<p>I neglected to mention, all you did in your comment was to question my credentials and made a snide remark of my sophomore and regional university standing.</p>
<p>You didn’t address any of my fact based assertion about Cal’s decline over the years. Pretty lame for a person who fancies himself to be a Stanford “expert” who questions about other people’s fact based comments on Cal.</p>
<p>i’m not sure why you keep bringing up rankings as a point-in-case against berkeley… it’s still ranked #3 for engineering by usnwr</p>
<p>Not to mention that the US News ranking methodology change is the reason for the decline of Berkeley in the rankings, not the actual changes in the quality of the university.</p>
<p>Internationally, Berkeley has a great amount of prestige (much higher than its US News rank would indicate).</p>
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<p>Would you say the same for Cal Poly SLO, dealing with the budget cuts from the same state government?</p>
<p>Anyway, the United States Military Academy is not really comparable in general to other schools, because it is for those who are aiming to be United States Army officers.</p>
<p>Cal Poly SLO is a fine school (although it does seem that it does not get too much respect outside of California), and its graduates are generally well respected in industry. But it does seem like some of the Cal Poly SLO advocates on these forums have chips on their shoulders about something.</p>
<p>Does a Master’s make a difference in industry? Yes. These folks tend to have a little bit easier time getting interviewed and hired, and tend to be taken more seriously from the start on the job. And its a great degree all on its own. As was posted, often people take a job first, and then later go back for a masters. </p>
<p>I should clarify my statement based on your comment "I’m leaning towards Cal Poly more because of the job opportunities. That is my main goal. " </p>
<p>The name recognition factor comes in during the resume review process for an interview. The more recognized the name, the more likely the interview. At least until you have some years on the job so experience kicks in. Once on the job, some places still keep the biases, but most look more towards how good you do the job.</p>
<p>As was also brought up, it depends on where you apply. In Si Valley, and California in general, SLO has earned its rep. But the further you go from the state, the more likely people are to recognize the larger schools, and the schools with big reps. Not sure if UCSB qualifies here, probably depends on the program.</p>