The average monthly wage in the local semiconductor industry is the second highest among 63 industries in Taiwan, trailing only the computer and consumer electronics industry, according to the online 104 job bank.
In a 2022 white paper on talent in Taiwan's semiconductor industry released earlier this week, the job bank said the average monthly wage in the industry was NT$54,729 (US$1,824), second only to the highest average of NT$56,531 in the computer and consumer electronics industry.
However, the year-on-year increase of 4.7 percent in the average monthly wage offered by semiconductor firms here was the highest in the entire electronics and information segment, topping a 3.7-percent wage rise in the electronics and information segment as a whole and a 3.5-percent wage increase in the computer and consumer electronics industry, the white paper showed.
The job bank said the 4.7-percent increase in the semiconductor industry reversed a 0.4-percent year-on-year or a NT$195 decline in the industry in 2021.
Jason Chin (???), senior vice president of 104's Headhunter Business Group, said that because about 30 foreign tech giants such as e-commerce operator Amazon.com, IC designer Qualcomm, and chip manufacturer Intel have set up research and development centers in Taiwan, competition for semiconductor talent has been escalating.
Chin said it was no surprise that semiconductor firms have become more willing to provide higher incentives to attract talent with 10-20 percent pay raises offered to specialists in critical semiconductor materials.
According to the job bank, the major semiconductor firms such as contract chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) and United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC), smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc., and IC packaging and testing services provider ASE Technology Holding Co. have launched massive hiring campaigns, competing for talent.
Under such circumstances, an entry-level employee with a graduate degree in engineering from a national university receives NT$2 million in annual salary in the semiconductor industry, the job bank said.
An engineer with three years of work experience in the semiconductor industry receives more than NT$3 million in annual pay, while a mid-level manager has a minimum pay of NT$5 million, the job bank added.
The job bank said semiconductor talent in northern Taiwan received the highest average wage of NT$57,000 a month, while the average industry wage in southern Taiwan hit NT$50,000, compared with NT$49,000 in central Taiwan.
The wage growth in the semiconductor industry in southern Taiwan reached 7.1 percent, compared with a 5-percent increase in the north and a 3.6-percent rise in the central part of the country, the job bank said.
According to Chin, the higher growth in salary in southern Taiwan is because major semiconductor suppliers, including TSMC, have been investing there, and they are willing to offer more attractive pay to build a talent pool.
As a result, the wage gap between the north and the south has narrowed, Chin said.
After the consumer electronics and semiconductor industries, the job bank said, the wealth management industry came in third with an average monthly salary of NT$51,218, while the footwear/textile industry (NT$50,987) and the software/internet industry (NT$50,895) rounded off the top five, according to the job bank.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel