First salary: From office boy to private secretary

We'd asked you, dear readers, to tell us what your first salary was and what it meant to you at the time.
Rediff reader Eakanath Bandu Lote, 40 from Mumbai tells us how much his life has changed since his first job in 1996.

After completing SSC (class 10 examination), I could not pursue higher education due to financial constraints in the family.

In 1996, I took up my first job as an office boy for a monthly salary of Rs 450.

I would work from 9 am to 5 pm and attend night college from 6 to 9 pm.

I didn't see Rs 450 as a small amount. It was bread and butter for my family. At the same time, it helped me pay my tuition fee.

I'd contribute Rs 300 for family expenses and spend Rs 150 for my tuition.

Due to family responsibilities, it took me 8 years to complete my education.

I took a break of three years as I worked in shifts doing casual labour work and couldn't find time to attend college in the night.

In 2006, I graduated in arts majoring in political science from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj University, Kolhapur through distance education.

I simultaneously completed secretarial practice course through evening classes.

In 2008, I appeared for All India Open Competitive Examination and got selected as junior stenographer.

Subsequently I was promoted to senior stenographer in 2011 in the same department through the same examination.

In August 2019, I was promoted to private secretary, a gazetted post.

I am working for Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Tarapur (Maharashtra) whose head quarters is in Mumbai earning a monthly salary of over Rs 50,000.

The journey was not easy. I studied in a Marathi medium school and graduated from a night college.

But with determination and hard work, I managed to succeed both in my life and career.

I have experienced many ups and downs during my journey from office boy to private secretary, but I will never forget the importance of Rs 450 in my life.

• REDIFF READERS' SPECIAL: My first salary

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Did you buy a sari for your mum or a gift for your girl/boyfriend?

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