SEMICON India 2024: All about jobs, talent, compensation in semiconductor industry

PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his inauguration address at the SEMICON India 2024 in Greater Noida on September 11, spoke encouragingly about India's growing digital services ecosystem, from UPI payments to Digiyatra.

Also speaking at the event, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting and Electronics & IT, said the government is committed to producing a strong talent pool of 85,000 engineers in the next 10 years. However, what kind of jobs are available and popular in the semiconductor industry? Here’s a look:

Entry-level jobs are most popular

Specialist staffing company Xpheno estimated that the semiconductor sector currently employs around 50,000 professionals, with a projected increase in demand for skilled, semi-skilled, and unskilled labour this year.

Xpehno shared that the majority of positions (approximately 60-80 percent) fell in the entry-level category last year. These roles are often filled by fresh graduates or individuals with limited work experience in the industry.

Entry-level positions may include roles like semiconductor technician, junior engineer, or production operator.

Secondly, around 15-20 percent of jobs fall into the mid-level category. These positions require a higher level of expertise and experience, compared to entry-level roles, and jobs may include semiconductor design engineer, process engineer, or quality control specialist.

Lastly, about 10-20 percent of positions, categorised as senior-level ones, include positions such as senior design architect, research scientist, or managerial positions.

Positive trend in compensation

As the semiconductor industry readies for a take-off, the compensation has seen a positive trend in the last 1-2 years.

“While specific percentages may vary across roles and experience levels, on average, we have observed an approximate rise of around 10-20 percent in the salary offered to semiconductor industry talent during this period,” Sanjay Gupta, former chairperson of India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA) had said.

The event saw commitments pouring in from the semiconductor industry, ranging from increasing their headcounts to doubling their investments.

Last year, PM Modi had said that the government has identified more than 300 colleges where semiconductor courses will be available, and India will have more than 1 lakh semicon design engineers in the next five years. On Wednesday, at the SEMICON India events, he explained: “In global designing, India has 20 percent talent contribution, and it is going up!”