3/11/2013 8:39:23 AM

Times Union: In the chips on payday?

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Times Union

ALBANY

The Capital Region's growing high-tech sector isn't handing out golden tickets like Willy Wonka.

When nearly 800 people show up at a job fair at the University at Albany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, it's easy to believe that high-paying, meaningful jobs await them inside — an adult version of a lifetime supply of chocolate.

But without an advanced degree or previous experience, you won't be getting a high-tech job that pays $100,000 or more overnight.

If you are hard-working and ambitious, willing to go back to school — or in some cases take a pay cut — starting salaries in the tech sector are typically higher than those for similar jobs at more traditional companies.

That's because companies in the high-tech sector enjoy high profit margins and face fierce competition from rivals for employees.

But these higher wages and better benefits aren't just given to anyone willing with a resume. You have to earn every penny, experts say, and be willing to adapt.

"It's not for everybody," said Phil White, dean of the School of Engineering and Industrial Technologies at Hudson Valley Community College, which runs a two-year semiconductor manufacturing program. "Not everybody enjoys that environment. It's a career."

White — who says tech firms keep salary information closely guarded because of the competition for workers — says graduates of Hudson Valley's program might expect to earn a starting salary between $40,000 and $45,000 as a clean room technician, whereas salaries at a more traditional manufacturer could be as low as $30,000.

In fact, White notes, graduates of Hudson Valley's semiconductor program might expect salaries similar to the school's own entry-level faculty that have had six years of schooling, including a master's degree.

But White cautions not everyone has what it takes to get through the program, which loses about half its roughly 45 students in the second year, when it's heavy on math, physics, chemistry and lab work.

"It's a very rigorous program," White said. "So much is up to you."

Of course, engineers and managers with industry experience are well-paid in the local high-tech field, especially the semiconductor industry, which makes computer chips.

GlobalFoundries, which employs 2,000 people at its Fab 8 computer chip factory in Malta and could add another 4,500 jobs by 2020 as it expands, says engineers earn starting pay around $95,000, while top managers get $140,000 or more.

At the University at Albany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, which GlobalFoundries and others use to do cutting-edge research, senior engineers get paid between $80,000 and $120,000, while a top scientist or researcher can pull in more than $200,000 a year.

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