It’s hard to understand because they deliberately make it hard to understand. Good work on getting some actual details.
What I think is not very useful is using TSMC as.an example. it’s an outlier.
Also I want to see what operators make there.
I’m far more interested in what engineers are earning in other OEMs, ODMs, components manufacturers.
Also we.cant forget that overseas workers are employed in large numbers, are their salaries included in these surveys? Are contact workers salaries included ?
I’m not sure about stocks personally, in fact my new job told me that I get some stocks vested after 2 years at the company. Not sure if it counts as a bonus or if there’s some workaround. At Micron they do not give stock as bonuses, they let you buy a certain amount of stock for 15-20% cheaper than market rate every few months. The government previously also banned ‘probationary periods’ so now many companies in the Hsinchu science park will hire you on as a contractor for a few months to get around it.
On another note more directly related to the topic at hand, I nearly doubled my salary by switching jobs. In the modern era the biggest pay increases come from switching jobs; I wonder how long the average Taiwanese worker stays at their job.
Stock options were illegal in Taiwan since the late 90s, per a Forbes article I read.
The wealth created has been widely shared. Stock options are illegal in Taiwan, but Taiwan startups compensate for low salaries with generous grants of stock to most of their workers. A booming stock market has done the rest.
If you are over 35-38 it is seen as a problem here too. I’ve discussed this issue with directors in large corporations and they say before this age range the change in jobs is even healthy. They will look at the prospecting employee as an eager ‘finding his path’ kinda guy. If you continue doing this after that you are not as desirable as you might seem unstable for someone at that age. I am only talking about tech industry.
Culturally it’s quite different. I often had to explain this to overseas managers, only some believed me. Remember a lot of businesses are SMEs here also. It’s not like you can easily change position in the same company. Also businesses fold or the bosses are mean. In my first ten years here I had five or six jobs. I learned a lot (actually was running departments ) but it wasn’t valued by lazy overseas recruiters at the time who wanted to see the blue chips on my resume. Bit resentful about that.
25% of college grads are engineering majors, and in East Asia that’s everybody.
I think the biggest takeaway from the story is that the highest-paying jobs are in tech companies. That’s a big plus. In the US, my guess is that the highest payers are all hedge funds, people paid to move money around.
Prudent policy. Spread Shinzu’s wealth across the whole country.
Demand for new housing is strong near technology clusters in Hsinchu and Tainan, where Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) has announced plans to build new foundries to make advanced chips, Hiyes said.
The capacity expansion plans are creating new well-paid jobs, and attracting retail stores and real-estate developers to take advantage of the need for new housing, it said.
Stable economic growth also lends support to the property market, boosting demand for housing in New Taipei City, Taipei and Kaohsiung.