Who needs a degree? South Korea’s chip boom rewires university-obsessed culture
‘When I think about the pay I’ll be getting at Samsung, I’m not worried at all,’ a student at a semiconductor school says
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Inside a brightly lit cleanroom at Chungbuk Semiconductor High School in South Korea, a group of teenagers in head-to-toe protective suits carefully handled silicon wafers, learning the same production processes used in commercial chip plants.
About half of the school’s graduates head straight to large companies such as Samsung Electronics or SK Hynix without ever setting foot in a university classroom.
The scene illustrates how South Korea’s semiconductor boom is beginning to challenge the country’s deeply entrenched belief that a university degree is the only route to a successful career.
Even graduates of prestigious universities struggle to land jobs at large companies that are looking for experienced workers rather than new graduates.
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