Chip Design

What it is

A computer chip is like a tiny city of switches, all wired together to do a job, such as running a phone, a car or a game console. Chip designers plan that city: where each part goes, how the parts talk to each other, and how to make it fast without using too much power.

What a day of this work is like

Most of the work happens on a computer. Designers write instructions that describe the chip's circuits, then run simulations, which are computer tests that act out how the chip will behave, to check it works before it is made. There is a lot of problem solving and checking, because a mistake is costly to fix once the chip is made.

How people get here

Helpful school subjects: Maths, Physics, Computing.

University subjects that lead here: Electrical engineering (the study of circuits and electricity); Computer engineering (how computer hardware is built).

• University degreeOpen
  A degree in electrical or computer engineering. This is the usual way in.
  Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: Computer Hardware Engineers
• Postgraduate degreeNarrow
  A master's degree, a further degree after the first one, helps for some specialist design jobs.
  Why it is narrow: Most design jobs ask for a first degree only, so this route matters for a smaller set of specialist roles.
  Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: Electrical and Electronics Engineers
• No degree neededRare
  There is no common route into chip design without a degree.
  Why it is narrow: Employers almost always ask for an engineering degree for design work.
  Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: Computer Hardware Engineers

No route on these pages guarantees a job. They show the usual ways people get in, and where a way in is narrow, they say so.