4 ms·

You don’t want a Silicon job because your talent is illiquid. They can take a giant dump directly in your mouth while making steady eye contact and you can’t l

You don’t want a Silicon job because your talent is illiquid. They can take a giant dump directly in your mouth while making steady eye contact and you can’t leave because there is nowhere to go. In software and in startups if you have relevant skills and modern, up to date experience you can switch easily. Don’t work in industries that are declining and have no future and require advanced technical training that is non transferable. Oh you got a PHD in quantum silicon dick butt nanometers from MIT? That’s worth dick at 99.99% of companies. It will happen to you. You want startups where your abilities are transferable and the hiring market is broad and deep. And never move to a location where the only option is intel. That’s their favorite trick. Fuck that!

fooker 4y ago
Meanwhile ~50% of the EE PhD graduates, and ~10% of the CS PhD graduates from my university are joining Intel on a regular basis. Intel has a steady funnel of smart international PhD grads who are usually fine with the comparatively lower pay.
- osnium123 4y ago
  Are the EE PhDs at your university better than the top undergrads? I ask this because a PhD is no guarantee of quality.
  - fooker 4y ago
    They’d be significantly better than top undergrads immediately after graduating. Top undergrads after a few years guided by competent people and managing to keep motivated will be way better than the average PhD graduate.
vkou 4y ago
> In software and in startups if you have relevant skills and modern, up to date experience you can switch easily. I will also point out that in the current climate, 'switch easily' isn't a given in software.
- midoridensha 4y ago
  Sure it is, relatively. Software is used in all kinds of industries, not just ad-tech. There's no shortage of jobs in software, though the super-high-paying FAANG jobs are diminishing. If you work in chip design for Intel, this just isn't the case; there's only a few places you can go.
matrix_overload 4y ago
On the other extreme, you don't want to do completely commodity work, or you'll be stuck competing on who can move the subscribe button for a smaller bowl of ramen. The sweet spot is somewhere in between, where you have non-trivial skills others don't, and multiple companies willing to pay for them. In essence, supply and demand, like always.
siva7 4y ago
I can't emphasize enough how true this is - don't invest in non-transferable skills.
artisanspam 4y ago
The vast majority of engineers at Intel are not what you described. Most are CS/EE bachelors or masters that could go to dozens of other companies shipping hardware.
- nurspouse 4y ago
  Former Intel employee here. This may be true for their design folks, but the largest portion of the company is related to the fab, and there aren't many jobs for those folks. Moreover, the alternatives (TSMC, Samsung, etc) suck as much as Intel.
  - deelowe 4y ago
    I'm seeing plenty of intel folks move easily into other areas. I don't think this is true. We hired a test automation engineer who worked on the fab side at my last employer. They transitioned pretty well until a PCBA and server integration testing role.
    - nurspouse 4y ago
      If he was a test automation engineer, he likely had transferable skills. Many/most of the fab folks have almost no programming skills, and are PhDs in things like chemistry[1], etc. Now some of them do take the initiative and learn SW skills, or data analysis properly, and switch due to that. But the majority of them feel stuck. They have a heavy workload and do not feel they have time to learn new skills. [1] For a long time, and perhaps even now, the fabs only hired either technicians or PhDs. An exemption would be needed to hire someone with "just" an MS. Of course, almost none of these jobs actually need PhD level skills.
      - deelowe 4y ago
        Got it. I agree now, having seen many resumes from former Intel roles that match this pattern.
  - artisanspam 4y ago

fooker 4y ago

Meanwhile ~50% of the EE PhD graduates, and ~10% of the CS PhD graduates from my university are joining Intel on a regular basis. Intel has a steady funnel of smart international PhD grads who are usually fine with the comparatively lower pay.

osnium123 4y ago
Are the EE PhDs at your university better than the top undergrads? I ask this because a PhD is no guarantee of quality.
- fooker 4y ago
  They’d be significantly better than top undergrads immediately after graduating. Top undergrads after a few years guided by competent people and managing to keep motivated will be way better than the average PhD graduate.

vkou 4y ago

> In software and in startups if you have relevant skills and modern, up to date experience you can switch easily. I will also point out that in the current climate, 'switch easily' isn't a given in software.

midoridensha 4y ago
Sure it is, relatively. Software is used in all kinds of industries, not just ad-tech. There's no shortage of jobs in software, though the super-high-paying FAANG jobs are diminishing. If you work in chip design for Intel, this just isn't the case; there's only a few places you can go.

matrix_overload 4y ago

On the other extreme, you don't want to do completely commodity work, or you'll be stuck competing on who can move the subscribe button for a smaller bowl of ramen. The sweet spot is somewhere in between, where you have non-trivial skills others don't, and multiple companies willing to pay for them. In essence, supply and demand, like always.

siva7 4y ago

I can't emphasize enough how true this is - don't invest in non-transferable skills.

artisanspam 4y ago

The vast majority of engineers at Intel are not what you described. Most are CS/EE bachelors or masters that could go to dozens of other companies shipping hardware.

nurspouse 4y ago
Former Intel employee here. This may be true for their design folks, but the largest portion of the company is related to the fab, and there aren't many jobs for those folks. Moreover, the alternatives (TSMC, Samsung, etc) suck as much as Intel.
- deelowe 4y ago
  I'm seeing plenty of intel folks move easily into other areas. I don't think this is true. We hired a test automation engineer who worked on the fab side at my last employer. They transitioned pretty well until a PCBA and server integration testing role.
  - nurspouse 4y ago
    If he was a test automation engineer, he likely had transferable skills. Many/most of the fab folks have almost no programming skills, and are PhDs in things like chemistry[1], etc. Now some of them do take the initiative and learn SW skills, or data analysis properly, and switch due to that. But the majority of them feel stuck. They have a heavy workload and do not feel they have time to learn new skills. [1] For a long time, and perhaps even now, the fabs only hired either technicians or PhDs. An exemption would be needed to hire someone with "just" an MS. Of course, almost none of these jobs actually need PhD level skills.
    - deelowe 4y ago
      Got it. I agree now, having seen many resumes from former Intel roles that match this pattern.
- artisanspam 4y ago