TSMC

Good compensation in Taiwan. The salary is competitive compared to other tech companies in Taiwan. Access to the latest technology in the semiconductor manufacturing industry.

The R&D department generally is not meant for research; most of the work is development.

The working culture is very similar to the military. The manager gives the order, and the engineer doesn't have any room to develop their own ideas.

Some departments have an insane micro-management issue, such as checking processes every 15 minutes through Teams.

Politics is also a huge issue.

You can definitely learn something here, but you will be limited to specific tasks.

The company doesn't encourage cross-departmental discussions due to security issues. If you're working in the advanced fab, you have to do a security check every time you enter the site. It's like getting on a plane; you'll have to remove all electronic devices (of course, your personal cell phone is not allowed in the company).

The funny part is that whenever there is a serious information leak to another company, it comes from the higher-level directors, but the company keeps checking the engineers' stuff.

The truth is that the engineer level doesn't know anything in the bigger picture because the company culture doesn't encourage it.

In summary, if you are just looking for money, it may be an okay option in Taiwan. If you want to develop yourself, don't go to this company. You will be limited to this company in the future.

If TSMC wants to compete with other top-notch US tech companies, the basic working culture needs to change. Respect your employees' thoughts and their free time.