Scaler–CMR survey: 77% of MNCs in India plan to hire FDEs within a year, but 90% of engineers don't know how to upskill

A new report from upskilling company Scaler and research firm CMR, reported by ETHRWorld on October 22, surveyed 1,000 engineers and 200 enterprise decision-makers across India about forward deployed engineering. It found that 77% of multinational corporations plan to hire FDEs within the next year, and 88% of enterprises expect to need FDE capabilities by 2030.

The supply side looks thin. Only 1% of the engineers surveyed currently work in explicit FDE roles, and 90% said they don't know how to upskill for one, even though 58% said they want to move into FDE work. The report also projects FDE salaries in India reaching Rs 1 crore, though ETHRWorld notes it doesn't say whether that is an average, a ceiling or a figure for a specific seniority.

For engineers in India, the gap between hiring intent and readiness is the opportunity: customer-facing deployment skills (integration, data work, working inside client workflows) are what employers say they will pay for. Keep in mind the report comes from a company that sells training, so treat the salary projection as indicative rather than market data.