Semiconductors industry (Dallas, Austin, Irving: townhouse, layoffs, purchase)

[alex_a_2015]

Hello everyone,

I'm working in semiconductors industry, SOC digital design to be more specific, currently located in Southern California.

I've been recently contacted by a semiconductors company for a possible job in Austin.

How is this industry doing in Austin? I've seen quite a number of SOC companies around there. The stories I've found on Internet are often optimistic about it, but just wanted to hear a few words from the insiders.

Thank you,
A.

[hornraider]

Hi Alex, the semiconductor manufacturing sector was in its prime around 15 years ago, and went somewhat stagnent after '03 or so. Samsung is still doing well however, and I would defintely start there looking for Digital Design Engineering positions. The other ones in town that are still operating are: Freescale (formerly Motorola) and Spansion (formerly AMD). I am an EE, and worked in the industry as a contractor at each facility from the mid-90's until around '05 (when I was told my position went overseas) and it was a great industry at the time. These places are still hiring, but the pay scales have went down or flat-lined since then. Hell, I was making more in '04 then '14! Unfortunately, the industrial manufacturing industry in Austin is not booming and I started looking elsewhere in the state last year and was picked up instantly by a manufacturing company in Dallas for nearly twice my Austin salary. Still have a place in Austin and a townhouse in Irving, so I'm always going back and forth.

It was rough for several years, even for an EE, in the 'downturn'. Many just-graduated, inexperienced technicians are willing to take much lower salaries in Austin just to be there.

IME, the 2 most stable semiconductor manufacturing companies in TX are Samsung(Austin) and Texas Instruments(Richardson), so I would try there above all others.
BTW, I am also a CA transplant, turned Texan. I hope you do make it out here, I think you will enjoy Austin and Texas...I know I have.

[Trainwreck20]

Freescale will be NXP in a couple of months. And I think Cypress Semiconductor has completed the purchase of Spansion.

[austinliving]

"hornraider" gave an excellent summary of the industry in this area, and for the design houses.

The industry is not that hot in this location. Salaries are also kept very low.

With manufacturing Samsung is pretty much the dominant player, and they know it. Also not the best work environment there.
And equipment suppliers such Applied Materials are facing further pressures due to fewer customers (Samsung, Intel, TSMC, Global foundries) their stock price is pretty telling, and frequent employee layoffs have destroyed employee morale.

Think carefully about any potential move here, especially if you intent to stay in the semiconductor industry.

[Trainwreck20]

The industry is not that hot in this location. Salaries are also kept very low.

Just out of curiosity, what is 'very low'?

[BoxOChocolates]

A distinction needs to made here between semiconductor manufacturing and design. As noted above, the best days for manufacturing in Austin are in the past. On the design side it's quite the opposite. Many companies have growing SoC design centers in Austin. Just off the top of my head, Intel, Samsung, Qualcomm, ARM, Freescale (NXP), Nvidia, Altera (Intel), Spansion (Cypress), and Broadcom all have design centers in Austin and many of them are expanding. Austin is a city that has reached a sufficient critical mass of local design talent that it has become an attractive location for companies to spin up new design centers.

[alex_a_2015]

BoxOChocolates is right, there are actually two industries, semicon. mnfg. (foundries) and fabless design. I'm in digital design (RTL coding and synth.), so I'm targeting design centers like ARM, Apple, Nvidia, Broadcom, just to name a few I'm aware of being in the area. Glad to hear that those are expanding.

Hornraider, I relocated from Europe just 3 years ago and I think I'll find Texas very interesting.

Thank you all for your answers.

Alex.

[subbaBubba]

Alex,
I am in the same field as yours and Austin is a good bet.
There have been a few layoffs at those companies (barring Apple) but overall the growth is good.

[balor123]

I used to be in this field, moved to tools side. Austin still has a firm base of these companies but they're mature now. Don't expect a lot of growth or young people. The same is roughly true in Silicon Valley or Portland too.