Canyu Cao and Chongfei Shen
Chongfei:
I’m considering switching to analog circuit design. Does anybody have any knowledge in that field? To be frank, my knowledge in that field is equivalent to my knowledge in law.
How does it compare with device physics?
It’s a hard decision for me now, any information will be valueable.
Mark:
Analog Circuit designer <==> Lawyer, Doctor
Device Physicist <==> Clerk, Nurse
Analog Designer: You will trash your soul for the millions you will earn.
Device Physicist: You will be able to embrace your soul because you have nothing else to hold on to.
Analog Designer: Famous cook who make gourmet dishes.
Device Physicist: Blacksmith who fix cookware for the cook.
Analog Designer: Fashion models who show off their flashy silk shirts.
Device Physicist: Silkworms who originally made the silk.
… …
Chongfei:
Your words took my breath, your words boiled my blood, your words froze my heart. I’m in between the heaven and hell, experiencing the love that burns my soul. I’m gasping for air, I’m trembling to the root of my hair. With blindness, I saw glare… only because I’ll be a damn LAWYER.
Please offer more details, as one never feels enough for love.
Mark:
First let me claim that I am not in the industry. So if anything I said or am going to say is true, that must be a pure coincidence.
The detail I can IMAGINE is:
As a analog circuit designer: Your job is not extremely exciting in a precise sense. You tweak anything you are allowed to put your hands on, but you may still yet to reach your spec. You worry about all kinds of damned parasitic you are never aware of when you took a circuit course. Any subtle process detail may ruin your ingenious design. You work 12 hours a day, 6-7 days a week. However, you may need to do some real good physical exercise before you take the job. Just to take the tons of stock options home may hurt your back or stretch you muscle. You will have to be mentally strong too. Trying to calculate your net worth three years later will bring you many long sleepless nights. After you finish a project, you feel a great accomplishment. If you a naughty enough, you can put your name on the chip layout to show your competitors that will definitely try to reverse engineer your chip who is their worst nightmare. You may feel tired at the end, then why not start your own company? You have already identified a few promising markets that will enjoy more than 100% yearly growth in the next five years. Several venture capitalists have called you a couple of times to get your permission to send their checks over. Why not, you think, although I have more money than I can spend in the next three lifes, I want to do something more challenging to make a difference, that is what entreprenuership is all about.
As a device physicist: Your job is not extremely boring in a precise sense. The girl in the circuit design group came to see you again. She thinks personally you can be charming sometimes, but she does not like the device model parameters you extracted after weeks of hard-working. Even though process variation can lead to 10% error easily, they insist that your model’s RMS error has to be lower than 3%. You start to hate the process engineers. How on earth can they make such crooked little devices that does not obey any physical law? Think positively, you remind yourself. It always does not hurt to do a better job than necessary. She is also very disappointed that the SPICE simulations sometimes crash and she is pretty sure it is because of your inadequate model. The design deadlines have been pushed back many times because of this. Your mind start to drift away from the scene, it just want to kick some ass. Did all the Berkeley guys out of their mind? Look at their SPICE simulator, look at their BSIM model, the invisible traps and poisonous bugs are all over the place. Did they ever take Numerical Methods 101 or Device Physics 101 in college? You are brought back by the sound of a door being slapped. On your desk is a report prepared by the circuit gurus about why the greatest chip ever in human history failed just because your foolish device models ruined it all. Do not worry, a deep voice showers down from far beyond the ceiling, miracle happens all the time, you are not necessarily get fired because of this. Then you will live happily, for ever.
Chongfei:
I’d rather be a doctor than a nurse,
yes I would, if I could, I surely would.
I’d rather be a laywer than a clerk,
yes I would, if I could, I surely would.
I’d rather be a fashion designer than a silk worm,
yes I would, if I could, I surely would.
Away, I’d rather sail away
Like a famous cook, that’s in my dream and gone
A man gets tired of fixing the pots,
He gives the world
Its saddest sound
Its saddest sound
I’d rather be a circuit designer than a device physicist
Yes I would, if I could, I surely would
I’d rather feel LA’s sunshine than NJ’s polluted air
Yes I will, and I can, I surely will.