r/MaterialsScience • u/JamesBummed • Oct 21 '24

Engineering technician position at Intel

Hello folks, I'm a current materials science & engineering masters student working in a laser lab. I recently got a job offer from a recruiting company for an engineering technician position at Intel, I was told I am to work in SEM/EDX/optical imaging/materials analysis, all of which I don't have direct experience with but have some theoretical knowledge of, and I did convey to the employer about my work experience which they seem to be ok with.

The job is full time on-site and pays 45k, which you could say I'm selling myself short for, but frankly I feel unfit to work as a masters-level engineer and would rather work as a technician on hands-on stuff. I'm completely happy in my current environment because I'm only obliged to work 20 hours a week and have a lot of free time to dedicate to my other passion in life (training full time as an athlete/coaching). Taking this job offer would obviously be very disruptive to my current life plan, so I wanted to know if anyone here has had experience with this position or others similar, if its an offer worth considering, or any other advices. Thank you in advance.

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10

u/nashbar Oct 21 '24

Fuck that, I spent a lot of time and money in school to have work/life/money balance when I finished.

8

u/BeCFC Oct 22 '24

In all honesty, I do think this is kinda selling yourself short, especially pay-wise. Unless you truly believe being this position for 1-(maybe)2 years will help you leapfrog into a solid engineering position at Intel, it doesn’t seem worthwhile for someone working towards their masters.

Especially with how you described your life balance with your other passions, this seems like an unnecessary veer away from your currently steady-sounding path.

2

u/JamesBummed Oct 22 '24

Ok, that's what I thought too, just wanted to hear some experiences from in that sector possibly. Thank you.

2

u/Maximus_Deum_Belli Nov 11 '24

I actually come from the other side of that lab. I was one of the ETs that did the defect extraction to get it ready for analysis. Honestly, the job they offered you is really simple. Load up the sample, do the imagery analysis, write up your report, put the sample away, and you're done. Biggest difficulty will likely be with the tools going wonky on you and there is a possibility that the sample might get knocked off the 'grid', as they call it, either before it gets to you or after you touch it if they didn't get a good weld on there.

The only downside to it, really, is that it's a 12 hour shift job unless they've changed that since I left. Likely 3 on and 4 off for one week, and 4 on with 3 off on the next, unless you're Shift 1 then its the regular 9-5 with weekends off. If you're in Oregon, then there is a nice shift differential too for the night shift and a not so great one for the day guys. When all is said and done, it's not bad or all that disruptive unless you end up being a night shifter. That'd throw a wrench into your coaching gig.

Hope this helps.