There seems to be some confusion about the level of jobs involved here. This isn’t about standing on an assembly line for as long as you can hold your bladder. Low-level tasks like that are highly automated in these factories. But these also aren’t smoothly running processes where tasks are all routine and well-defined.

These are equipment technicians who find out one day from another team that a robot arm off by one tenth of a mm results in ruined product, and the current calibration only has mm resolution. A delay in addressing this could cost millions. Folks will need to stay late. Orders will need to be followed. Just an example.

Starting up a fab is like building an airplane mid flight. It’s not as simple as hiring more workers because the new problems aren’t predictable, and knowledge can’t be conveyed to new folks fast enough. Workers learn on the fly.

This is what Asian cultures have been kicking our ass in as far as semiconductor fabs. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion on work culture and hours, but I don’t think we (Americans) can expect to compete with Asian peers in this space without compromise.

Also, these are great careers for people who don’t mind working and enjoy challenges.