In South Korea, a growing number of teenagers are choosing vocational semiconductor schools over university. At Chungbuk Semiconductor High School southeast of Seoul, 96.4% of students graduate with a job offer. Roughly one in four students land jobs directly at Samsung, where the average salary reached $107,300 last year and where semiconductor division employees could earn up to $400,000 if profit targets are met. Meanwhile, unemployment among South Korean youths aged 15 to 29 has reached 7.2%, with more than 480,000 university degree holders unemployed in the second quarter of 2026. In the United States, the semiconductor industry is expected to face a shortage of roughly 157,000 skilled workers by 2030, while the sector’s average annual salary was about $170,000 in 2020 and one in five semiconductor workers does not hold a college degree.
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