South Korea’s long-set college preference order is starting to change. For decades, medical school sat firmly at the top, and the country’s private education sector largely revolved around getting students into medicine. The appeal was simple: once admitted, students were widely seen as having secured a career path with predictable long-term rewards, something semiconductor departments could not match.
That gap is narrowing. Samsung and SK Hynix have in recent years worked with universities to open semiconductor-related programs, and some of those so-called contract departments tie employment prospects to admission itself. In effect, students enter with a route to work already built in.
Admissions momentum shifts toward chip programs
For the 2026 admissions cycle, enrollment figures showed that some SK Hynix-linked programs at top South Korean universities drew stronger demand than medical schools. In the same round, applications to medical schools fell by nearly one-third from previous levels, the lowest point in five years.
Kwon Seok-jun, an engineering professor at Sungkyunkwan University, said the large bonuses offered by chipmakers have materially changed how students and parents judge career paths. In his view, medicine had for the past 20 years been almost the only route in South Korea that promised both wealth and social status at once. SK Hynix’s payouts have broken that near monopoly, putting semiconductor engineers on the same level as doctors in family discussions about the future.
Doctors typically build income over time through licensing and years in practice. Chip engineers, by contrast, can see compensation tied directly to industry upcycles, where a single profit-sharing payment may rival what others spend years accumulating. That immediacy is loosening medicine’s hold on elite applicants.
Semiconductor cram schools target big-tech hiring
The Financial Times interviewed Kim Tae-woo, a fourth-year electrical engineering student in Seoul, who said he spent the summer attending a semiconductor cram school every day instead of traveling or taking time off. His goal is to join SK Hynix or Samsung Electronics after graduation. He had previously applied for internships at Samsung and several foreign chip companies but was not accepted.
Kim enrolled in a government-funded program designed to train semiconductor quality-management talent. Only 30 people were selected. The course runs for three and a half months, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and covers semiconductor devices, chip design, and data analysis. He said SK Hynix is his top target, though competition is intense because many classmates want the same outcome. Even where the curriculum overlaps with university coursework, he still wants practical training from industry instructors and another line on his résumé, because the bonuses in the sector are so high.
SK Hynix agreed last year to distribute 10% of annual operating profit to employees for the next 10 years. Based on projected earnings this year, the average bonus is estimated at about $500,000. The payment is profit-sharing, not base salary.
Cram schools are positioning themselves around that reality. They design courses specifically for Samsung and SK Hynix recruitment systems, teaching not only technical subjects but also résumé writing and interview preparation. Some operators even promise to refund tuition if students fail to enter a major company after graduation, and to pay an additional amount equal to the tuition, leaving their own revenues tied closely to hiring volumes at top chipmakers.
Rising payouts contrast with a weaker job market for many
Samsung also reached a profit-sharing agreement in May with 78,000 semiconductor employees. Average bonuses for workers in the memory division are estimated at close to $400,000.
Still, the glow from those compensation packages does not reach most young job seekers.
Kim Dong-wook, a manager at South Korean job platform Saramin interviewed by the Financial Times, said many degree holders, especially graduates from humanities and social science fields, deliberately hide their academic backgrounds to compete for factory production jobs at chipmakers such as Samsung and SK Hynix. Some young people have started saying they should not have gone to university at all, reflecting a structural mismatch between an oversupply of graduates and a shortage of quality openings.
Kim said the old belief that only white-collar work counts as success is fading, and even parents are placing more weight on practical skills. White-collar employees often face pressure to retire early in their early 50s, while technically skilled production-line workers can hold more stable positions.
In the three months through the end of June, South Korea’s average youth unemployment rate stood at 7.1%, the highest level for that period in four years. The rise came almost at the same time as record bonus expectations at major chip companies. The report said the AI boom has expanded corporate profits, but not the labor market’s capacity to absorb young workers.
Large conglomerate jobs in South Korea usually offer better pay, benefits, and career stability, yet account for only a little more than 10% of the country’s employed population.
From softer demand for medical school to cram schools competing for 30 places and degree holders concealing qualifications for production roles, semiconductors in South Korea are no longer just an industry story. They are becoming a new measure of what stability looks like for a generation.