Philip Wong, formerly chief scientist at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation and now a Stanford professor, found that only 17 percent of his former PhD students work at companies that manufacture microchips. The majority have moved to design or user firms like Apple, Nvidia, AMD, Google, and Pinterest, or consulting. Wong attributes this to better compensation, career growth, and work environment.
In Taiwan and Korea, semiconductor manufacturing remains the most sought-after employment. Since returning to power, US President Donald Trump has pledged to bring chip production back to America, supporting the 2022 Chips Act despite previously calling it a "horrible thing". The administration has offered subsidies, taken a 10 percent stake in Intel, and imposed import tariffs on chipmaking equipment to encourage domestic fabrication.
TSMC has pledged over $250 billion in new investment for chip plants. However, economists Ian Fletcher and Marc Fasteau argue industrial policy fails without coordination, holism, and longevity. CCIA warns Trump's tariffs could increase semiconductor fabrication plant costs by $450 billion between 2026-2030, hindering the investment the president seeks.
Infrastructure complaints include inadequate power supply, permit delays, and a dire worker shortage. A McKinsey report calculates a total shortfall of up to 157,000 engineers, noting talent shortages risk delaying fab start-ups. Congressional reports confirm TSMC and Micron have delayed fabs in Arizona and New York due to labor and supply-chain shortages.
Solutions proposed include copying Asia's long-term policy or importing engineers, though coordinating rival companies remains difficult.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing