台灣表面黏著科技股份有限公司

The Taiwan plant's environment is alright and suitable for staying long term and taking it easy.

I previously worked as an overseas assignee and have since left the company.

Here are a few genuine observations for anyone considering joining TSMC in the future.

When I first received training in Taiwan, HR mentioned verbally that there was a “comprehensive training program.” In practice, however, the overseas-assignment training was conducted directly during working hours, without any additional resources or schedule arrangements. You may encounter people who are supervisors in name but are actually unwilling to help, responding with cold indifference and even directly discouraging your expectations about working overseas by saying things like, “There’s no future over there.” The overall atmosphere is simply unwelcoming.

The reality is even harsher once you actually go overseas. The so-called “responsibility system” basically means unpaid overtime. During an overseas assignment, this “responsibility system” is essentially a well-packaged culture of unpaid overtime; if you do not comply, your salary or bonuses may be adjusted or deducted under various pretexts, such as “insufficient initiative,” “lack of commitment,” or “failure to meet performance standards.” These criteria are highly ambiguous and determined subjectively by supervisors, leaving employees with no real protection. High-pressure management and emotional manipulation become the norm. People either yell at you or belittle you, with no communication or support whatsoever—they simply work you like a machine.

The workplace cultures of the various overseas sites differ tremendously. In some locations, the management style is extremely authoritarian: they respect hierarchy but not people, and their values are difficult to accept. In such an environment, you are expected to work yourself to the bone voluntarily while pretending to identify with the corporate culture, which is extremely difficult to accept.

In summary:

✅ If you want to stay at the Taiwan plant long term and take it easy, are comfortable with relatively stable work and systems, and live near Taoyuan, it may be worth considering. After all, the salary is above the average wage, and you can also leave work at 5 p.m. on time.

❌ As for overseas assignments, I strongly do not recommend them unless you truly understand the culture of the assigned location and can accept a “top-down management style + work model that disregards human considerations.” In particular, at some sites, the supervisors are almost uniformly domineering and the pressure is immense, which can truly wear away your passion and self-respect.

The Google reviews are incredibly informative; anyone planning to go for an interview can take a look for reference.

1. There is no parking available for interviewees; if it rains, you're on your own.

2. The maintenance engineering test is extremely stupid—it’s just to see whether you know how to use a soldering iron.

3. Surprisingly, there was no interview with a supervisor after the HR interview. Once the test was over, I could just leave—OK.

There is a restaurant, and motorcycle and car parking are available.

Do not go to the Production Line Systems Department (the one on Taoying Road) under any circumstances.

The department supervisor exploits subordinates for money using what they call “underworld rules.”

“Underworld rules”

1. Whenever you make a mistake, you have to treat everyone in the department to drinks. The department supervisor chooses what to drink.

2. Or, if the supervisor does not want drinks, they directly order you to pay NT$1,000 to the supervisor.

3. The overtime pay for being on duty is NT$1,000, because under the “underworld rules,” whenever you are on duty, you have to pay NT$500 to the department supervisor.

4. After passing the probationary period and becoming a regular employee, you have to pay NT$3,500 to the department supervisor.

At every meeting, you are inexplicably berated. The department supervisor berates subordinates as if they were dogs.

The department supervisor occasionally lets you work overtime (this company does not pay overtime; it only provides compensatory leave), so you can earn compensatory-leave hours. However, when the overtime day arrives, the department supervisor, having nothing better to do and wanting to kill time, calls you over and berates you for no reason even though you have done nothing wrong. Everyone is berated for approximately two to three hours; their entire overtime period consists of berating people.

There is air conditioning.

There are too few software licenses. Even the most junior engineers have none available to use, while certain high-ranking people can see from the backend who is using it and kick them offline at any time to use it themselves... Completely inefficient.

None

After filling out the résumé information, HR only came over to ask when I could start at the earliest—they needed staff by next week.

If you can’t start immediately, goodbye.

A complete waste of time.

Not long afterward, I received another interview invitation.

A truly speechless interview experience.

Motorcycle parking in the basement

Long-serving employees throw their weight around. Most newcomers don't stay long; even experienced hires in relevant fields leave in less than a year because they can't take it anymore.

There is underground motorcycle parking

There is air conditioning

This company appears to be looking for dispatch workers at the level of Captain America

Already stated willingness to cooperate with overtime, with only 4 days off per month

Still not hired

Meals are not provided

No 10-minute morning or afternoon break