<p>Here's my experience, which is all I know about:</p>
<p>I graduated with an engineering degree from Cornell. Went to work at a large engineering firm. Most of the engineers at that firm were graduates of state universities. There was no advantage given to me over them on the job once I got there. Most of the senior management at that firm went to a local state university with a great engineering reputation.</p>
<p>These people got the same job that I did, and I had no advantage over them once I got the job.</p>
<p>My undergraduate experience undoubtedly differed from theirs in many ways, but it's impossible for me to determine whether my educational experience was demonstrably better. The engineering part of my education was probably indistinguishable from theirs.</p>
<p>Over the course of my work life I've had a number of jobs, and in most of them the people I reported to went to "worse" colleges than I did. Didn't seem to stop them from telling me what to do.</p>