Also called: Silicon Validation Engineer
Tests the very first real chips that come back from the factory to find any bugs before mass production.
The first chips arrive from the factory and you power one up for the first time. You run tests around the clock, heat and freeze it, and hunt down why one in a million calculations comes out wrong.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 5 years after high school. Bachelor's or master's in electrical or computer engineering.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering.
Growing faster than average (about 7% over 10 years). Tracks computer hardware engineers.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. AI analyzes test logs, but bringing up the first real chips in the lab and chasing bugs stays hands-on.
Classes: AP Computer Science A, AP Physics, Electronics CTE.
Official data: O*NET occupation 17-2061.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.