Ed Jones  I worked directly in the chip industry from 1977 through 2017. Ed's points are correct but another issue has been the nature of the relationships between chip manufacturers and their governments. The Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese, and Chinese governments have worked closely with their national banks and the chip manufacturers to help them succeed on a massive scale. These nations saw the value of chip design and manufacturing long ago and committed their long-term support to it.    Also, it takes many very highly skilled people, and very expensive and complex equipment to design and produce the latest chips. US chip manufacturers pay their best people reasonably well but it takes a long time for engineers to work their way up the pay scale. Smart folks in college see this and conclude they can make big bucks much faster in investment banking or as MBAs, etc.    As always, follow the money.

Ed Jones  I worked directly in the chip industry from 1977 through 2017. Ed's points are correct but another issue has been the nature of the relationships between chip manufacturers and their governments. The Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese, and Chinese governments have worked closely with their national banks and the chip manufacturers to help them succeed on a massive scale. These nations saw the value of chip design and manufacturing long ago and committed their long-term support to it.    Also, it takes many very highly skilled people, and very expensive and complex equipment to design and produce the latest chips. US chip manufacturers pay their best people reasonably well but it takes a long time for engineers to work their way up the pay scale. Smart folks in college see this and conclude they can make big bucks much faster in investment banking or as MBAs, etc.    As always, follow the money.

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