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Purdue Starts Comprehensive Semiconductor Degree Programs in U.S.

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Re: Purdue Starts Comprehensive Semiconductor Degree Programs in U.S.

#151

Post by ostenning »

CodeSgt wrote: post #93
badRNG wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you have experience with software, learning embedded concepts isn't a huge leap. At least in my area, aerospace, defense, and automotive tend to be the biggest, easiest employers to get started with. They will hire basically anyone with a solid grasp of C, OSes, and basic computer architecture (at an undergrad level.) I find embedded really rewarding. A 20 year old embedded-C code base generally follows the same d…

Know of any companies/industries that have started switching to Rust for embedded?

I know synthesizer manufacturers that are switching over to Rust for their embedded devices, Elektron is an obvious one that comes to mind. There is also some adaptation in the Eurorack space thanks to a lot of open source work done for stm32's, I've built a commercial Eurorack product using Rust.

Its pretty great to be honest, I think I would have a hard time going back to C/++

Re: Purdue Starts Comprehensive Semiconductor Degree Programs in U.S.

#152

Post by goodpoint »

nsonha wrote: post #102
goodpoint wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Web development ... is much closer to Software Engineering Is what?!

There are still peole like this who think Software Engineering is Computer Sience it's barely even engineering

I would say in well known tech companies it's the opposite: software and system engineering > computer science > web development

Typically softeng roles require a degree in CS or equivalent, and many years of experience on top of that.

Then again, in some other companies "senior engineer" is somebody who did a 3-months bootcamp and 3 years of work. It's very unfortunate.

Re: Purdue Starts Comprehensive Semiconductor Degree Programs in U.S.

#153

Post by nsonha »

goodpoint wrote: post #152
nsonha wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are still peole like this who think Software Engineering is Computer Sience it's barely even engineering

I would say in well known tech companies it's the opposite: software and system engineering > computer science > web development Typically softeng roles require a degree in CS or equivalent, and many years of experience on top of that. Then again, in some other companies "senior engineer" is somebody who did a 3-months bootcamp and 3 years of work. It's very unfortunate.

is that because "computer science" is understood to be algorithms? That's like a super narrow area in it

Re: Purdue Starts Comprehensive Semiconductor Degree Programs in U.S.

#154

Post by rjsw »

hanszarkov wrote: post #125

I have fond memories of my semiconductor physics classes. The were not easy whatsoever, rather intense. As cvccvroomvroom had mentioned, I had my VLSI chip fabbed at the MOSIS facility in Westborough MA, during my EE tenure at UMASS Amherst in the 1990s as part of a state-wide chip design competition (yeah - didn't win..). There was much activity on VLSI and computer system design at that time, things have certainly…

The original Berkeley RISC chips were fabbed by MOSIS, would guess that Stanford MIPS ones were too but don't have any papers on that.

Re: Purdue Starts Comprehensive Semiconductor Degree Programs in U.S.

#155

Post by rjsw »

FPGAhacker wrote: post #134
irrational wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Clearly, it'll not pay SW salaries - no engineering does. For some reason, I assumed that in order to be a chip designer you had to be as good at programming as a developer. Then I became friends with two intel chip designers/engineers and was surprised that neither knew much of anything about programming, despite both having multiple PhDs in their fields. That's when I began realizing that engineering and programm…

In my experience, programming is something you can get pretty far learning on your own. In grade school. I’m not talking about red-black trees or computer sciencey things, but you can definitely get started making games of varying complexity when you are 10 years old or younger. Things you can build and see and have immediate feedback. That just doesn’t happen with chip design. Not that it can’t, and I’m sure there a…

Not chip design, but I did more electronics than programming as a teenager. Computers were expensive but individual electronic components were not and my grandfather taught me how to etch PCBs and build radios, learned digital stuff using TTL on breadboards.

Re: Purdue Starts Comprehensive Semiconductor Degree Programs in U.S.

