TSMC's latest quarterly bonus landed this week, and for its engineers it is very good news — total pay is climbing far faster than almost anywhere else in Taiwan.

• Mid-level engineers are seeing quarterly bonuses worth four to five months of salary, putting yearly pay in the NT$3.5 million range.
• Senior engineers can reach NT$5–6 million a year once fixed pay and bonuses are added up.
• Employee bonuses for the first half of the year jumped more than 50% from last year, driven by booming AI and high-performance computing demand.
• Chairman C.C. Wei has promised bonuses and dividends will keep growing about 30% a year, with no ceiling.
• Median global pay at the company rose almost 20% last year, showing the gains are not limited to the top ranks.

Outlook: As long as AI chip demand holds up, TSMC pay looks set to keep climbing at a double-digit pace, tightening the squeeze on rivals trying to hire engineers.