Three years ago, I was deeply engrossed in mastering the complex field of VLSI System

design. Amongst the various roles I embarked on over the last 3 years, this will be dear to me.
VLSI is a vast field with a lot of interdependent & co-related topics [RTL design,
Functional/Physical/Timing Verification, Testing, DFT, Synthesis, Physical Design, Standard
cell design etc. to name a few]. Your understanding of the field will get better with time &
persistent effort. I have enumerated the basic things you must know to succeed in the field of
ASIC (not FPGA)/SoC design. I hope this will lay down a strong foundation to be a
successful VLSI Engineer.

1. Logic Design (LD)

Yes, this by far is the single most important skill you must possess. Programming is a mere
implementation of your idea but LD is the thinking process itself. You must be able to design
a module using min. Gates, min. Power & max. Performance. This step comes higher in the
design hierarchy and affects the entire flow from there on. So it's really important to get your
LD concepts bang on. Ex: FSM design, MUX based design, Flops-latches based design,
Sync.-Aysnc design.

How to learn: Take an interesting problem statement, come up with an optimized FSM design
& try to implement the same using min. resources at the gate-level.

2. HDL/RTL/HVL Coding

 Yes y, the industry needs you to code & code well. There is a difference between RTL
coding & C-coding. Here, 'timing' comes into play. You must learn to code in either
Verilog/VHDL (I learn't Verilog). With RTL, you are basically expressing the LD you came
up with in 1 using a Hardware language.

How to learn: Start coding simple modules straight away. Don't waste time trying to master
the syntax. Learn to express the module behavior in RTL & the compiler will teach you the
rest. Start writing simple test benches to verify for its logic/functional correctness. Then later
learn Synthesizable RTL Coding. 

Note: One step further would be learning SV, UVM, RAL, SVA etc to write fully automated
TBs. This is a vast field in itself. I was in FV at LSI & found it interesting. If you like coding
then this is for you.

3. CMOS fundamentals

It depends whether you will work on frontend design or backend design. This is highly
needed in Backend/Physical design & full-custom circuit design/standard cell design. But
having good MOS basics is always a bonus. It a must need for all R&D jobs. 

How to learn: Start designing a simple circuit like SRAM/DRAM block & verify its timing &
functional correctness using SPICE simulations. I have done the same.

4. EDA Tools
This is a must for all industry jobs.Since almost the entire VLSI flow is automated using
EDA tools, it's a must to gain expertise in handling them. I have learned Cadence Virtuoso,
Synopsys ICC, DC, PT etc. It's a must for almost all Backend jobs.  

How to learn: The tools are expensive. Your college will provide you if it's part of the
syllabus. But if you are lucky to get an internship in a semiconductor company there is
nothing like it.

5. Computer Architecture/ Microprocessor Basics

Almost all chips designed today are ASICs/SoCs. This means we must understand how the
CPU is organized & how the various parts work together. You will ultimately end up working
on just a single block withing the CPU but having knowledge of many blocks will help you to
better understand the chip & eases integration job.

How to learn: First learn the basic theory. Then try to design & implement a single CPU
component ex: ALU or a DMA controller. Take it through the entire flow from RTL-
>Netlist->PD

6. Protocol/Algorithm implementation 

VLSI is just an implementation technology. Ultimately you are designing a chip for a specific
application ex: Image Processors, Networking processors, wireless chips etc. So it becomes
important to understand the common on-chip protocols & implement the same on hardware
like FPGA

How to learn: Take a simple crypto algorithm ex: RC6 & implement the same on FPGA.

Note: One step ahead would be learning AMBA Protocols like AHB, APB, AXI etc. 

7. Timing Analysis

TA forms the pillars of VLSI. It's important to understand clocks, Metastability, STA &
analysing a circuit for setup & hold violations and ways to fix the same.

How to learn: Learn STA theory first. I have worked on STA in the backend flow. You can
do the same. Synopsys PT/ICC is needed to generate timing reports, analyse them & later fix
those violations.   

8. Scripting & UNIX basics

Scripts are written to automate routine tasks. It's needed in both Frontend & Backend flow. In
frontend flow, we predominantly use Perl scripting for regression testing, register verification
etc. In the backend, we use Tcl scripting to execute various commands for PD. Learn basic
UNIX commands.

How to learn: There are numerous online tutorials to learn. Start writing simple scripts to
execute routine tasks. Leave Windows and start using UNIX. You must know the UNIX
environment well. 
Note: This answer was one of the most upvoted and viewed VLSI posts on Quora written 2
years ago. I believe the tools might have changed but the fundamentals remain the same.

I will be glad to hear from the current engineers of any recent technology updates.

About the author: Satish Subramanyam is currently pursuing his 'masters' to be a 'jack of
many' at Duke University. He previously worked with LSI (now Avago/Broadcom) and IBM
in various roles. He is an aspiring Product Manager/Consultant and passionate about product-
led startup