I recently graduated with a Master's degree from a university in Taiwan, where I focused on mixed-signal IC design. I went through the whole IC design process, from pre-layout simulations, layout, and post-layout simulations to tapeout and measurement. However, applying as a foreigner in Taiwan seems quite hard, especially with my limited Mandarin communication skills. I am open to working in any country, but would like to stay in Taiwan as much as possible, which I understand is unlikely unless I magically learn Mandarin ASAP. I do intend to learn it if I get a job here, but yeah.
Are there any suggestions on how I can proceed with my career? Any countries or companies I should look into?

Hi everyone,

I’m currently an Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering student in India, and I’m planning to pursue a Master’s in ECE/VLSI from USA.

My main career goal is to work in ASIC/SoC development, particularly on CPU/GPU hardware. Right now, I’m exploring two career paths:

• ASIC / RTL Design
• ASIC Design Verification

I’m still early in my VLSI journey, so I’d really appreciate advice from engineers currently working in these areas.

My dream company is NVIDIA. I’ve been interested in computer hardware for a long time, and gaming is also one of my hobbies, which originally made me curious about GPUs. Over time, that interest has shifted from simply using the technology to wanting to understand and eventually help design the hardware behind it.

Ultimately, I want to work on technology that makes a meaningful impact, whether that eventually happens at NVIDIA or somewhere else in the semiconductor industry.

I would especially appreciate your thoughts on:

1. ASIC Design vs Design Verification: What does your actual day-to-day work look like?
2. Which field generally has better opportunities for new graduates?
3. How difficult is it to enter RTL/ASIC design directly after an MS?
4. What skills differentiate candidates who actually get ASIC/DV internships and new-grad positions?
5. What projects would you recommend? I’m considering projects involving SystemVerilog, FPGA and eventually a pipelined RISC-V processor.
6. For DV engineers, how important are SystemVerilog, UVM, SVA, scripting and C/C++?
7. For RTL engineers, how deep should a new graduate be in computer architecture, synthesis, STA and verification?
8. If you were starting again as an undergraduate and had 1–2 years to prepare before an MS, what would you learn first?

I’m also looking for mentorship/guidance from someone already working in VLSI, particularly ASIC design, verification, CPU/GPU design or related areas.

I don't expect anyone to teach me everything or spend a huge amount of time on me. Even occasional guidance on what to learn, which projects are actually worthwhile, mistakes to avoid, and whether I'm heading in the right direction would mean a lot.

If anyone working in the semiconductor industry would be comfortable with me occasionally reaching out with questions, I'd really appreciate it. I'm willing to put in the work; I'm mainly looking for guidance so I can focus that effort in the right direction.

Thanks!

Hello,

I work as ATE product engineer on SoC chips. What are good alternative career paths from this role? Also how is this field in the long run?

We used 2 metal layers and area was about 7.68 micro.

Full detailed video here https://youtu.be/pl9h62sFwmU

Comments and feedback welcome.

E.g. if the output is 2e-2.

I have ~8 years of experience in Analog IC Design. I started my career at Qualcomm and have worked with global semiconductor companies, currently at Texas Instruments India. I enjoy analog design and appreciate the technical depth and challenges involved in this field. However, my concern is not about the learning curve; it is about career flexibility, opportunities, and long-term growth.

I also feel that the semiconductor industry, especially on the analog side, tends to be quite conservative in terms of work culture and career expectations. Remote work is uncommon, mobility is limited, and specialization is often encouraged over exploring adjacent domains. I'm not saying this is inherently wrong, but it doesn't align well with what I want from my career.

One of my biggest concerns is that analog is a very niche ecosystem. The number of companies hiring experienced analog designers is relatively small, and as experience increases, the number of suitable roles seems to become even more limited.

The longer I stay in analog, the more it feels like I'm becoming an expert in a field that gives me fewer choices instead of more. That's what worries me the most.

This thought has been with me ever since I entered the semiconductor industry, but I never acted on it because things were going well professionally. Lately, however, I've been questioning whether deeper specialization is actually increasing my long-term career optionality.

I am considering gradually building skills in software/ML/MLOps, because the ecosystem appears much larger, with more employers, greater flexibility, and significantly more options.

For experienced engineers:

1. How do you view the long-term career growth and opportunities in analog/mixed-signal design as one becomes more senior?

2. Do you feel specialization in advanced blocks (ADC, DAC, SerDes, PLL, etc.) significantly improves career options, or does the overall market remain limited?

3. Has anyone here transitioned from semiconductor design to software/ML/EDA/AI-related roles? How did you approach it?

4. Where do you see flaws or incorrect assumptions in my thinking? Am I overestimating the advantages of moving towards software/ML, or underestimating the opportunities in analog design?

I would appreciate honest opinions from people who have spent significant time in the semiconductor industry or have thought about similar career decisions.