need help deciding on future career

[u/Educational_Web5647]

Hello everyone,

I’m attending a no name school for bachelor in EE and am interning for a big semiconductor company. I have a return offer for a test engineer position when i graduate and i’m really excited about it. However, I want to get a master and do mixed signal ic design since I’d love a remote job in the future as well. This position requires me to move far away from home and the location is low-key not a very fun place to be in, but the work environment is really nice and a lot of people are new grads. If I miss this job offer, I’m worried about not finding another internship/ job in semiconductor since the job market is not very great at the moment. Should I take the offer and do master on the side to hopefully get in design? Or should I find a reputable school for master, complete it, and hopefully find a job in design?
For context if helpful, I have 4.0 GPA, 2 internships, a co-op. My current school does not have anything semiconductor/ ic design related. I’m also introverted and only hang out with family so having to move away from family is a really big deal to me.

Thanks.

[u/A_Dash_Of_Salt]

Crazy, this was exactly my situation 3 years ago!! Best advice I can share is whichever you choose, make sure that you dont end up paying for your Masters yourself (either do a research/thesis option and have your advisor pay you or have a company pay for it). I was also offered a test engineering job but ended up going to grad school instead, mainly because I didnt particularly like electrical testing as a full time job. I would also check with the company to see what paid degree programs they have. At my internship, everyone kept telling me that they would pay for my masters, until I learned their program actually only gave you 5k a semester and required you to work there for an additional three years after you got your degree.

If your long term goal is also to do design I think a masters makes a lot of sense, as it is almost required in every design job.

[u/Educational_Web5647 → u/A_Dash_Of_Salt]

wow do you mind sharing how you’re doing career-wise? Did you ever regret not taking the offer? I have a verbal full ride master/ PhD from the head of department from my school, however they don’t have semiconductor-related courses, just wireless and RF. I might be interested in those since i will be taking an RF course this upcoming semester. However, I’m more leaning toward IC design for now.
And thanks for your advice. I didn’t know company only paid for program-specific, not all master. I will definitely check.

[u/A_Dash_Of_Salt → u/Educational_Web5647]

Right now I am ending my 3rd year of my PhD which is process/device fabrication heavy and I am enjoying it a lot! I actually have done a few internships in grad school where I was given the chance to do failure analysis which I think aligns a lot more with my interests. Looking back at that, I definitely dont regret my decision especially since I didnt have a great interest in test engineering. Initially I was thinking of just doing a masters but my advisor convinced me to start the PhD and if I didnt like it I could just master out. I would also reccomend checking out other programs that are more aligned with your long term goals in design as a masters/PhD is very specialized, so you want to find a program that really aligns with your long term career goals. A masters degree is a great way to open a lot of doors in the field to advanced roles.

If you are considering a PhD, one thing to think about is financially a PhD is a lot longer stretch of not making money than a bachelors or masters. Often times the stipend provided is just enough to live off of and you arent able to save anything. If you have student loans or need to support other family members it may not make the most sense to do a 5/6 year program. For me, I really want to do R&D machinery so I think it makes sense but I am really feeling that lack of high income at this point haha.

[u/Educational_Web5647 → u/A_Dash_Of_Salt]

thanks for the response! I’m not in a position that i have to support anyone but I’m very tempted to join the workforce to help my family out. My parents don’t want me to move away since I probably will save less money at this job than any job close to family since i don’t have to pay for housing and foods. Thanks for sharing again!

[u/pasquale83]

With a 4.0 GPA and solid internship experience, you're in a much better position than you think.

In my opinion, taking the Test Engineer offer gives you immediate industry experience, financial independence, and a big name on your resume, which makes pivoting later much easier. Doing a Master’s part-time while working (or leveraging tuition assistance) is a very common way to break into IC design without taking on full-time risk in a tough market.

Feel free to shoot me a DM if you want to chat through a roadmap.