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Comment by bushbaba | Hacker News Reader

When in University, Intel gave a presentation. They stated the same facts that the Semi industry will be low waged, hard work, and require MULTIPLE PHDs. That presentation gave me enough information to recognize that I really didn't want to be in the semi-industry.

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Intel turned the screws so hard on their employees that the market actually punished them for it. That never happens, but Intel went so far beyond the pale that it did.

A mentor of mine hit his breaking point when they split/bankrupt/acquired his team to discharge pension obligations. Real nasty stuff. He said everyone was retiring, "good luck with the next node" (10nm) -- which I discounted as sour grapes on account of Intel appearing invincible at the time, but wow have the years cast that story in a different light.

> require MULTIPLE PHDs

Was that a joke? What's the point of doing two PhDs in the same field? That's like 12 years wasted. 1/8th of your life.

Nope. They said they employed folks with a PHD in Electrical Engineering who also had a PHD in Chemical Engineering or similar field.

While such people may exist at Intel, it's not at all the norm, and to be frank, doesn't improve your chances of getting a job there.

(Worked at Intel and along with fab/process folks for a bunch of years).

Just do a PhD in electrochemical engineering and be done with it. Aren't there labs that focus on chip manufacturing and would allow students to work on the intersection?

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