Regarding the link to the article, I agree that it’s easier to get an interview for a first job if you’ve gone to a name school. But after that it’s your skills and experience that matter, not your school.
The professor who wrote the article suffers from the same problem that many academics suffer from, which is to assume that what’s important in academe, such as school prestige, is also important in the business world. It’s not, especially in tech. He’s only been an intern at a few companies, which doesn’t afford the time to really understand how business operates, including hiring. As he even admits, most of his arguments are based on things that his friends have told him rather than direct experience.
That article is just a bunch of anecdotal evidence strung together.
So here’s MY anecdote: D1 attended a well-regarded private school that was by no means a powerhouse in CS. Her first job out of college was at one of those big-name companies, the kind of place that supposedly “won’t even bother to look at unsolicited online applications”. But they looked at hers, and hired her. Her salary was the same as (or even slightly higher than) that of her coworkers who were also new hires who’d attended some of those powerhouse CS schools. Second job was at yet another of those big-name companies; their recruiters follow anyone who made it to the on-site interview stage, even if they’re not hired at that point. When D1 did the on-site interview during her senior year, the other candidates in her group came from a mix of schools: some powerhouse, some not.
Feel convinced? You shouldn’t–I gave you one data point. One anecdote. The linked paper was just a bunch of anecdotes without any analysis behind them. So you should take my kid’s story, and everything that professor wrote, with a ton of salt.
Also, you gotta feel sorry for the professor’s students at UCSD. Imagine having your professor tell you that you’re just not going to do as well in the job market because you didn’t go to Stanford or UC Berkeley. Ouch.
@SlitheyTove I understand your point about anecdotes. In your example, with D1 she “attended a well-regarded private school .” Now, if student also has co-ops & research on her resume, then even better!
Now let’s compare a kid who goes to college, who might have problems finding his 1st co-op or 1st exp VS a kid who goes to college, and easily found research/co-ops.
Find out why more research and co-ops are available at 1, but not so much at the other. And which companies seem to be connected to certain colleges? For example, this reputable Tech School shows which companies recruited kids: https://www.rpi.edu/dept/cdc/students/jobsearch/offers/Class%20Stats.html
@AccCreate I agree with your quote: " the ‘first job’ is based off the college name.
And ‘Carnegie Mellon Univ’ does open doors in this area." Students will learn tonight if they got in to CM!
Something to think about: here is the recruiting website of a major CS employer. You can use it to see if the college you are considering has been assigned a dedicated recruiter, or if your resume will go into the general pool. Just one indicator. https://careers.microsoft.com/recruiters?rg=US&sp=KY&rf=3&rid=90
