Is it worth a PhD in Microelectronics? Would you have advantages over other job candidates? Would I do it again? What are the main advantages and drawbacks? Would it affect or boost my career? Pros and cons are evaluated.
In this article, I will describe what I’ve learned during my PhD and some recommendations if you are thinking on starting a PhD.
Well, there are lots of people that say that doing a PhD is not useful at all, especially in the microelectronics branch.
I will try to summarize my experience doing a PhD in analog microelectronics:
Benefits or positive aspects
Let’s be positive!!! I will start with the beneficial part of being for 3 to 5 years studying and working on a doctorate degree.
You must learn how to read carefully and analyze scientific papers. During my PhD I’ve read hundreds of papers, many of which you must read diagonally in order to detect and skip mediocre or bad publications and not waste your valuable time.
Be persistent and constant. Rule #1 of a PhD student.
Be innovative. Detect where pain points are, identify the problems and find technology gaps or holes, where you can contribute with your work. Often in large companies in the industry, this work is done only by people with higher ranks or positions.
Improve your technical and scientific writing skills. Afterward, you will know how to create information. Redacting scientific papers is not straightforward at all. During the thesis, you must write your full thesis with about 200 pages. Also, you must complete a bunch of publications in journals and conferences. Moreover, you will master how to use Latex, a nice tool you may use in the future…
Develop and work on the full analog IC design flow. Almost nobody is working on the full analog design flow in the industry. Companies divide the work among several specialized engineers: Analog designer + Layouter + Verification Engineer + Test Engineer.
Break out to the academic world. Since the high-school I have always loved to teach, especially topics I really like and I know well. Somehow that is why this website MisCircuitos all started. Having a PhD gives you the possibility to someday, and not directly, be a professor at the university. Something that is not easy or a short way, particularly in Spain. Some day I will write more in detail about it.
Freedom. Yes, you are not actually working for a company, you are more kind of a freelancer working on your own thesis. Although you may experience work pressure, it is usually self-imposed.
If you fail, stand up and try it again. In research, there is more space to fail. Often the resources are reduced in comparison with medium semiconductor companies and designs are not well supported, designed and /or verified.
critical thinking
International conferences and congresses. This is the perfect occasion to expand your industry contacts and do networking. Apart from the travel experience, you will meet people working in your field and maybe also other PhD students.
Improve your presentation skills. During your PhD you may be enforced to make some kind of “important” presentations
Drawbacks or negative aspects
Of course, not everything is beautiful. Let’s see the downside of spending almost 4 years of your life doing a doctorate degree:
One-way ticket. Light at the end of the tunnel, but each time further and further. Once you have started and the 1st year has elapsed, you may don’t leave. Of course, you are always free to abandon, but you are too far in and you lose your opportunity cost. If you work for a company, you always are able to change or quit without losing, even though you generally win.
Lack of industrial experience. Yes, you work hard for 4 years, but this time is not “equivalent” of 4 years of industry experience. It is true that you will learn other skills, but at the time of the truth when you are searching for a job, this not help you.
Living in the instability and uncertainty without recognition or a decent paycheck. Often PhD student’s salary, if there is one, depends on public grants, public research projects or scholarships. You have no idea if your next grant is going to be funded. Also, you accepet that you are not going to receive a proper salary for the next 4 years.
Overqualification. It is said, that some companies don’t want to hire PhDs because they are overqualified and because they have to pay more. Although, this is not always 100% true.
If you are not going to Academia, a PhD maybe doesn’t pay off. If you spend the 4 years of a PhD working for a company designing circuits, let’s say for example Analog Devices or Infineon, instead of working for the university, the work experience and curriculum are more valuable than a degree. At least what I’ve seen. It is true that in some countries, like Germany, they give more value to a PhD, and maybe you can take over.
Conclusions
My conclusion is overall positive, although I didn’t gain so much industry experience as I were working for a company, I learned many soft skills and abilities while I also learn about circuits.
I don’t know if my degree will help me in my career as an analog designer, but it was a nice experience to learn from.
I still think that if you are competing for a position with another candidate at equal conditions:
- Person A was working for Infineon for the last 4 years as an analog designer
- Person B has just finished the PhD in microelectronics and no industrial experience
I will always think that person A is way more prepared and skilled than person B.
Update: During an interview with ARM for an analog design position, one of the senior engineers was (apparently) reading this post during the interview and at the end he ask me about. He concludes that for him would take the person B, although the lack of experience. Because of the soft skills, learning progression, mid and long-term development and perseverance. It was a shocking for me but it can make sense…
The truth is that in the field of IC analog design the learning curve is kind of steep.
How long does it take for analog engineers to become proficient in their jobs?
It said that it takes 3 to 5 years of active design work to become a competent and self-sufficient analog designer. So I would say that missing or skipping industrial experience is a time that you will never recover.
So, now is your turn:
What do you think about the doctorate degrees? Do you think that they are advantageous and favorable?
