2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

There has been increased investment into microelectronics and semiconductors manufacturing globally. The CHIPS act focused on bringing semiconductor and microelectronics manufacturing to the US, bringing with it an increase in the need for a trained workforce to fill these jobs in various locations across the US. Workforce development efforts have been implemented to prepare trainees to meet the needs of the growing domestic industry. With all this effort going into training a skilled workforce, it is important to know how these microelectronics-interested students are choosing jobs post training to ensure the cultivated talent is filling the industry need.

This study investigates the factors important to microelectronics-interested engineers when they are choosing post-graduation jobs. Survey responses were collected from 31 alumni who participated in a national microelectronics workforce development program. Geographic information was collected to compare regions of the US where participants were from, where they attended school, where they applied for jobs, and where they accepted jobs post-graduation. Participants ranked the importance of 10 factors that they considered when selecting post-graduation jobs: professional/career interests, promotion opportunities, compensation, working conditions, job location, family, only job available, program mentor influence, other mentor influence, and other. Relative importance of the factors was explored using a Plackett-Luce model. The relationship between factor rankings and geographic mobility were also explored using the model.

Results indicated professional/career interest was ranked as the most important on average, followed by compensation and job location. Geographic mobility had an impact on the relative ranking of the only job available factor. For those who stayed in their hometown or university region, the factor only job available was ranked significantly higher than for those who took jobs outside of their hometown or university regions. While the job selection process is complex and different for each student, the overarching trends found in this study can give insights into the job selection process and priorities of microelectronics-interested engineering alumni. These findings can be used to inform employers regarding recruitment practices, workforce development efforts, and even current students as they navigate job selection.