SLO's education and Master's Degree?

I hear about the many great things about SLO’s education and how the starting salaries are all on average higher than most UC’s. Yet, I am planning on getting a Master’s Degree because I believe it will be beneficial and provide a more stable job in the long run. Only 8% of SLO’s grads go on to grad school but that’s due to ~82% getting a full time job.

Since SLO’s goals are to help students get jobs after, there are great hands-on learning experiences and many internships opportunties. However, I have the mentality to want to serve the future and humanity in a better way as an engineer: to create new innovative designs and further the boundaries of scientific knowledge. This principle alone goes along UC’s “research”-like teachings.

Right now I am debating between UCSD and SLO for my undergraduate school as a Mech Engineer. Which do you believe is the better choice?
How does SLO prepare me for grad school to obtain a Master’s? Or do you believe it’s a better choice to go to UCSD?