I decided on spur of the moment to mention the place I work and give
a few lines on what I do there.
We make little microchips which go into thousands of
different things.
We started off with opamps and DAC's but have now moved on to loads of stuff.
Here is some of the stuff we make. I could give you the propper names of the chips
but I think not as you dont want to see a page full of phrases like
"ADXXXX - 500 MHz, 100 dB Demodulating Logarithmic Amplifier with Limiter Output "
as its a bit of a mouth full and I barely understand what it means.
chips that control the Air Bag in Cars.
chips that goes inside of Microsofts Joypads.
An Enviromental chip for the Intel PIII processors.
Voltage regulators.
Chips for mobile phones.
chips for medical machines.
I work as an MTM inside in the 6inch wafer Fabrication plant.
MTM stands for Manufacturing Team Member.
(The rest of the "TEAM" tells us what to do)
we Run production, we do Checks on all the machines, we
start Test wafers for all the checks, We keep track of
everything in logbooks/computer file and track everything on
Promis, Run wafers for the Engineers for projects they have,
go to meetings,go on training courses and a few other things.
We are kept fairly busy and are under constant supervision to make
sure of it.
In work its a good idea to ask permission to go to the Toilet
Just in case the fire alarm goes off and the boss does not know
where we are. We could be passed out on the toilet or something.
I work in the Metal isle with one other person so we have to
look after 11 machines in our section.
When You go into the Fab the first thing you notice that it is white.
We have to dress up in a white suit,
We wear a white hood and facemask,
We wear white gloves.
The walls and floor are more or less white.
There is harsh white strip lights above us.
The Canteen where we eat is painted white.
Come on now, we work their for 12.25 hours a night/day.
White is not our Favourite colour.
In the Fab we produce wafers.
These are 6inches in diameter and are made of Silicon
We then make hundreds of little circuits on these wafers.
we are working with things that are .35 of a micron wide.
so any particles can destroy the wafers.
The enviroment we work in is over 100 times cleaner
than an operating theater, but I still would not eat my dinnear
off the floor here.
we are not allowed bring paper/radios/drink/food/fags/pencil/felt pens
into the Fab.
All the wafers are held in black boxes called boxes.
We also hold the test wafers used to test the machines in boxes.
There is different types of test wafers like
particle wafers to test the machine for particles.
Oxide wafers to see if the machine is etching correct.
You Work In Chip Manufacturing If...
* You have scumming, but a shower won't help
* Your hair style is by Bouffant
* You complain that the strippers are not doing their job, and someone
actually listens
* You regularly have conversations about having SECS with a Lam.
* You are told that there is no danger to the chemicals you work with,
but the person telling you can't pronounce all of their names.
* They also ask you to wear radiation monitor badges, and donate hair
clippings 'just in case'
* If you sputter, it does not mean you have a speech disorder
* You work with people paid $10 per hour who run boxes of stuff each
worth $100,000 through machines costing $1,000,000 in a factory
costing $1,000,000,000.
* You work massive amounts of overtime until the layoffs start.
* After work, you go to the grocery store, and people stare at the
lines worn into your forehead.
* You change companies, and end up with your bosses boss being a guy
who used to be your night shift technician.
* You recognize people by their eyes, but don't know who they are in
street clothes.
* All your best work is done under yellow light
* The Enemy is sodium and particulate.
* You have been assigned to be on at least 3 cross-functional teams in
the past year.
* You are taught to use various Japanese techniques with names that
sound like trash-can noises to determine that if there is too much
work in your area, to notify the in other areas that yours is full.
* You have to cut costs because whatever you are making now will sell
for one-half within a year
* Department meetings look like the United Nations, and small splinter
meetings in some obscure Chinese dialect often develop.
* You think vendors are some alternate, lower life form.
* Your resume is on a diskette in your pocket.
* Someone asks about what you do for a living, you lie.
* You get really excited about a 2% pay raise.
* You learn about your layoff on CNN.
* Your biggest loss from a system crash is that you lose your best
jokes.
* Your supervisor hasn't the ability to do your job assignment.
* You sit in a cubicle smaller than your bedroom closet.
* Salaries of the members on the Executive Board are higher than all
the Third World countries' annual budgets.
* It's dark when you drive to and from work.
* Fun is when issues are assigned to someone else.
* You see a good-looking person and know it is a visitor.
* Being sick is defined as can't walk or you're in the hospital.
* Art involves a white board.
* You're already late on the assignment you just got.
* You work 200 hours for the $100 bonus check and jubilantly say
"Oh wow, thanks!" (yeah, like you would ever get a bonus check!)
* All real work gets started after 5pm or on weekends.
* Everyone fights fires (i.e. problems).
* Dilbert cartoons hang inside every cube.
* Plants in your cube are healthier than your plants at home.
* Your boss's favorite lines are "when you get a few minutes",
"in your spare time", "when you're freed up", and "I have an
opportunity for you."
* 10% of the people you work with - no one (boss included) knows
what they do.
* Vacation is something you rollover to next year or a check you
get every January.
* Change is the norm.
* You only have makeup for fluorescent lighting.
* Moving targets are employees, goals, and budgets.
* You read this entire list and understand.
And remember now....
