India, May 31 -- For many young engineers, landing a high-paying government job right after college is considered a career milestone. However, 25-year-old Sourabh Mittal chose to walk away from a Rs.19 LPA role at Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) just 2 years after joining the public sector.

Mittal, who hails from Kaithal in Haryana, graduated from NIT Kurukshetra and landed the BPCL job through campus placements at the age of 22. Coming from a middle-class family where job security was highly valued, he viewed the opportunity as a dream start to his career.

"My dad especially wanted me to work in a government setup. Hence I grabbed the opportunity when it landed," he told HT.com.

Mittal said that he initially felt excited a...