America Needs More Foreign STEM Talent To Produce Semiconductors. The CHIPS Act Won't Fix That.
The U.S. is missing out on necessary high-skilled workers by faltering on immigration reform.
On Tuesday, President Joe Biden is slated to sign the CHIPS Act, a bill that aims to boost innovation and increase domestic production of semiconductor chips, which are a critical component of electronics, vehicles, and household appliances. The act will lob $52 billion in subsidies at chip producers, amounting to a massive transfer of taxpayer money in the name of reducing reliance on foreign suppliers.
"The bill will supercharge our efforts to make semiconductors here in America," said Biden of the CHIPS Act. "For the sake of our economy and jobs and costs and our national security, we have to make these semiconductors in America once again."
Ill-advised subsidies aside, there's reason to doubt that America has the talent necessary to produce semiconductors domestically. And that problem isn't something the CHIPS Act will be capable of fully solving since key immigration provisions were stripped from the final version.
The CHIPS Act borrows components from the America COMPETES Act, an expensive and jampacked bill that has since been abandoned. One thing the competitiveness-focused legislation got right was immigration, proposing favorable visa policies for foreigners with doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. The CHIPS Act, unfortunately, contains no such provisions, even at a time when the U.S. could benefit from them.
"The U.S. currently does not produce enough doctorates and master's degrees in the science, technology, engineering and math fields who can go on to work in U.S.-based microchip plants," write Brendan Bordelon and Eleanor Mueller for Politico. "The U.S. now produces fewer native-born recipients of advanced STEM degrees than most of its international rivals."
According to a report from Eightfold AI, which runs a work force artificial intelligence platform,* the U.S. would need to fill between 70,000 and 90,000 fabrication jobs in order to have the numbers necessary for critical applications. And chipmakers are already struggling due to the insufficient availability of workers—the Taiwanese Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation had aimed to open a new chip fabrication facility in Arizona this September, but had to delay the opening by six months due in part to a labor shortage.
Though the CHIPS Act carries a hefty price tag, it'll do little to solve the underlying labor shortage that's stymying domestic production in the short term. All 17 of the semiconductor experts surveyed by the Government Accountability Office noted the need to implement work force development policies, and many specifically suggested immigration reform. The CHIPS Act's proponents argue that key provisions would help encourage native-born Americans to enter STEM fields and boost the semiconductor labor force down the road. But lawmakers intent on boosting chip manufacturing in the near future would be foolish to neglect foreign talent—much of which is already on American soil.
Allowing foreign-born students educated in STEM fields at American universities to stay in the country could help alleviate the labor shortages that semiconductor firms are facing. Bloomberg points out that since 1990, the number of foreign-born graduate students specializing in programs related to semiconductor production has almost tripled. But their options to stay in the U.S. are often limited, and the visa pathways they're directed toward are incredibly backlogged. As of 2021, there were 1.4 million cases in the employment-based visa line. "We are seeing greater and greater numbers of our employees waiting longer and longer for green cards," David Shahoulian, head of work force policy at Intel, told Politico. "At some point, you'll just see more offshoring of these types of positions."
Solving those delays is all the more critical given the clear present need for foreign workers. "Even with significant recruitment from other industries and from academia, thousands of new jobs will remain vacant unless the industry is empowered the recruit top talent from abroad," notes Jeremy Neufeld of the Institute for Progress, drawing from the Center for Security and Emerging Technology's research.
Foreigners already make up large shares of the sectors that contribute to semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S., meaning that expansions of that work force will realistically need to involve immigration reform. Otherwise, foreign talent will simply land in countries with more favorable immigration policies. The CHIPS Act is a costly and imperfect piece of legislation, but the lack of immigration reform stands out as one of its major misses.
*CORRECTION: This article has been corrected to update the description of Eightfold AI.
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According to a report from Eightfold AI, a work force recruitment firm, the U.S. would need to fill between 70,000 and 90,000 fabrication jobs in order to have the numbers necessary for critical applications.
Having a STEM degree doesn’t qualify for a fabrication. Those are just old fashioned factory floor jobs. They certainly require training, but a STEM degree isn’t going to answer the mail.
Reason continues its perfect record of never making a single honest argument on the subject of immigration.
“Why can’t we just let immigrants learn to code in order to fix the chip shortage?” – Reason Magazine
Import more foreign nurses, doctors, and mechanical engineers. That will clearly solve the problem of not having enough chip fabricators.
You have to remember that none of the reason staff has ever had a real job in their lives. They have all either been brat college students leeching off of their parents or had a “job” which consisted of being paid to spew approved talking points or just talk out of their asses about subjects they know nothing about. So, this is what they actually believe. They have no idea what is involved in actually making anything, let alone something like a computer chip, because they have never made anything or worked a day in their lives.
