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<p>If the desired industry job is with a hot startup or fast growing tech firm, then it can make a huge difference. I interact on a regular basis with the Langer Lab, which is the world’s largest biomedical lab. Langer has over 800 patents himself and quite a few grad and post-docs students in his lab (I even know some undergrads) are also co-inventors on his patents. MIT, the Langer Lab, Langer himself (and quite a few of his students) have made a fortune licensing his labs inventions to industry. Doing a PhD in his lab (or a number of the other labs on campus) is pretty much a guarantee of a high paying industry job, a nice sign-on bonus and possible royalties on the research you worked on. For some it is not even a backup but a primary goal. Several grad students have spun-off their own companies and have had no problem getting VC funding. The brand and blessing of the Lab made the whole difference.</p>