Taking a break from the technical, career issues merit reflection and discussion. Here are some brief thoughts.
How's the Market?
What's your perception of the ASIC/EDA jobs market? My take is that it's pretty
weak, but a number of companies are "selectively hiring". I had a couple of
friends leave their struggling design services firm, and they were able to land
jobs at established growing companies within a couple of months. On the other
hand, there are plenty of engineers who have been looking for many months.
One differentiator is that hiring favors leading-edge experience (e.g., expert
P&R and design closure of 65 or 45nm chips), or knowledge (e.g., advanced
degree with an emphasis on an emerging hot area).
Natives Say No
With the depressed job market, this isn't the best time to wonder about this,
but I'm perplexed at the lack of US-born chip design engineers. Of course, it
stems from the lack of US-born engineering graduates. This leaves me scratching
my head--engineering jobs are not THAT bad. As a matter of fact, they're one of
the fastest ways to earn a very good paycheck out of college, with intellectual
challenge to boot.
A downside is that engineering isn't the most secure career around. There are
regular risks of downsizing or technological obsolescence. It's not a cushy
career, but how many are in this age of globalization?
If you want a secure career, at least medicine and law are "less outsourcable".
However, if you really want societal respect, security, and a guaranteed comfortable
retirement, I recommend becoming a fireman.
Give US Your Best and Brightest
In the US, we are so fortunate to attract many of the best and brightest
scientists and engineers from the rest of the world. There can be complaints
about "H-1B abuse", but there needs to be a system that allows the country
to benefit from the great contributions possible from immigrants with advanced
degrees.
Where Do Seasoned Engineers Go?
While I'm not there yet, friends and I do wonder where all the full-career
engineers are. Look around you -- do you see many 50-something engineers? I
don't, and I wonder. Do they all transform into real estate agents? Or should I
worry about a future as a Walmart greeter?
Others Weigh In
-
As I was preparing this post, a timely and provocative article appeared in EE Times,
U.S. engineers at a disadvantage
.
The discussion in the comments is fascinating.
- Update:
Harry the ASIC Guy and his commenters weigh in
on outsourcing, and IBM's aggressive program in particular.
- Update:
Lou Covey has analysis and advice at
We're in this boat together. Start acting like it.
Labels: career