7 ms·

For most people I agree. However, as someone who has graduated from a top school (U. of Michigan), I can't tell you how many times my credentials have got me bo

For most people I agree. However, as someone who has graduated from a top school (U. of Michigan), I can't tell you how many times my credentials have got me both interviews and jobs. Where you go to school CAN make a big difference, but it depends on the school, the person, and the field of study.

dominotw 10y ago
Agreed. You can easily see this in SV startups who simply won't consider anyone outside their choosen list of universities.
- elcritch 10y ago
  Oh yes but that leaves tons of brilliant people who didn't goto any of the ivies ready to hire for those of us not wanting to compete with the SV app style startups. I used to be a bit annoyed by this attitude when I worked as a contractor at a Google data center. Well first it was still a boon to get Google anyway associated with my resume, but second I realized Google and SV and the rest were missing out on lots of brilliant engineers, makers, and programmers. Turns out hard technical problems care less about technical pedigree than humans. ;)
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Bahamut 10y ago
I went to University of Illinois for math (grad school), and I haven't really seen that effect, although it probably didn't hurt. I've mostly gotten interviews because of my open source credentials & impressive accomplishments for early in my career. I'm of the opinion that while school calibur might be able to get you interviews and jobs a lot of times, it's selecting for mediocrity since it doesn't go for professional accomplishments...and thus avoids hiring high performers, who generally want to work with other high performers.
- akhilcacharya 10y ago
  I have friends at UIUC and the difference in recruiting is night and day. I didn't get any response when I applied to Dropbox and Citadel over the last 2 years, but on the UIUC Computer Science Facebook page both companies post internship opportunities with direct recruiter emails, sometimes saying "anybody can interview" (for Dropbox). As someone who goes to a school of decent, but lower caliber this is a significant difference.
  - Bahamut 10y ago
    I left grad school in a bit of a surprise move during the great recession, so I missed all of the recruiting opportunities when I left - it took me 2 1/2 years to find a job, but afterwards I've made every effort to stand out on my own merits.
NotSammyHagar 10y ago
I don't mean to be mean, and I assume you mean CS, and I went to a no name school in the south myself, but having worked for 20 years at google, microsoft, amazon, and startups, I don't think of U of Mich as a top school. The easy top list in CS is berkley, cmu, stanford, maybe cal tech. People say their school is this or that, but 2nd and 3rd tier schools just don't matter at all. Maybe for your first job in that state? It's all about what you can do, your capabilities, your experience, and your interview skill too. Is U Mich is the top 20 or something? I definitely didn't go to a top school, but I am amazed at people who say their school was a top school or almost top school. I am just saying as someone who interviews people every week: your school doesn't matter to me - it is just what you have done in your career, and what you can do now.

dominotw 10y ago

Agreed. You can easily see this in SV startups who simply won't consider anyone outside their choosen list of universities.

elcritch 10y ago
Oh yes but that leaves tons of brilliant people who didn't goto any of the ivies ready to hire for those of us not wanting to compete with the SV app style startups. I used to be a bit annoyed by this attitude when I worked as a contractor at a Google data center. Well first it was still a boon to get Google anyway associated with my resume, but second I realized Google and SV and the rest were missing out on lots of brilliant engineers, makers, and programmers. Turns out hard technical problems care less about technical pedigree than humans. ;)

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Bahamut 10y ago

I went to University of Illinois for math (grad school), and I haven't really seen that effect, although it probably didn't hurt. I've mostly gotten interviews because of my open source credentials & impressive accomplishments for early in my career. I'm of the opinion that while school calibur might be able to get you interviews and jobs a lot of times, it's selecting for mediocrity since it doesn't go for professional accomplishments...and thus avoids hiring high performers, who generally want to work with other high performers.

akhilcacharya 10y ago
I have friends at UIUC and the difference in recruiting is night and day. I didn't get any response when I applied to Dropbox and Citadel over the last 2 years, but on the UIUC Computer Science Facebook page both companies post internship opportunities with direct recruiter emails, sometimes saying "anybody can interview" (for Dropbox). As someone who goes to a school of decent, but lower caliber this is a significant difference.
- Bahamut 10y ago
  I left grad school in a bit of a surprise move during the great recession, so I missed all of the recruiting opportunities when I left - it took me 2 1/2 years to find a job, but afterwards I've made every effort to stand out on my own merits.

NotSammyHagar 10y ago

I don't mean to be mean, and I assume you mean CS, and I went to a no name school in the south myself, but having worked for 20 years at google, microsoft, amazon, and startups, I don't think of U of Mich as a top school. The easy top list in CS is berkley, cmu, stanford, maybe cal tech. People say their school is this or that, but 2nd and 3rd tier schools just don't matter at all. Maybe for your first job in that state? It's all about what you can do, your capabilities, your experience, and your interview skill too. Is U Mich is the top 20 or something? I definitely didn't go to a top school, but I am amazed at people who say their school was a top school or almost top school. I am just saying as someone who interviews people every week: your school doesn't matter to me - it is just what you have done in your career, and what you can do now.