Manufacturing today requires front-line employees to have a greater level of skill than was demanded of their predecessors. At Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD), a supplier of integrated circuits for the global computer and communications markets, wafer fabrication technicians and manufacturing technicians must be able to carry out tasks directly related to circuit production and write recommendations for improving the production processes. Progress up the career ladder depends upon the ability of employees to produce these recommendations in technical reports — critical tools for communicating with colleagues — and the company provides training courses to teach technicians to write them. Writing these reports requires the ability to understand and synthesize complex, technical information from a variety of sources and convey the findings to colleagues.

Career Outlook