Does the university matter?

Tech333

For computer science does where you study really matter?
Out of Warwick and surrey and royal holloway, Warwick is best, but I'd prefer Surrey.

Unemployment concerns me

markulous

There will likely be certain prestige coming from somewhere like MIT, but as long as you're going to an accredited and non-profit school, I don't see an issue.

OctalDump

In terms of what employers think, at the really pointy end of things, yeah it matters. But probably you aren't playing at that level. If later you find you are, then you go back do a Master's or doctorate.

Probably what matters a little more is how well you do, 1st Class vs a tutu or richard... But for most jobs, they are just happy that you have a degree, and then will start asking what you can do.

But that is far from the whole picture for choosing a university. It's probably fairly low on the priorities, actually. If you are going to spend 3, 4, 5 years somewhere, you want it to be engaging and interesting and fun.

So I'd look in detail at the course contents, look up the bios/cv of the lecturers/professors etc taking the courses, look at what the 3rd (or later) years look like - that's generally where the interesting stuff is. See if the degree is more academic, or more theoretical, or more practical. Some degrees include significant project work where you actually build stuff. Some will get you to write 15,000 words on something. There's quite a lot of variety between programs, a lot more than "top rated" or "most respected".

And also consider where it is, what it will be like living there (if you are moving), how you might support yourself, how much stuff costs, what there is to do.

This is to prepare you for maybe 50 years career, and is a few years of your life. The education and experience will literally last the rest of your life. So look for something that you want, not something you think a future employer might want.

Tech333

@=markulous
Aaah, sounds like you don't know much about uk universities , though you must have heard of oxbridge?

I speak specifically of uk univerdities.

How Mich of a difference would you say going to a top 10 university in your country is?

@=OctalDump

No, I certainly have offers from some top 10 universities. I just preferred the middle ranking universities due to the better teaching and more friendly environment.

Also the requirement is a 2.1 so as long as you have that it's all cool.
The concern is that a number of jobs though not all specifically require a 2.1 from a top university which isn't fair as it looks like laziness on their part cuz what if you prefer an average university as opposed to the very top 10 many recruiyers target? It wouldn't necessarily make you a Bette job candidate.

Seems to be an assumption that everyone who can will go to the best universities, without considering other factors. Sorry but it's not right to force people to go where they don't want to

Life is unfair

TomkoTech

There are always going to be companies that will ONLY hire people from X university. And if you qualify to go to one of those you probably should. Ultimately how much you learn is really dependent on you. Though the more prestigious universities are known for pushing students further and faster.

People can get a 6 figure salary with only having gone to a community college in the States. Though I think the opportunities are a lot more diverse than you will see in the UK. Someone going to MIT or Carnegie Mellon in the States is going to have a lot smoother of a path to higher paying jobs with perks than someone who goes the community college route and busts his ass with external certifications and such.

636-555-3226

I don't really care about what school people came out of. Exceptions - if you came out of a really good, top-tier school that'd be some brownie points, or if you came out of ghetto tech that would lose you some points. Otherwise i'm impartial for the most part when reviewing resumes.

the_Grinch

In the US if you aren't going to a MIT, Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Stanford etc then it doesn't matter. You'll definitely have some well known college for a region, but even those don't necessarily mean much. For me it has been about 50/50, half saw the school and loved it the other half saw a degree and that was all the matter. Drexel University did a study when I was working there and found that 200 miles was the range of the school name. Anywhere within a 200 mile radius knew of Drexel, but beyond that it was a mix bag.

jeremywatts2005

In some cases yes it does and other not so much. You have companies that will specifically recruit from certain colleges, because they are involved on the curriculum committees or involved in providing materials to a college. For instance when I got my AAS it was from Indian Hills and everyone here might go so what. Back in the late 90's and early 2k's Indian Hills was a hot bed for tech hiring. Microsoft, IBM, Honeywell, Verizon, DEC, Compaq, HP, Rockwell, MCI, AT&T and others all hired from there. We had 100% job placement rates. I remember being heavily wined and dined for weeks toward the end of my graduation by mega companies. I went to work for Rockwell and eventually got laid off but they provided me some intense telecom training after college. At AT&T where I work now they have partnership agreements with both Champlain and CTU and they hire a ton of grads from those colleges me included. Trust me a college can make or break you in looking for a job do not discount it. Research the college and the company (s) you are looking for jobs at. It might give you a leg up in hiring. I know at ITT I used to do the same thing for my students. I used my industry connections and they hired every grad I had because the student was a more known quantity to them. After all I allowed them to come on campus and do career building sessions with students to help student get skill specific for their companies.

NOC-Ninja

This varies on the situation. I know people that graduate from CSU's in Comp Sci that doesnt make as much as me.
I guess it matters when you graduate and start looking for a job..Although, it is up to you to move up and make more money.
Comp sci, Im guessing you are aiming to move into software dev, Lots of developer didn't even go to college.

OctalDump

NOC-Ninja wrote: »

Lots of developer didn't even go to college.

In my experience, that's not a good thing. For development, the best I've met are Software Engineering graduates and a guy with a Master's. I've met too many "self taught" cowboys who have zero understanding of basic engineering practice.

Plantwiz

The school one attends only matters to some folks, and that is a blanket statement, yet been true in all my experiences.

The point of college or university, matters with the company (social networking, friends) one meets, not so much of the document one receives.

As for realizing life is 'unfair', well, best you find out now, but even in the UK, I will wager a guess you are not being told you only qualify for a particular job due to your family's social class,? You have an opportunity to make your career as successful or unsuccessful as you like? So, while a particular school may matter some, it is not the deciding factor, your skill and personality will carry much further.

ThomasITguy

As long as you dont go to University of the People you will be fine.

si20

I've said this in another thread, but i'll repeat it here in more detail. It's not the university, it's the people teaching you that you need to be concerned about. For my BSc in digital forensics, I was being taught by an expert who had worked in industry for several years and had academic experience. For my MSc degree, I was being taught by hobbyists who had never worked in industry - at all, not even in the subject they were supposedly "teaching". The difference is night and day. Research who is teaching the course and look up their credentials. If someone is teaching something that they've never done, be wary. You will almost definitely be taught things from an academic perspective rather than a tried and tested practical method that is industry standard. The industry standard version is standard for good reason.

TechGromit

To me, I don't care what college you attended, but to some employers, attending certain universities is important. It always helps if the person hiring you attended the same college. I think one of the reasons I got the job I hold now is one of the hiring managers attended the same technical school as me.