Candidates in HyrEzy's database who state both a current and an expected CTC ask for a median hike of 44% (97,721 candidates). Expectations are highest early in a career (57% at 0–2 years) and fall to 25% at 15+ years. By role, AI Engineer candidates ask for the most (66.7%) and Engineering Manager the least (20%).
- Median expected hike
- 44%
- All candidates
- Early career (0–2 yrs)
- 57%
- Senior (15+ yrs)
- 25%
- Candidates measured
- 97,721
Expected hike by role
Median expected hike over current CTC.
View as table
| Share | Profiles | |
|---|---|---|
| AI Engineer | 67% | 2,197 |
| ML Engineer | 60% | 1,229 |
| Data Engineer | 60% | 2,682 |
| Backend Engineer | 60% | 2,428 |
| DevOps & SRE | 60% | 5,372 |
| Full-stack Developer | 56% | 3,618 |
| Data Scientist | 50% | 1,539 |
| Data Analyst | 50% | 3,696 |
| Frontend Engineer | 50% | 3,103 |
| Mobile Developer | 50% | 1,584 |
| QA & SDET | 50% | 3,619 |
| UI/UX Designer | 43% | 1,598 |
| Product Manager | 30% | 2,390 |
| Marketing | 30% | 1,960 |
| Customer Success | 30% | 718 |
| HR & Talent | 28% | 1,256 |
| Sales & BD | 28% | 2,011 |
| CXO & Leadership | 25% | 1,398 |
| Engineering Manager | 20% | 511 |
Expected hike by experience
Median expected hike over current CTC.
View as table
| Share | Profiles | |
|---|---|---|
| 0–2 yrs | 57% | 26,348 |
| 3–5 yrs | 50% | 37,890 |
| 6–9 yrs | 33% | 15,391 |
| 10–14 yrs | 29% | 9,881 |
| 15+ yrs | 25% | 7,917 |
Expected hike by city
Median expected hike over current CTC.
View as table
| Share | Profiles | |
|---|---|---|
| Hyderabad | 50% | 12,066 |
| Pune | 50% | 5,794 |
| Chennai | 50% | 5,246 |
| Noida | 46% | 5,697 |
| Bangalore | 42% | 25,139 |
| Delhi NCR | 40% | 18,745 |
| Mumbai | 38% | 7,776 |
| Gurugram | 35% | 5,122 |
What this means for offers
An expected hike is an opening position, not a final number. It is still the best early signal of whether an offer will land: a budget well below a candidate's stated expectation usually means a longer negotiation or a decline.
Engineering roles show the highest expectations. Their pools are younger, and early-career candidates switching jobs expect the largest jumps. Business and leadership roles, with older pools, expect less.
We only count expectations between 0.8 and 3 times current CTC. Values outside that range are almost always typing errors or a figure in the wrong unit.
Frequently asked questions
What is a normal salary hike when switching jobs in India?
The median expected hike among candidates in HyrEzy's database is 44% over current CTC. Early-career candidates expect around 57%; candidates with 15+ years expect around 25%.
Which roles expect the biggest hikes?
AI Engineer (66.7%), ML Engineer (60%) and Data Engineer (60%).
Do expected hikes differ by city?
Yes. Hyderabad candidates ask for the most (50%) and Gurugram the least (35%), partly because of differences in how senior each city's pool is.
About this data
- Source: HyrEzy's candidate database, snapshot taken 20 September 2026. 7,07,237 profiles were considered; 1,26,358 of them record a current CTC.
- Pay is the current CTC a candidate recorded, in ₹ lakh per annum. It is not offer data. Values below ₹1.5 LPA or above ₹250 LPA are excluded as entry errors.
- Roles are matched on current job title, so "Data Engineer" means people whose current title says so. The pool covers product companies, services companies and enterprises.
- Expected hike compares expected with current CTC, counting only expectations between 0.8 and 3 times current pay.
- Privacy: we publish only aggregates. Any group with fewer than 30 CTC records is not shown for pay, and fewer than 10 profiles is not shown at all. No individual can be identified.
- Notice periods are not reported: imported profiles often store a default value when notice is missing, which makes the field unreliable in aggregate.
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