These four walls hit everyone who goes abroad. I dodged none of them.
- A top US EE school doesn't mean a job. Year one: 100+ applications sent, 0 interviews, 0 internships.
- Hold the GPA and job-hunt at the same time. Ease off the coursework and everything before it was wasted; stop applying and there's no next step — neither one can pause.
- LinkedIn with 0 connections — cold applications only. No seniors, no referrals, nobody to reshare your post. Every door, you knock on yourself.
- Landing the internship is the start — the return offer is a second exam. Doing your assigned work only earns a pass. What they want is to think of you first when they need someone next year.
That year I did the one thing everybody told me not to do. The next year, I landed it.
And after that?
- Interviewed at NVIDIA, AMD, and Apple — first-hand job-search feedback.
- Because I'm also an IC interviewer myself — this ranking combines both sides of the table.
USC diploma · Silicon Valley AI IC design house · verification internship · US$60/hr (company/name masked)
Look up from my desk and this is the skyline — Singapore, where I work and live now.
Why can I speak to three types of IC interviews?
Know digital IC interviews?
Because I am digital IC.
Know analog IC interviews?
Worked closely with an analog team — I know what they screen for.
Know mixed-signal verification?
Directly on my company's AI NPU core team — I've touched verification across both digital and analog integration.
I'm grateful to be surrounded by people this strong — and glad my own effort earned me a seat among them.
Your status is worth at least NT$20M...!
Work visa
Miss the US H1B lottery and you're out. Singapore's EP can be renewed.
Permanent residency
A high-enough EP salary = a real shot at PR.
Income tax
Around 30% in the US... around 6–8% in Singapore.