Also called: Chip Teardown Analyst, Technical Intelligence Analyst (Semiconductors)
Takes apart competitors' chips layer by layer, imaging and mapping them to learn how they were built, for patent cases and industry reports.
You grind a brand-new phone processor down one metal layer at a time and image each layer with an electron microscope. Software stitches thousands of pictures into a map, and you trace circuits to see whether a patented design was copied. Your findings go into a report sold to chip companies and patent lawyers.
Estimated from hardware engineer pay at teardown and patent-analysis firms.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's in electrical engineering, physics or materials science.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Electrical Engineering, Materials Science, Physics.
Growing about average. A niche field; a few firms such as TechInsights employ most specialists.
Medium risk for 10 years. AI stitches images and traces circuits faster; sample prep, reading the design and expert testimony stay human.
Classes: Physics, Chemistry, AP Calculus, Computer science.
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.