Cal States were originally established to educate students for the direct entry into the workforce (more hands-on) so to speak. UC’s have always been researched based, so students wanting to work in research or continue on for Grad school/Professional schools would go to a UC. The lines are blurred more, since many Cal states offer research and Grad school opportunities. There are many companies that recruit from the Cal States specifically. My husband works for a heavy civil company that actually prefers SLO/CPP engineering grads to some of the UC grads since they are able to do the job straight out of college (practical vs. theory).