In 2021, the semiconductor industry under the core shortage tide experienced a wave of boom. When the tide gradually recedes, engineers in the semiconductor industry are the biggest beneficiaries.
According to the data, the median per capita salary of 98 Shenwan semiconductor industry companies in 2021 was 335100 yuan, an increase of 26.9% compared with 264000 yuan in 2020. Among them, there were 92 companies whose per capita salary increased, and only 6 companies whose per capita salary decreased. In addition, the median per capita salary of A-share companies in 2021 was 153000 yuan, an increase of 16.4% over the previous year.
Among A-share semiconductor companies, the highest increase in per capita salary is Unigroup Guoxin Microelectronics Co.Ltd(002049) ( Unigroup Guoxin Microelectronics Co.Ltd(002049) . SZ), up to 109%. The per capita salary of yingjixin (688209. SH), saiweidian (688325. SH), nano core micro (688052. SH), Dongwei semi Guide (688261. SH) and other companies also increased significantly last year.
Data source: interface news research department
In absolute terms, the per capita salary of Aojie Technology (688220. SH), the highest in the semiconductor industry, is 839900 yuan, and the per capita salary of xidiwei (688173. SH), saiweidian, Verisilicon Microelectronics (Shanghai) Co.Ltd(688521) ( Verisilicon Microelectronics (Shanghai) Co.Ltd(688521) . SH), 3Peak Incorporated(688536) ( 3Peak Incorporated(688536) . SH) and other companies is also at a high level.
Data source: interface news research department
It is worth noting that high salary does not mean high business performance. Aojie technology and Cambricon Technologies Corporation Limited(688256) ( Cambricon Technologies Corporation Limited(688256) . SH) lost 589 million yuan and 825 million yuan respectively last year.
From the distribution range of per capita salary, most companies in the semiconductor industry are in the range of 100000 yuan to 700000 yuan.
Data source: interface news research department
From the perspective of sub industries, the per capita salary in 2021 from high to low is digital chip design (495000 yuan), analog chip design (480000 yuan), semiconductor equipment (311000 yuan), semiconductor materials (166000 yuan), discrete devices (165000 yuan) and integrated circuit packaging and testing (154000 yuan). Among them, the growth rate of per capita salary in digital chip design industry reached 30%, that in analog chip design industry increased by 27%, and that in semiconductor manufacturing industry decreased by 7%.
Data source: interface news research department
It is not difficult to see that the salary gap between different links of the semiconductor industry chain is widening, especially in the chip design link, the salary increase is ahead of other links. Considering that the slow salary increase of administrative and financial posts has dragged down the overall increase, the per capita salary increase of chip design posts must have exceeded 30% in 2021, which does not include equity incentive.
This means that if the gross profit of chip design enterprises does not increase by more than 30% in 2021, even if there is no expansion of R & D personnel, the net profit may be eroded by R & D expenses, resulting in a decline in performance.
Behind the rapid rise in wages in the chip design industry is an unprecedented “war to rob people”.
At present, there are 51 chip design companies in a shares, of which 44 increased their R & D personnel last year, and the R & D personnel of three companies more than doubled. Overall, by the end of 2021, the number of R & D personnel of A-share chip design companies had totaled 27431, an increase of 23.6% compared with 22192 at the end of 2020.
Taking Maxscend Microelectronics Company Limited(300782) ( Maxscend Microelectronics Company Limited(300782) . SZ) as an example, the number of R & D personnel of the company was 457 at the end of 2021, an increase of 126% over the same period of last year, and the number of R & D personnel of Shenzhen Sunmoon Microelectronics Co.Ltd(688699) ( Shenzhen Sunmoon Microelectronics Co.Ltd(688699) . Sh), Datang Telecom ( Datang Telecom Technology Co.Ltd(600198) . SH), 3Peak Incorporated(688536) , Chipsea Technologies (Shenzhen) Corp.Ltd(688595) ( Chipsea Technologies (Shenzhen) Corp.Ltd(688595) . SH) and other companies also increased significantly over the same period of last year.
Data source: interface news research department
However, such expansion speed may still not meet the needs of enterprise development. A board secretary of a listed company told reporters, “the increase of human cost is too exaggerated. The company originally planned to recruit 100 R & D personnel last year. In fact, due to the too ‘internal volume’ of the recruitment market, only 45 were recruited in the end.” In the view of the enterprise, the newly graduated chip engineer can get an annual salary of more than 400000, which is naturally a mountain of pressure.
As one of the most definite development directions in the next decade, semiconductor has attracted the most funds from the primary market, which is also an important reason for the high salary in the industry. According to the investment data, in the first quarter of 2022, China’s VC / PE market invested 175 in semiconductors, with a total investment scale of US $4.17 billion, higher than that of medicine, the Internet and other racetracks.
