Failed NEET, gave up UPSC, then became youngest woman to work with Rolls Royce, she is…, her annual salary is Rs…
Life has its own course. Not clearing UPSC or NEET does not mean the end of the world. Everyone’s path taken is different, and success comes in many forms. At the end of the day, it’s all about finding the thing you love and having the passion to go through it all. Often, the journey we never planned for leads us to the most extraordinary places. This story revolves around a woman from Karnataka who didn’t clear NEET or UPSC, and ended up making Rs 72 lakh at Rolls-Royce.
Who is Rithuparna K S?
A 20-year-old girl from a small village has become the pride of Rolls-Royce! Interestingly, she couldn’t even qualify for a seat through the NEET exam and then gave up the pursuit of her UPSC dream. She did not give up on herself — she went on to pursue a degree in robotics. Today, she has a job with a whopping Rs 72 lakh package!
Rithuparna K S once believed her dreams had been lost—she was unable to secure a government seat through NEET and finally, she decided to let go of the dream of UPSC aspirant. However, today, at 20, the girl from Koduru in the Thirthahalli taluk of Karnataka has become news after becoming the youngest woman to join UK-based Rolls-Royce at Rs 72.3 lakh per annum working in their jet engine manufacturing division.
After finishing her schooling from St. Agnes, Rithuparna felt let down when she was not able to qualify for a government MBBS seat through NEET. “My dream was to become a doctor,” she said to TNN. Rithuparna was encouraged to pursue engineering by her father. She made this decision to change the next vast and important step in her education – when she gained admission to Sahyadri College of Engineering and Management (SCEM), Mangaluru, in 2022 through the CET.
What started off as a secondary plan soon transformed into her core passion. “From day one at college, I started exploring,” she was quoted as saying to a leading daily. With energy from automation, she specialized in Robotics and Automation Engineering. After watching my seniors’ work, she started to pursue projects with real work value and purpose.
Rithuparna and her team created a robotic sprayer and harvester for arecanut farmers which won a gold medal and a silver medal at the INEX international conference in Goa, with entrants from countries such as Japan, Singapore, Russia, and China. She also worked on robotic surgery research at NITK Surathkal and was instrumental in the development of a mobile app for solid waste management, working closely with Mullai Muhilan MP, the Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada.
Desiring an international experience, Rithuparna contacted Rolls-Royce for an internship. At the outset, the company questioned her ability to complete any work, stating that she wouldn’t be able to finish even one task in a month.
“I asked them for a chance,” Rithuparna K S was quoted as saying by EconomicTimes. They had a challenge with a deadline of one month—but Rithuparna was able to complete it all in a week.
Because of her efficiency, the company started assigning her projects that were even more difficult and managing an intense work-load of projects and interviews that spanned more than eight months—and while also engaged in her sixth semester of college. At times this involved working from midnight to 6 AM IST to coordinate with the work hours in the UK. In December 2024, she accepted a pre-placement offer with a package of ₹39.6 lakh per year. By April 2025, her performance and phenomenal achievements led to a revision of her offer letter for ₹72.3 lakh in a year.
News