You just hate black and brown people.
— Brandyshit
Facts and logic are racist and white supremacist. Didn’t you know that?
It really is just an astoundingly stupid pivot on Reason’s part. Gas prices are high! Why doesn’t America just import more Saudis to solve the gas shortage? Electric cars are expensive, why doesn’t America just import more South Africans to solve the electric car problem.
Remember, this is Reason “Trump Tariffs Truly Terrible!” Magazine that was quiet while lock downs fucked the world economy now pretending that the
USglobal chip shortage can be solved by importing Taiwanese manufacturers away from the factories where they were building chips just fine in 2019 to the United States where, even if they all showed up tomorrow, we wouldn’t have manufacturing facilities or supply lines in place to support demand. Not to mention, who gives a shit if those immigrants want to take their STEM degrees and go do something else, they’re slaves chained to the prerequisites of our supply lines. Where do they get the gall to think they could save the climate or help pre-teens transition genders like higher education indoctrinates them to.I’m reminded of Remy’s parody of somebody living in a tent in Seattle wiping Cheetos dust on their shirt saying “… and that’s how you run a global economy.” They really are making Remy’s parody seem bright in comparison.
In fairness to Reason, it’s tough to come up with honest arguments to recommend progressivism.
Fiona is an example of why journalism majors are some of the dumbest people out there.
Briggs:
In the semiconductor world, Fabrication refers to the process of building circuitry on a silicon wafer. It requires hundreds of steps, each done in a very high tech machine. At minimum, Fabrication requires a lot of very specialized technicians who need to continually renew their skill set as new machines come on one.
I have four degrees in Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, and Mechanical Engineeering (Ph.D.), and I was not the most educated engineer in our fab.
Absolutely correct. Also why would the headline say they need to be foreign talent in the first place. Those companies need workers they can hire Americans and train them.
Sadly, this is one field where 1 person can be make or break deal. The place where I worked had 2 engineers from Russia and India who could do a job NO ONE ELSE could. Even 10 people hired from top institutions could not replace these folks. Taiwan, India, China have more such exceptionally talented folks but there isn’t a proper visa to even get them temporarily to USA.
CHIPS act is peanuts and mostly aimed at benefiting the incumbents like Intel or AMD.
But in reality industry is moving towards chips on demand model where Google, Amazon, MS will soon offer in cloud fab services where you can get highly specialized chips delivered to you or rented in cloud. Tesla, Ford etc. making their own chips would be a reality.
Nativists simply can bury their heads in sand but unless white people produce more babies or if we allow more Asians in USA, it aint happening.
America has plenty of labor workers and STEM workers but companies are refusing to hire them or forcing those American workers to teach lesser skilled Immigrants at lower rates. it is greed by the corporation. I’d rather pay ten dollars for a sock that will last five years than ten dollars for ten socks that only last one year.
Where the fuck are you buying $10 socks that last 5 years?
He must have really benefited from the Biden Boom.
Fucking hobos. Buy 3650 of the $1 socks. Wear them each one day and, after 5 yrs., you’ll put on a brand new pair of socks that’s lasted you for 5 yrs.
Darn Tough — though they’re $20. But lifetime guarantee.
I’m wearing a more than 5 year old pair right now. The one time one tore a hole I sent them in and they gave me credit for a new pair of socks.
This is true. I majored in STEM and while I flunked out, most my class mates who did not could not find a job in the field
Hell, at Walmart I have worked with STEM majors who had degrees, but again, could not find jobs. Had a guy with a degree in robotics of some sort, he now works for a flooring company. Another had a marine bio, which is sorta useless (and I doubt we are flooded with marine bio immigrants)
There are STEM degrees and then there are rigorous STEM degrees.
Nobody is interested in hiring a semiconductor engineer who hasn’t mastered the math and science needed for the job.
Lol.
“We know they are lying. They know they are lying, They know that we know they are lying. We know that they know that we know they are lying. And still they continue to lie.”
—Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
“The U.S. currently does not produce enough doctorates and master’s degrees in the science, technology, engineering and math fields who can go on to work in U.S.-based microchip plants,”
But we fucking kill it in grievance studies masters and DEI PhDs.
Gee. maybe we should stop funding degrees in that shit and only help students pay for degrees in something useful. How about that idea? Somehow I doubt reason would like that idea very much.
Funny thing is, it’s a double-whammy. Not only does that shit beat high performers out of the STEM fields, it guarantees that Grievance Studies Ph.D.s will get hip, trendy, respectable jobs like a barista or Amazon package handler while they wait for their aspiring actor cum social activist career boat to come in rather than dull, boring jobs like assembly line QC manager.
I know who I’m voting for next election! Any party that isn’t constantly telling us how much Americans suck.
