<p>Hi, I was wondering how difficult it is to land an internship or job as a CSE major at UCLA? Would there be a lot of options for me or would I have to independently search for them, without much aid from UCLA?</p>
<p>I am deciding between UCLA and Berkeley, and this is very important for my overall comparison!</p>
<p>I doubt any company will come knocking on your door just for being from either UCLA or Berkeley.</p>
<p>You will have to seek out your own job at either school. It’s best if you learn to network as soon as possible. Perhaps join some of the student organizations or attend some of the networking events. For example, Society of Women Engineers (SWE) has an annual Evening with Industry where you can chat with company reps. I’m sure that both schools have comparable opportunities. You just have to be active about it.</p>
<p>You have to actively search for and apply to internships. Going to one school over the other will not change this.</p>
<p>GrassBandit and arklogic’s advice rings true, but it probably helps that many of the major players in the tech industry (Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, etc.) visit and recruit from both Cal and UCLA. Google has an office in Santa Monica and many of its employees there are UCLA grads.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for their responses!</p>
<p>Yeah I understand that no company will simply hand me an internship or job but I am just wondering if there is a large difference between opportunities for the two schools. Silicon Valley is near Berkeley so that should increase the number of opportunities for computer engineers already, correct?</p>
<p>I am just worried that I will struggle to find a decent paying, good fit job for me once I graduate from either school or regret going to the other school because there were a lot more opportunities for me there.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>there isn’t a large difference in recruitment. A lot of those companies also recruit at UCLA, and UCLA is well known brand so I’m sure they will regard you at the same level as a Berkeley undergrad. If you think that being in close proximity to the Silicon Valley then maybe you should have considered San Jose State. I know plenty of San Jose State graduates that are working at IBM, Intel, etc.</p>
<p>In the end, it’s not what you know or where you went to school. It’s about who you know. So pick the school that best suits your tastes in terms of environment and academics.</p>
<p>Okay thanks GrassBandit, you seem knowledgeable about this subject so I’ll take your word for it. Yeah I found out about San Jose State a little too late, but I really wanted to go to a UC school. </p>
<p>Now the only thing is, do you (or anyone else) believe that Berkeley’s academics/ engineering program are much higher than UCLA’s engineering program? Berkeley is always ranked much better than UCLA, especially in the engineering field.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The difference in ranking is not significant. I believe that the quality of education at the undergraduate level are about the same. Keep in mind that those rankings may be misleading. For example, Berkeley EECS is ranked higher than UCLA EE, but UCLA has a stronger IC and electromagnetics programs.</p>
<p>Choose a school based on fit. SoCal vs. Bay Area. Telegraph vs. Westwood Blvd. Sunny vs. Cloudy. etc. etc. Choose whatever feels right for you. You can’t go wrong choosing one school over the other.</p>