South Korean teens are skipping degrees for semiconductor school—they’re landing six-figure jobs at 17 while their friends regret going to college

As Gen Z wrestles with AI upending the traditional career ladder, a growing number of South Korean teenagers are skipping college and choosing vocational semiconductor schools instead—putting them on track for six-figure careers before they’re even old enough to vote.

Rather than spending their final years of high school preparing for university entrance exams, students learn skills like electronic-circuit design, clean-room protocols, and contamination control alongside calculus and chemistry—the technical foundation needed to work in the country’s multibillion-dollar chip industry. 

And at Chungbuk Semiconductor High School, southeast of Seoul, 96.4% of students are graduating with a job offer in hand.

“When I was in middle school, I tried to convince some of my friends to enroll with me,” No Jun-sik, a 17-year-old senior with a job offer from Samsung, told The New York Times. Instead, many decided to attend university. “A lot of them are now regretting that,” he added.

Like Jun-sik, roughly one in four students land jobs directly at Samsung, South Korea’s largest company. The average Samsung Electronics employee earned a salary of 158 million won ($107,300) last year, according to The Korea Herald. 

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