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Will young Americans want to work in semiconductor manufacturing? [video]

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Re: Will young Americans want to work in semiconductor manufacturing? [video]

#51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not all jobs are worth the same amount. Nannying is quite important but it is low skill (meaning supply of labor is high) and thus will probably command lower wages than semiconductor manufacturing.

I don't think its low skill/high supply that's the problem here. The fact is a nanny is only servicing one family and so their entire economic input must be a fraction of that family's income. Same problem hair stylist faces compared to a software developer. You can only cut so many heads of hair in a single day which limits your total possible income to a fraction of mine because a billion people can buy my software…

I don't think it's so clear cut. Baumol costs disease already goes a long way, and developers only receive exponential rewards if they have significant equity. Some can go solo or succeed at the startup route but they are a minority.

Furthermore, with AI becoming increasingly sophisticated, we might see a seachange in developer salaries with only the most talented and valuable devs getting massive increases and all the rest being made redundant. Leading us back to the low skill/high supply problem.

Re: Will young Americans want to work in semiconductor manufacturing? [video]

#52
post #42

Tangentially related is the lack of young people entering the "trades" (plumbing, electrical, construction, etc). Can't help but think that now is probably a good time to enter a "trade" due to the lack of people who are doing that.

Everyone I know who got an apprenticeship after school instead of going to uni are absolutely raking it in and have enjoyed a significantly better quality of life than their uni going peers. I personally can’t see how the uni goers will end up having a better time in the long run as the official narrative goes. The majority of the tradies seem to end up buying multiple houses and going the landlord route for early retirement.

Re: Will young Americans want to work in semiconductor manufacturing? [video]

#54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And here I thought it was crushing inflation, unaffordable housing and stagnant wages.

Those are all real issues. That's why I used the term "exacerbate". Those who do the bare minimum to get by in life are only hurting themselves in the long run. This remains true despite a gloomy macroeconomic outlook.

> bare minimum

But a lot of people aren't even doing that. They're choosing to pick more lucrative career paths such as pushing JavaScript for cat photo social networks, working on ways to increase engagement for users to see ads, and whatever other ways FAANGs previously propped up by low interest rates, or startups propped up by VC funding, make money.

That work isn't necessarily easier, but it's not semiconductor manufacturing, or rebuilding American infrastructure, or being essential workers during a pandemic, or whatever other important but far less-paying work than consumer software engineering (or say, the financial industry).

Re: Will young Americans want to work in semiconductor manufacturing? [video]

#55
post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. The same applies to infosec, COBOL, and other niches where jerbs allegedly can't be filled: pay more money to attract better and more people.

Software jobs don't have manufacturing overhead. You can't compare them to other technical fields.

You can in terms of labor supply and demand, just not in terms of capital intensity.

Re: Will young Americans want to work in semiconductor manufacturing? [video]

#56
post #10

I worked at the Samsung A2/S2 lines in ATX with a bunch of young Americans back around 2011-2013. I would say they absolutely would. It's a very high-energy place with more going on than you can ever hope to keep track of. Even if the technology doesn't interest you, the cultural interactions should. You could have some days with Japanese, Koreans and Americans translating 3-ways in a conference room. Opportunities f…

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Re: Will young Americans want to work in semiconductor manufacturing? [video]

#57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This world view seems like a potential death spiral. As world views become bleak, is encouraging people to say "fuck it" and maximize for enjoyment really the best move? Whatever happened to working hard to build a future for oneself? Yes, I understand there are higher powers that be and people with much more powers than you and I that are ruining the future but is the answer really to lay down and be engulfed in the…

Forget the metaverse, try LSD and psilocybin. I think the only reason Zuck is pushing this VR nonsense is that he took too much and now he thinks he can put ads in your VR trip.

I think it’s the opposite; he’s such a square which explains why his imagination is stuck on literally creating Snow Crash.

Anyone who has tripped balls and come out OK is not so addicted to literalness as Zuck. They realize a multiverse of perspectives lives within them. It doesn’t need to be made “real”.

Re: Will young Americans want to work in semiconductor manufacturing? [video]

#58

Will there be low wages with huge bonuses for the CEOs while the workers have to struggle to pay rent? Young people know the future is not bright, and I encourage them to enjoy their lives while they still can.

This world view seems like a potential death spiral. As world views become bleak, is encouraging people to say "fuck it" and maximize for enjoyment really the best move? Whatever happened to working hard to build a future for oneself? Yes, I understand there are higher powers that be and people with much more powers than you and I that are ruining the future but is the answer really to lay down and be engulfed in the…

> Whatever happened to working hard to build a future for oneself?

People are discovering that working hard doesn't build a better future for oneself, it builds a better future for CEOs and shareholders.

Re: Will young Americans want to work in semiconductor manufacturing? [video]

#59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“Will there be low wages with huge bonuses for the CEOs while the workers have to struggle to pay rent?” Isn’t that the updated “American Dream”?

I heard on the news this morning it's called the American Experiment.

No post body was provided.

Re: Will young Americans want to work in semiconductor manufacturing? [video]

#60

A substantial perk would be subsidized housing. A modern fab can cost ~$20B (maybe more in the US) and obviously the planning and permit process is likely also a couple order of magnitudes more difficult than normal real estate development. Spending ~$100M on employee housing would make the compensation a lot more competitive since software salaries are high but tend to be located in HCOL areas. Spend another ~$100M…

I could see it working if it were indirect and at arms length. A bit of a planned neighborhood that included High and medium density housing near the factory, maybe kick a few bucks the developers way to get it built right. That way there is supply of reasonably priced housing nearby.

I wouldn't directly subsidize it though, that would become bigger shackles than work provided health care.

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