My company had a initial wage difference depending on what school one graduated from. It wasn’t real big though. After that it was " pay for performance" so the school difference was gone in a year or two.
The only reason that I would consider Stanford at this point is to get involved in research. And maybe more than just what would be required for the MS. There is a certain excitement and satisfaction in doing that research at a school like Stanford. Otherwise just staying the course at CalPoly would be the better route.
I would like to point out that while many people do think Stanford is amazing, I am not really one of them. There are certainly companies that love to hire people from Stanford though. It can give a slight edge at some trendy tech companies. My previous not-so-trendy employer greatly preferred Poly over Stanford though. Do I think your son will get a better masters education at Stanford than Poly? No. I generally agree with what @HPuck35 just said.
I do think a big component of the perceived Golden Ticket schools is FOMO, fear of missing out. Missing out on what, that’s the thing that’s hard, if not impossible to clarify.
It would play just fine. We hire people with all types and levels of engineering education, and we have good mobility for finding people places where they are interested and will excel. A Stanford MS, thesis or not, would be highly regarded.
In general, it seems that those who enter with just the BS either go into supporting roles or earn the MS part-time (almost always non-thesis) to go into a more advanced role. Those who enter with a thesis-based MS tend to go directly into advanced technical roles, while those who enter with a non-thesis MS tend to at least get tried out in the advanced roles to see if they have the skills and dedication.
In the long term, it seems like thesis-based degrees are better preparation for high-level technical roles in the company. That is to say, someone with a PhD or thesis-based masters seems more likely to reach the highest levels of engineering and engineering management in my company. However, it should also be noted that we do have some people with just the BS who get there and also have lots of positions in program management, business management, and other areas that are predominantly filled by people with non-thesis masters or no technical masters at all. As others have noted, what you do AT the company very quickly becomes more important than what do you did BEFORE… but that before still shapes you as a person and helps determine what you do now.
The engineering forum has been slow, so I thought I’d necromance this thread for an update.
He elected to stay at Cal Poly and not apply to any of the bigger names. He landed a spot on a project that’s perfectly suited to his interests, one that combines fluid and mechatronics. Most surprisingly, and welcomed, is that he will likely get funding. That’s rare for MS candidates at Cal Poly. He’ll be out in 5 years or less, with an MS, under family budget.
