If you got your degrees from a 3rd tier college does that hurt your job hunting chances?

Moon Child

I am thinking because I attended my Universities extension which I would categorize more as a tier 3/4 school rather than the main campus which would be a tier 2 school it somewhat hurts my job hunting chances.

At the University I went to I got accepted at both the extension and at the main campus. Based on Sat/ ACT requirements I would say the main campus is slightly more selective and I would say it would be a tier 2 school, ranked in top 100. I decided to go to the extension to save money rather than paying a lot more to attend the main campus. At the extension I also had almost all my education paid for through the government and the hospital I worked at during college paid for a lot of my education. I got both my Bachelor's and Master's degrees with no student debt. Classes were a lot cheaper than at main classes and so were the books. Professors told us where online to order used books for their classes rather than spending a lot money at the school book store.

Even though most my professors even at the extension had their PHD's and I would say were excellent professors, the extension usually has very poor ratings compared to the main campus. Only 30% of those who attend the college complete a Bachelor's degree. The average student's SAT/ ACT scores at the college are very low compared to the main campus and other colleges. 

For these reasons sometimes I regret I didn't go to the main campus and fork over all the extra money to go there, I got accepted at both campuses but I didn't want to be left with a huge student debt after I got my degrees. I think recruiters see where I got my degrees from and that hurts my chances of landing a good paying IT job. 

Am I right in assuming this?

mikey88

Short answer is: it depends. Are top tech companies like Google/Facebook going to be more selective in their recruiting process? Sure. They have a larger pool of highly qualified candidates to choose from. They also directly recruit from top universities.

For most other companies, an accredited degree will get you though HR filters. It is then up to you to interview well as sell yourself.

alan2308

Another vote for it depends. A lot of places don't care whether or not you have a degree, and of the ones that do, many are simply looking for yes or no.  As in they don't necessarily care what it's in or where you got it.

TheFORCE

No one cares after a few years of experience 

Jon_Cisco

I don't have a Bachelor's degree and I think that will limit some of my job hunting. I don't however believe it is going to stop me from getting a job.

You have a degree and it sounds like the name recognition is not going to help you. But you still have the education and you also have the check boxes filled in for HR. I think if you focus on the positives you will do just fine.

jcundiff

From your previous posts, where your degree is from is not the problem, its your location and out of date IT skills.  95% of companies are looking for a check in the box, not Harvard or Yale

LionelTeo

without degree here, the only time i can think of where it matters is that ats is in place to filter for certain keywords that may matters on ur resume. You just got to know how to deal with ats as part of the job seeking.

https://www.cio.com/article/2398753/careers-staffing/careers-staffing-5-insider-secrets-for-beating-applicant-tracking-systems.html

Moon Child

jcundiff said:

From your previous posts, where your degree is from is not the problem, its your location and out of date IT skills.  95% of companies are looking for a check in the box, not Harvard or Yale

Out of date IT skills? My A+, Network+ and Security+ I just renewed for the next 3 years. The last 2 years I been in an IT role as a Laptop Technician. How are my IT skills out of of date?

jcundiff

Moon Child said:

jcundiff said:

From your previous posts, where your degree is from is not the problem, its your location and out of date IT skills.  95% of companies are looking for a check in the box, not Harvard or Yale

Out of date IT skills? My A+, Network+ and Security+ I just renewed for the next 3 years. The last 2 years I been in an IT role as a Laptop Technician. How are my IT skills out of of date?

Sorry, misread the following:

"One recruiter told me from Robert Half since my Computer Degree and previous experience working with PHP is more then 2 years old they can no longer count that, but could count the Laptop Technician experience. "

I misread that your laptop tech was out of date... my bad... still location though from your previous posts... I was driving 3 hours each way and staying in a cheap hotel on my dime for a decent job when I got laid off in 2009, did that for 6.5 years before the company decided to let me be 100% remote...  if there are no jobs that pay what you need where you are, be prepared to go where the work is, or figure out a new career path... those are really the only options

the_Grinch

There are only two situations in which where your degree matters:  it was an Ivy League school (Havard/Yale/etc) or well known local school/network.  I got both my degrees from a well known local school with a solid network of graduates all over.  Locally it opened a lot of doors, which was great.  Otherwise, as others have stated, you are just checking a box for HR (has a degree...check).  I wouldn't get hung up on it.

Mooseboost

The majority of places I have worked, it doesn't matter. It is a "Have a degree? Yes/no" situation rather than "Where did you obtain X degree?", when most recruiters submit you for something - that is the way they are going to present you. Now if you did attend a top school, that could be a good conversation starter/influencer. It isn't going to be a deal breaker for the majority, at least not in IT. In some fields, its far more important. IT overall is more relaxed about it.