You might want to consider nobody wants to major in tech because they know they’re going to get their job outsourced to an H1-B. Which might explain why all the smart people are going to law school.
You might want to consider nobody wants to major in tech because they know they’re going to get their job outsourced to an H1-B.
It’s actually because of the math.
Yes – H1-B and other visa programs keep tech salaries artificially low, which incentivizes the best and brightest in the US to go into higher paying fields like finance and law.
Is there any problem that Reason writers think can’t be solved by more immigration?
My goodness, a chip maker is just a manufacturing plant with machines and people who put things together to make chips. They do it the same damn way every other gadget is made.
Build the building, put in the machines, give them the blueprint, then hire workers at a good wage and “voila!” you have chips. Americans can do it. Isn’t this what the semi-conductor bill was presented as accomplishing?
Quit sending every dang high school drop-out or graduate to college and put instead put them to work building chips. It can be done if we weren’t telling every teenager they are a victim and shouldn’t have to work in order to eat.
Bringing in workers from other countries just keeps the wages low and continues to harm our economy and chances for good paying jobs for Americans.
Oh, has any Reason writer given up their job and insisted it be given to an immigrant? Have they moved out of their home so an immigrant can have it? Is that number still zero? Yep. That’s what I thought. You mean Americans should give up THEIR chance at a good paying job so you can virtue signal how much you care!
I guarantee you that you could outsource all of reason’s commentary to either a well written AI program or to some earnest Indians with good English composition skills.
Their only immigrant writer that I’m aware of was Shikha. And they fired her because she said mean things about Trump. Really.
It actually seems more like they fired her because she kept saying bad things about Modi and nobody gave a shit. Between all the anti-white racism, the calls to ban the wrong kinds of books, the anti-Trump rhetoric, constant oxymoronic calls for immigration reform, the rightly holding people responsible for the acts of their opponents retardation… none of it was really unique, exceptionally vigorous maybe, but not unique… except Modi.
When every Reason writer has given up their job and allowed it to be outsourced to someone from overseas, I will know that they are serious with their rhetoric of “we need more jobs for immigrants plus we need more immigrants for jobs” bullshit.
Nice.
I do not the the validity of the assertion that the US doesn’t have the home grown tech talent to “revive” the semiconductor industry, but I do know that government restrictions and regulations are behind any downfall of it. If nothing else, the dumbing down of college education and the increasing number of woke degrees must have some effect.
% of H&R commentariat that seems to have set a bunny suited foot inside a fab airlock :<1
Number of full fledged 5 nanometer fabs you can build from scratch for $52 billion: < 10
Number of people Entelechy has hired as the result of perusing their internet forum posts: <1.
Number of people who give a shit about the stuff Entelechy thinks he understands: <10.
% of mad.casual posts worth reading <1
Train Americans to do the job. Simple as.
That’s going to take a decade or two. What do we do in the meantime?
Sure, and we can do that just as soon as we kick out millions of illegal aliens, punish employers that hire illegal aliens severely, and prevent people from from crossing the border illegally.
Well, as we’ve discussed before, your plan involves violating the rights of a whole host of people, including citizens, in favor of a “papers, please” regime.
Just to be clear, you’re advocating no papers required for employment period. No I-9, no W-4, no ID.
Maybe that would be a good idea but we’d have to eliminate income taxes first. Is that what you’re saying?
The War On Immigration is like the War On Drugs, and doomed to fail in the same way.
There is no “war on immigration”. And we don’t need a “war on illegal migration”, simple, basic immigration enforcement as found in all other advanced Western democracies, is sufficient.
As long as we have medical care, transportation, education, employment benefits and many other services provided by the government it would be a disaster to allow unlimited immigration into the US.
Only AFTER we actually set up a Libertariantopia in the US in which there was no government provided health care, education, housing assistance, food assistance, etc, etc, etc could we rationally consider unlimited immigration into the US.
Realistically, that is not going to happen any time soon. Probably never.
So if the US remains significantly wealthier than many other countries we need to have immigration limits and they need to be enforced.
What we really need is more illiterate 3rd worlders and our chip manufacturing problems will all go away, right Fiona.
We have way too many STEM graduates from the US that can’t find jobs because the industry would rather hire workers from India for 1/3 the price and have control over their visa
Jeremy:
Many of these newly minted STEM graduates have watered-down degrees that are pretty-much worthless. It appears that colleges doubled-down cool-sounding, but hollowed-out degree programs in order to placate a generation of kids who had neither the inclination nor the patience to complete a rigorous STEM education.
All the government has to do is GET OUT OF IT’S NAZISM ( National Socialist ) regulations… ALLOW people to create semi-conductors on a free-market and see instant success.
