Walking into a salary discussion without research is like negotiating blindfolded. The 15-20 minutes spent on salary research before an interview can be worth lakhs in your final offer. Here's a systematic approach to salary research for Indian professionals.
Best salary data sources for India: Glassdoor India (most comprehensive — salary data by company, role, and experience level. Over 1 crore salary entries), AmbitionBox (India-specific platform with detailed salary breakdowns by company, including CTC structure), Levels.fyi (best for tech companies — shows salary by specific company levels like Google L4 or Amazon SDE-2, including base, bonus, and stock), LinkedIn Salary Insights (shows salary ranges based on title, location, and experience — useful for non-tech roles), and PayScale India (broad data across industries with cost-of-living adjustments).
How to triangulate salary data: Don't rely on a single source. Search your target role on at least 3 platforms and find the overlapping range. If Glassdoor shows ₹18-28 LPA, AmbitionBox shows ₹20-30 LPA, and LinkedIn shows ₹19-27 LPA for a Senior SDE in Bangalore, your market range is approximately ₹19-28 LPA with a median of ₹23-24 LPA.
Beyond online tools: Talk to people. Informal conversations with peers in similar roles at similar companies provide the most accurate and current data. Join LinkedIn salary discussion groups, check Blind (anonymous professional network), and ask your mentor network. Recruiters are also willing to share role budget ranges if you ask: 'Could you share the compensation range budgeted for this position?'
Adjust for your specific situation: Online averages are just that — averages. Adjust for: your specific years of experience, the city (Bangalore pays 15-20% more than average), your specialization premium (AI/ML, cloud = higher), the company's stage and funding (Series-C startup may pay more than an established company), and the demand for your skill set.