Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) is recruiting analysts with doctoral degrees in political economics and international relations, a move which some believe shows the company is attaching greater importance to geopolitical developments.
The world’s largest contract chipmaker, headquartered in Hsinchu City, recently put out a job advertisement on the professional networking site LinkedIn for positions in the company as business intelligence analysts with a strong political economic background.
According to the job description, TSMC “strives to provide the best foundry services possible for the global logic IC industry.”
“As our business continues to grow globally in scale and complexity, we are looking for a Business Intelligence Analyst who is interested in translating geopolitical and economic changes to impact on IC industry supply chain,” it said.
The ideal candidate should be able to connect the dots and articulate the recommendations to TSMC strategic planning, the company added.
The unusual job offer by TSMC has drawn local media attention. Citing Austin Wang (???), an assistant professor of political science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Liberty Times said in a report published Wednesday that this was “big for Taiwan’s political science field.”
Wang was quoted as saying that he was delighted to see Taiwanese enterprises take political economy seriously and that this would further the development of Taiwanese think tanks and social science in the nation.
According to TSMC’s job ad on LinkedIn, people applying for the business intelligence analyst position are required to have a doctorate degree in political economics, international relations, or an equivalent course of study.
They also have to have at least four years of experience in data analytics, data science, or market research, and are familiar with the political economic dynamics in the United States and China.
In a front-page story Wednesday, Taipei-based Chinese language daily, China Times, cited manpower experts as saying that people who are experts in politics and economics, and also know the semiconductor industry are “very rare.”
Such talent is not cheap as Jason Chin (???) of 104 Job Bank told the newspaper that he estimated that TSMC would have to offer an annual wage of NT$4 million (US$143,000) to NT$5 million to attract applicants.
As of Tuesday evening, however, more than 100 people had applied for the job, according to data on LinkedIn.
In recent years, TSMC has expanded its investment in China and decided to establish a chip plant in the southwestern U.S. state of Arizona. Senior semiconductor sources have acknowledged that it is important for the company to become stronger as it was “struggling for its survival” between the two major economic powers during the China-U.S. trade war, the report said.
Founded in 1987 by Morris Chang (???) as the world’s first dedicated semiconductor foundry, TSMC has become a crucial supplier in the international market as the global information technology sector has become increasingly more dependent on its products.
Chang, dubbed the godfather of semiconductor manufacturing in Taiwan, has predicted that TSMC is becoming more vital in terms of geostrategy. The 90-year-old officially retired after more than three decades as TSMC’s chairman and CEO in June 2018.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel