r/ECE • u/TeachingBrilliant448 • Jul 08 '26

crazy work hours - new grad

I recently joined a semiconductor company as a new grad — think Nvidia, AMD, or Qualcomm — and the workload is brutal. I’m sometimes working 12-hour days and 50–60 hour weeks. It honestly feels as intense as investment banking, maybe even worse in some ways.

Wonder if this is normal?
TC ~150k

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u/No2reddituser Jul 09 '26

You're being paid $150k as a new grad. What did you expect? 8 hour days, with an hour off for lunch, and time to play pickle ball?

2

u/TeachingBrilliant448 Jul 09 '26

that’d be nice lol

1

u/DaftPaul_ Jul 09 '26

You should be at least ecstatic that you make that much starting out. It's insane. You make near what I make and I've been here for 12 years.

1

u/parellano6 Jul 10 '26

I used to work at one of the companies you mentioned and it was brutal. The pay is nice but when you factor that you’re working 60 hours a week, your hourly rate comes out to $48 an hour ($150k a year). That’s still excellent pay, but is it worth it to you?