I'm a recent PhD graduate in electrical engineering, specialising in semiconductor processing. My thesis was on nanowires, nanowire devices and material characterisation. Unfortunately, I live in New Zealand and there is very little industry in semiconductors here. I have been applying for entry level positions all over the place for nearly a year and have had very little interest back. It wouldn't be half as bad if I had a stack of rejections, but the vast majority of positions don't even respond and checking back on their career sites just says "accepting applicants" after months.

I'm not even sure if it's a remotely good idea or not, but I've taken the rather drastic step of booking a plane ticket to Santa Clara, with the intent of wandering around for two weeks and trying to talk to actual people at some of the companies headquartered there, the likes of Intel, GlobalFoundaries, Applied Materials, LAM Research etc and trying to hand off some CVs. As I said, it might be a terrible idea and I might end up wasting a whole lot of money being escorted out of buildings by security for two weeks, but I'm hoping that by making myself available to talk to, it might help me get past that first hurdle of being Johnny Foreigner.

Just wondering if there's anyone here working in the area who might have either some advice or even a contact I can ask for at any of the semiconductor companies in Santa Clara?