<p>my dad is telling me to go to UCB because i can find jobs easier, however i still want to go to CMU. any opinions?</p>
<p>What's UCB?</p>
<p>This might be helpful for you: Salaries of SCS graduates</p>
<p>Those are some kickass jobs and salaries...</p>
<p>berkely .</p>
<p>my dad's main concern was that berkeley is in near the silicon valley so it wud be easier to get jobs. need opinions.</p>
<p>Also , if i already submitted my enrollment deposit does that mean i can't take it back and go somewhere else?</p>
<p>well it usually means you have to forfeit if you want to go somewhere else.</p>
<p>Tons of employers from Silicon Valley (Apple, Facebook, Mozilla, Google, IBM, VMWare... the list just goes on and on) fly out to CMU to go to our job fairs and recruit CMU students. Distance to Silicon Valley (or Seattle- Amazon, Microsoft, etc.) is not an issue; most CMU grads don't end up in Pittsburgh.</p>
<p>I hope my S never finds a job in that area. Too expensive. His CMU roommate got transferred to San Jose, and is discovering that even at a respectable salary, he has little excess money.</p>
<p>You won't have a problem finding a great job at CMU. And if you do decide to work for a tech company in Pittsburgh you'll find the cost of living is minuscule compared to California.</p>
<p>I'm guessing you are doing some kind of tech-related (Engineering/CS) field. Carnegie Mellon at the undergrad level provides much more focus both academically and career-wise than a huge public like Berkeley.</p>
<p>Cal for ugrad has been known to have a few issues and unhappy students compared to its amazing Grad programs.</p>
<p>Also, tons of companies come to CMU from all over the nation and some of the best like Microsoft are #1 hirers of CMU grads (looking to the school as a feeder). </p>
<p>Check the avg job salary surveys of CIT and CS. <a href="http://www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/career/employ/salary/cit.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/career/employ/salary/cit.html</a>
<a href="http://www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/career/SCS/JobSearch/stats.html#1%5B/url%5D">http://www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/career/SCS/JobSearch/stats.html#1</a></p>
<p>I haven't seen a postgrad survey yet of better job opps or salaries.</p>
<p>If you are going into any technical field, I highly doubt you will have trouble finding a job after graduation from CMU.</p>
<p>Intel, Microsoft and Google maintain offices right on the CMU campus. Very close connections with the professors. Easy for good students to get jobs at these companies.</p>
<p>But how would you compare CMU's job placement to gatech's, for a major other than compE and CS...Would CMU's job placement be better? Are job placement and prestige fruits of the high tuition fees one pays to a private university like CMU? Or is the high tuition just to cover things like good services from the professors, dorms and personal attention?</p>
<p>Brahmin: I'm not sure how to answer your question because I am struggling with the same question myself. However, I do think that a good word from a professor goes a long way toward both job placement and grad school acceptance. I know my husband was accepted at UCB and Stanford for grad school because one of his Rice professors knew people in the grad depts at both schools. At Rice he had the opportunity to really get to know his professors so it made it easier for his professor to have something to say about him. I would think that lower teacher to student ratios would help students make that connection with their professors. That's not to say it can't be done at a larger public university. However, it stands to reason that there will be a smaller percentage of students that professors can mentor. I tell my son that for the top 10% of the students at a large public, opportunities will exceed other schools. For all the rest they will probably be better off at a smaller place. There's a lot of scrambling that goes on in the undergraduate departments at UCB and a lot of weeding out, too. So, what I'm trying to say is that good services from professors and personal attention often translate to better job placement. The problem is that it's so variable. Job placement depends on your major, what connection you make with the professors at your school in your major, how well you do in school, your enthusiasm, your personality.</p>
<p>My son has a variety of schools to choose from, but two of them are UCSB (honors) and CMU. Vastly different in price (we're in Cal). The honors program at UCSB offers small classes. He would likely do well there (others like him from his high school have 4.0's), and he would make a connection with his professors. However, their econ-biz program is renown for accounting and that's where most of the grads head. My son has decided he doesn't want to do accounting so he's not interested in the program any more.</p>
<p>On the other hand he also has a large scholarship to American Univ in DC. He is attracted to the govt internship program there because he is more interested in working for the govt as an economist. He has to decide whether CMU is worth the extra money, just like you. From looking at the course descriptions and considering the relative strength of the math depts at the two schools, I believe CMU is worth it. There is something to be said for how well the program prepares you for work (not just what job you can get) so you can do well once you start the job. I am trying to let him come to that conclusion on his own because he needs to be happy with his choice.</p>
<p>I think GaTech has a national reputation in certain depts like aerospace. The rest of the programs are more regional in nature. You will have no trouble getting a job in the south or going to a grad school in the south. It will be harder to get out of the region, but always possible. It's just that the companies that come to campus to interview will be from the south. You can always look outside of the region for your second job. By that time, companies will be looking for certain buzz words on your resume and you will be using an online site like monster.com rather than your campus career center. Of course, if you want to be in the south, or don't care where you get a job, then it's a fine choice. I find that lots of times the US News rankings are heavily skewed toward NYC and the northeast in general. Since a huge percentage of the US population lives in these areas that is fine for most people. However, lots of people are happier in their own part of the country for a variety of reasons - family, lower cost of living, weather, less intense work hours, etc. They are much better off attending a school close to home than heading out of state, even for ivy league.</p>
<p>Ricegal that was a helpful post. The top 10% at a 1.5 ish tier school will get just as good if not better job placement as the middle 50% at an ivy league - at berkeley, it is incredibly easy to fade into the middle in ug, I know a lot of people who went there and said that if you are willing to truly work your butt off, then sure, but if you want a more enjoyable, laidback experience, with only a tidbit less work opportunities, attend a smaller school. Notice I'm not comparing cmu to Berkeley, I know nothing of cmu except from one tour.</p>
<p>Hi ricegal, just clarifying, you said UCB is good for its accounting, is it for the grad or undergrad level? Is there anyone else who can tell me which business program UCB and Carnegie Mellon (and Virginia too!) is good at respectively? E.g. for finance and international business, etc? Thanks a lot! :)</p>
<p>Higher Salary: CMU</p>
<p>Silicon Valley: Cal
Wall St., NY, NOVA, East coast: Carnegie Mellon</p>