This has absolutely NOTHING to do with bringing semiconductor manufacturing home… It has EVERYTHING to do with building a Nazi-Empire. And until it’s demonstrated that the far majority of immigrants came to the USA for a free-market instead of a Nazi-Empire (THEFT handouts) expanding immigration just adds soldiers to the Nazi-Army conquering the USA. Just look at what the Nazi-Army of massive immigration is doing to CA.
There is absolutely no shortage of American engineers. As someone that studied mechanical engineering, even after graduating from an Ivy League school, my colleagues & I struggled to get jobs. Companies would rather hire a foreign worker for lower wages and slave hours. Anywhere I’ve worked, American engineers have to bend over backwards to get jobs even though we are 1000x smarter and more qualified. If Asian engineers are so great, why can’t they innovate there?
I worked in the semiconductor industry after I got out of the military. Foreign workers are being abused by these companies. They get about 80% of what an American doing the same job gets and the companies have extreme control over them. If they don’t do everything they say, no matter how unreasonable, they threaten to fire them and have them deported. It is modern indentured servitude. Not only that, but many of the jobs require degrees or advanced degrees that aren’t necessary to being able to actually do the work. The pay is miserable considering most semiconductor jobs are in high cost of living areas like the Portland Metro area and San Francisco. The pay is not worth the long hours and compressed work weeks when you don’t make enough money to live within an hour of where you work. The solution is lowering unnecessary education requirements and better pay, not more indentured servants.
DGarrelts:
I worked in the semiconductor industry (after getting out of the military) for 25 years. I agree with much of what you have written; however, I think that depressed wages and stressful long hours have dissuaded many U.S. kids from entering rigorous STEM programs of the sort that can produce innovative semiconductor engineers. I have had two engineering positions open for 6 months, and have only interviewed one candidate–And he really didn’t have the skill set we needed.
If you know any engineers looking for jobs, please send ’em my way!
Then you’re not offering enough compensation.
Offer mid 6 figure compensation and you’ll compete with big Si Valley companies for top talent.
And they are usually from Asia.
I was a semiconductor process and R&D engineer for 25 years, and it is likely that we’re going to need to raid foreign companies for the talent needed to rebuild our semiconductor industry.
Many of America’s undergraduate STEM degrees have been watered-down, and there’s a whole generation of kids who think that doing science and engineering is merely a matter of finding the right app (usually produced overseas). Furthermore, many of their teachers believe the same thing.
It’s going to take a dozen or more years of concerted effort to fix the problem. In the interim, we’re going to need to rely on talent produced abroad to get us out of our current pickle.
OK Boomer.
That’s it…Dismiss any advice from anybody who actually has done the job before. That will get those chips built.
I work in the semiconductor industry too and I’ve seen the hiring requirements at most semiconductor companies shift from having a BSEE from a decent school to needing a PhD or at least an MSEE from a name brand university.
If you’re having a hard time filling jobs I’m guess your employer must be paying really low wages – like offering 5 figure salaries to college grads.
Then I’m completely perplexed by your apparent insistence that current STEM degrees are adequate for the job. They are no longer adequate, in large part because a B.S. in engineering doesn’t necessarily mean what it used to.
Some B.S. Engineering programs (and Chemistry and Physics programs) are still pretty rigorous, but unfortunately, there are so many bogus “STEM” programs that we, like every other semiconductor company, have resorted to upping the requirements.
BTW: I have a Ph.D. (and 2 M.S. degrees) and was an R&D manager for several years.
Point is when tech companies talk about how bad US education is what they really mean is “bring in cheap foreign labor”.
I don’t disagree with you. Ostensibly, the act that allows H1B workers into the country forbids the behavior you are referring to; however, our government chooses to ignore it. I was forced to hand a pink-slip to a really great U.S. Engineer with 15 years experience, and then a week later, I was required to hire the non-English speaking wife of one of our “partners” from Xian. This crap goes-on all the time.
That said, at the moment, we just aren’t making enough engineers to go back into the high tech manufacturing biz. While we get our shit together, we need to recruit outside talent (at competitive wages).
We need 70 K to 90 K new engineers per year, but we’re only graduating about 60K (just like we were during the Eisenhauer administration). Furthermore, more than half of that 60K are foreign nationals. We’re just going to need to bite the bullet, and get some good folks from abroad while we regrow our industry and educational system.
To follow up with what I wrote above, if engineers in Asia are so great and plentiful, why is there no innovation or development of new ideas or products coming out of there? There’s a vast difference between research & development skills and manufacturing skills. We used to make chips in Silicon Valley, that’s why it’s the largest superfund area in the US. We don’t now since we can’t get American workers to work 30 days straight while working 16 hour days. That’s why manufacturing left the US.