Thanks so much for your reply. I’m not sure I understand the benefits of research offerings in computer science? I didn’t have any experience with research but I was in the business school way back when.
My son will have taken all of the AP comp sci offerings and AB/BC calc. He’d like to do something with computer sci, potentially in the biomed field.
It’s a few small data points, but a couple of our really talented (already) students who went into CS returned from college visits telling me the CS profs there told them they would be better served elsewhere due to being as advanced as they were. It’s part of why I wonder if some even need college for this field TBH. One I remember ended up going to RIT - the other I don’t recall. RIT is a big school though, so not what you’re looking for.
Regardless, don’t be afraid to have your son talk with professors at schools he’s interested in. At least a few (probably more) have no problem being honest with prospective students if they don’t feel it’s a good match.
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I have a brother (BS from MIT in CS, MBA from Harvard Biz School) who runs a software company. He has said for years that he doesn’t care about your degree or the name of your school. He cares about demonstrated competence and is fine with professional certificates (e.g. from Coursera, Google etc).
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That’s good to hear. I wonder though if it’s a question of whether a resume from a lesser known school will be seen at the bigger companies, especially right out of school.
Thanks for your reply - that’s a great suggestion and will def. pass that along.
Bigger companies tend to recruit more widely, although a small obscure school may still be off their radar. However, anyone from anywhere can easily apply to those well known bigger companies.
Smaller companies may favor local schools and/or small numbers of schools that are non-local, because they have smaller recruiting needs and fewer recruiting resources.
Larger colleges (or those with larger CS departments for CS recruiting) are often more attractive to companies who want to get exposure to more students per recruiting visit.
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I guess we will see what happens after graduation (for my rising junior) but right now the resume includes a summer at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center with a Hope professor programming in C++ and another summer doing a CMU research program on human/computer interaction. https://www.hcii.cmu.edu/node/7739/. Those research experiences have helped my student see the wide range of possibilities of what one can do with skills in computer science. I don’t expect Amazon or Google to recruit in person on campus at Hope, but as @ucbalumnus says, anyone can apply to those companies.
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One thing to point out about recruiting is the number of graduates in a program. If a recruiter goes to a large public flagship, there may be a couple hundred graduating seniors there (UMD has over 3,000 CS undergrads or 750 per class) but at a SLAC, there may be 50 (D’s school awarded 41 CS degrees in May). While some recruiters may skip the small school, others do not. One can argue it is easier to stand out in a field of 50 than in a field of 300+.
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Some of research for CS is coding other research topics. When my guy was studying how kids learn language (linguistics research) his group had a CS major/expert working with them. Pretty much everything needs someone experienced with (and good with) computers and coding in this day and age.
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FYI Handshake is a popular platform used by college career services and college students to search for jobs. Chances are that whatever college your kid lands at, the career office uses Handshake.
The availability of Handshake’s platform aims to level the playing field somewhat :
Handshake’s representatives are touting the change as a way to continue “democratizing” job opportunities and helping students find employment or an internship with one of Handshake’s more than 400,000 employers, regardless of where the students live or attend college. Colleges and universities use Handshake to store student information such as résumés, cover letters and university transcripts. Students build online profiles using their own information and list their academic interests. Employers can review these profile and post jobs or internships, also for free.
The move by Handshake is an indication of how students are now far less reliant on actually visiting college career services centers for help finding internships and jobs. This trend has forced administrators in these offices to redefine their roles in assisting students get a start on their career paths.
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That’s so interesting…thanks for sharing that!
This looks so interesting but unable to open…I’ll try to google it though, thank you!