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I went to Berkeley for CS and knew people that went to MIT and Stanford, and I don't agree. You're right the curriculum is the same. Everything else is differen

I went to Berkeley for CS and knew people that went to MIT and Stanford, and I don't agree. You're right the curriculum is the same. Everything else is different. Just one example: lots of undergrads do research. They get to work (albeit basically as trainees) in some of the top CS labs in the world.

jghn 10y ago
I've long espoused what jondubois says above and many people have told me what you say here in response. That might be true but now that I'm in a position to see lots of new hires it doesn't seem to make a difference, at least not for CS grads. We hire a bunch of MIT grads and they seem to have roughly the same distribution of success as all of the other new hires. I'll grant you that this is anecdata but it is the one situation where I have a lot of experience where the connection angle does not exist.
- Buge 10y ago
  It might depend on what you are hiring them for. If it's for research the elites might do better. But if it's for software engineering there might not be a difference.
  - jghn 10y ago
    That's possible, I can only speak to standard SWE type roles, and in those situations the inter-person variance is larger than the inter-institution variance.
    - argonaut 10y ago
      Many of the top students at Berkeley, Stanford, MIT don't get standard SWE roles. They go to quant finance and make 300k straight out of undergrad. They go to PhD programs. They start a startup with YC. They do Google APM or something similar. They work as analysts in a VC firm.
aswanson 10y ago
I think you learn more from your peer group than classes in college, so it's a good idea got try to get surrounded with the most talented cohort possible.
- argonaut 10y ago
  Exactly. After going to Berkeley, there are 10+ people at top tech companies who think I'm smart and would be more than happy to refer me if I needed a job.
  - aswanson 10y ago
    Nice. If I had any sense in my high school years I'd have a Berkeley or Stanford pedigree. Eh, youth is wasted on the young...
jackpirate 10y ago
Umm... Berkeley also has some of the top CS labs in the world...
- argonaut 10y ago
  I was referring to Berkeley, MIT, and Stanford.

jghn 10y ago

I've long espoused what jondubois says above and many people have told me what you say here in response. That might be true but now that I'm in a position to see lots of new hires it doesn't seem to make a difference, at least not for CS grads. We hire a bunch of MIT grads and they seem to have roughly the same distribution of success as all of the other new hires. I'll grant you that this is anecdata but it is the one situation where I have a lot of experience where the connection angle does not exist.

Buge 10y ago
It might depend on what you are hiring them for. If it's for research the elites might do better. But if it's for software engineering there might not be a difference.
- jghn 10y ago
  That's possible, I can only speak to standard SWE type roles, and in those situations the inter-person variance is larger than the inter-institution variance.
  - argonaut 10y ago
    Many of the top students at Berkeley, Stanford, MIT don't get standard SWE roles. They go to quant finance and make 300k straight out of undergrad. They go to PhD programs. They start a startup with YC. They do Google APM or something similar. They work as analysts in a VC firm.

aswanson 10y ago

I think you learn more from your peer group than classes in college, so it's a good idea got try to get surrounded with the most talented cohort possible.

argonaut 10y ago
Exactly. After going to Berkeley, there are 10+ people at top tech companies who think I'm smart and would be more than happy to refer me if I needed a job.
- aswanson 10y ago
  Nice. If I had any sense in my high school years I'd have a Berkeley or Stanford pedigree. Eh, youth is wasted on the young...

jackpirate 10y ago

Umm... Berkeley also has some of the top CS labs in the world...

argonaut 10y ago
I was referring to Berkeley, MIT, and Stanford.