#156

Post by AshamedCaptain »

Rafuino wrote: post #130
AshamedCaptain wrote: post #107

Intel is in hiring freeze right now. So much for the gazillions of needed engineers.

In the PC division apparently, not across the company or in data center focused areas. Gazillions still needed in those areas

The PC division which is the largest chip group in Intel, and even includes their moonshot divisions like Labs. Nothing to worry about.

Re: Purdue Starts Comprehensive Semiconductor Degree Programs in U.S.

#157

Post by plonk »

bushbaba wrote: post #67
plonk wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

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?

Re: Purdue Starts Comprehensive Semiconductor Degree Programs in U.S.

#158

Post by smolder »

nsonha wrote: post #153
goodpoint wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would say in well known tech companies it's the opposite: software and system engineering > computer science > web development Typically softeng roles require a degree in CS or equivalent, and many years of experience on top of that. Then again, in some other companies "senior engineer" is somebody who did a 3-months bootcamp and 3 years of work. It's very unfortunate.

is that because "computer science" is understood to be algorithms? That's like a super narrow area in it

I've encountered some "computer science" programs that barely taught people to program in Java, included classes on Microsoft Excel and Access and didn't include any advanced math. Data structures and algorithms might get a single class to satisfy interview questions about linked lists vs arrays and what Big O notation means. It's kind of a polluted term I think, in part due to that kind of usage by community colleges and the like.

Re: Purdue Starts Comprehensive Semiconductor Degree Programs in U.S.

#159

Post by acoard »

smalley wrote: post #12

This seems like good marketing but reading this press release and looking at the courses in their degree program I feel like I'm missing what's different here (other than some reference to supply chain management). Most of the coursework here seems to be very similar to what was available over a decade ago at the state university I attended for graduate school (my concentration was semiconductor device theory related…

Help me understand, are you saying this is purely smoke and mirrors or just nothing fundamentally new?

As a semiconductor lay-person, my expectation is that this course would really just be an organized curriculum around semiconductors, and if you completed it you'd be hopefully competitive getting a job at Intel/Qualcom/etc. I am not expecting them to be providing any fundamentally novel approaches to semiconductor theory or design. To me it makes sense that the same type of knowledge may have been at the graduate (or more advanced) level before.

So to my (ignorant, layperson) perspective, I see the value of this making semiconductor study more accessible. It's no longer something you have to do for a (for example) PhD, but rather a structured program that should lead to an increase in semiconductor experts.

Am I off base? When you say you feel like you are "missing what's different here", what would you expect? Is it typical for new academic physics programs to provide truly novel techniques?

Re: Purdue Starts Comprehensive Semiconductor Degree Programs in U.S.

#160

Post by oceanghost »

nurspouse wrote: post #72
jjoonathan wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Warning: nerd trap. Low wages, horrendous deadlines (tapeout), hard work. Perhaps this has changed, given that we're in a semiconductor boom cycle now, but I have my doubts. When SMIC started trying to poach TSMC talent, the response was not to make pay competitive (or even half decent), let alone in line with the massive geopolitically-relevant value being created. No, the response was a mask-off legislative crackdo…

I worked at Intel, and with process/fab people for a number of years. Everything you're seeing in the comments is true. Compensation is not that bad. Clearly, it'll not pay SW salaries - no engineering does. But if you're a fab person, you'll work long hours, be on call often (and you will get woken up often), and eventually will own a tool that you'll be responsible for, even when not on call. Lots of abusive and pa…

This tracks for me.

I worked for a supplier for AMAT/Intel/Samsung etc. and was basically on-call 24/7. I had to carry two laptops with me at all times (my personal one and a work one).

I didn't care because I was young, and well compensated, but they decided that they'd cut my pay by a third by converting me to a salaried employee. The unpaid overtime (previously paid as a contractor) lost its luster quickly. Once I realized I was subsidizing bad management because I was filling the gaps left by often intentional shortcuts taken-- for free, I bailed. That took... two months I think.

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