necessary for a Smooth Living in India? Well, you all will agree that this is pretty much a subjective notion. Yes it is, but being a commerce student we are passionate about studying such phrases and this one is easily decoded by studying Maslow’s need hierarchy theory. Remember Chapter 7 of your Class 12th Business Studies course? Most probably the answer would be a dim yes!
Maslow in his need hierarchy theory very lucidly concretes the needs of homo sapiens in order of their urgencies, They are:- Physiological Needs (Shall be addressed first and includes basic survival needs), Safety/Security needs, Social needs, Self esteem needs and Self-Actualization needs.
Coming Back to the question: How Much Salary is necessary for a Smooth Living in India? So a clear yet vague answer would be the figure that satisfies both your Physiological (I) and Security (II) needs. A figure was actualized by various surveys that averaged the salary of Working Indian Professionals and that was ₹32,840 per month, You can fairly Imagine an ideal Average Working Indian Lifestyle with this amount!
Average Salary of CA in India
The average placement packages offered to a newly graduated CA in the ICAI placements are close to 7.36 lakhs (average over the years) in a recent data disclosed by the institution. Hence, one can realise a balanced lifestyle in any Indian city with such a package.
The highest scorers on the charts are the ones stocked with good amount of Marks, better ranks and best exposure during articleship and are employed in MNCs such as BIG4, the figures go as high as ₹25-₹30 lakhs per annum. Furthermore, a few of the fresher Indian CAs are also hired by International Firms and their remuneration skyrockets being in Forex and they make as much as ₹75 lakhs-₹1 crore per annum.
The Highest package that was offered in the recently reported Feb-March 2019 ICAI campus placements was ₹22.30 Lakhs per annum while the average pay offered was ₹8.40 LPA for that particular year. The yearly trends of ICAI campus placements aptly suggest the ever increasing demand and packages of CAs across the nation (In simple layman language every year there’s an increase in average package offered at ICAI placements :-)).
The best part of being a CA is that you might be earning the same money as other professionals but surely you will manage your finance in a much better way compared to them as for the financial literacy you possess is at a pro level.
WHAT MAKES YOU GRAB MORE IN THE PLACEMENTS?
To conclude the contemplation of the subject it is a must to mention ways to boost your Starting Salary as a CA to cover the gap between ₹6 LPA and ₹75 LPA! Understandably there are thousands graduating from the ICAI every year, what is the reason for the low scorers not getting at par with the Highest scorers? The talk is summarised in bullets as follows:-
- Skill Set: A Perfect Job requires the perfect combination of skill sets and they are a good deciding factor in your financial success.
- Professional Proficiency: The Professional Knowledge you possess greatly determines your earning.
- Personality You Possess: The constant factor for success in every career is a personality that the Field demands, it all depends on how you get evaluated during Personality tests aka interviews.
- City you work in: Your salary would be obviously more in Tier 1 Cities than in Tier 2 and Tier cities for the same position.
- Size of the firm you work for: Bigger Firms reward their employees better.
- Mid-career Trainings and Workshops: There are constant amendments, new entrants in the Taxation system of a developing country so it is important to keep yourself Updated for a successful career.
- Your Rank In CA Exams: This plays a key role in your salary as a fresher, Better the Rank Better the Offer.
- A First Timer or A Multiple Attempter: This again is a judging factor for your professional know-how and directly affects your salary; a first-timer is generally the first choice and a first-class package holder.
- Experience During Articleship: because you can’t learn everything in a classroom, Company’s greatly charm your experience during articleship.