Value of a degree from big name schools?

[tatteredpotato]

So I've been applying to grad schools to get a Masters in Computer Engineering and I currently have a decision to make. I've been accepted to both Ohio State, and Carnegie Mellon and I'm trying to decide if a degree from CMU is worth the extra money. OSU's tuition would run me around 10k, and I have a decent shot at an assistantship which would cover tuition and living expenses. CMU is around 35k for tuition and it seems like they don't give out many assistantships to masters students (if any). Of course I could look for a job with a local company to work part time while attending CMU to defray some of the costs, but I'm not sure how likely that is in this economy.

As for my financial background, I'm graduating with a bachelors in EE with about 15k in debt, and my family isn't particularly wealthy, so the finances will be mostly my responsibility.

I know CMU's program is one of the top in the country, however Ohio State isn't a bad school itself. I guess I'm looking for insight from people who have had to make a similar decision and what you chose/whether you thought it was the right decision.

 

[BoomerD]

http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/career-articles-college_grads_which_ones_earn_the_most-1103

 

[nageov3t]

it might have a big impact in the first job you land outside of college... after that, not so much.

 

[bobsmith1492]

What are your goals? If you want to go for a Phd to teach and research, typically bigger schools provide more opportunity. If you want to get a better job, save your money as you'd get just as good an education at State, with likely more attention as the profs aren't off doing research all the time.

 

[zainali]

save money . go to state schools. try to get some internships. worth more.

 

[Fayd]

WTF? i have an econ degree, how come i cant find a job at all?

 

[CanOWorms]

It matters less in engineering, but still a factor. Nowhere near as other fields though. Prestige is more in what you know and your position/title rather then where you went to school and where you worked.

 

[bobsmith1492]

WTF? i have an econ degree, how come i cant find a job at all?

'Cause the economy sucks and if your degree can't help you see that, well, there's the reason you can't find a job.

 

[tatteredpotato]

What are your goals? If you want to go for a Phd to teach and research, typically bigger schools provide more opportunity. If you want to get a better job, save your money as you'd get just as good an education at State, with likely more attention as the profs aren't off doing research all the time.

A Phd is something I haven't ruled out, but I don't want to go straight into academia. I definitely want to work for quite a while which is why I haven't committed to go directly to a Phd program.

 

[Fenixgoon]

rule #1:

have someone else pay for your degree.

or so i've been told anyway.

 

[Mo0o]

it might have a big impact in the first job you land outside of college... after that, not so much.

Agree with this. Also keep in mind, whatever job you land right out of school often times pays off in the next job hunt since you're then using that job's "reputation." So even though on job #2 they might not care as much about your college pedigree, they'll look at your past employment history and see that you were at a good company and so and on and so forth for job #3 etc

 

[Meghan54]

My take on it, and this is coming from an "oldster," is this:

There's a reason competition is so high to get into schools like Carnegie Mellon, MIT, etc. vs. Ohio State, etc.

Classes tend to be much smaller at the "elite" schools and can give much more personalized instruction.

The name on the diploma can be a tipping point when trying to get some job positions. Which would you hire from two equally qualified applicants.....the one from a state school that the first thing you think of when hearing its name is its football team, or one from a more competitive, more academically stringent school?

And then there's another big reason so many try to get into the "elite" schools....the contacts one makes while attending the school. Despite the naysayers out there, many, many times in getting hired, it's not what you know but who you know. Sometimes certain doors get opened to you simply because you went to X school and know person/professor W, Y, or Z.

 

[tatteredpotato]

Agree with this. Also keep in mind, whatever job you land right out of school often times pays off in the next job hunt since you're then using that job's "reputation." So even though on job #2 they might not care as much about your college pedigree, they'll look at your past employment history and see that you were at a good company and so and on and so forth for job #3 etc

That was also part of my thinking, a better school gets me a better shot at getting a job with some of the bigger companies right off the bat. Also should I decide to get a Phd down the road, I suppose a Masters from CMU might be able to help me get into a better Phd program.

Also I should note my primary motivation for going to graduate school isn't the higher salary (although it's a nice bonus) but rather I feel like there's still too much more for me to learn.
To this degree I feel that classes are better at the more "elite" schools... I know I personally learned more about Electromagnetics from a couple MIT lectures posted online than I did from weeks of classes at my undergraduate university.

Also I don't want it to sound like I don't think well of Ohio State... I actually already have a lot of friends in the Columbus area and I'm sure I'd have a great time there. I think part of my motivation to go to CMU also stems from my experience as an undergraduate. I'm getting my bachelors degree from a state school, and there are several times I felt disappointed by the program and it's faculty/management. My computer engineering classes always progressed more slowly than I would have liked. I've always been the best one in my class at computer engineering at my school and I don't consider that a good thing. The way I see it, if there's no classmates for me to learn from then I'm not learning as much as I can.

I apologize if my thoughts seem fragmented, but I'm still trying to work out the pros/cons or each school (part of the reason I started this thread).

 

[Mo0o]

That was also part of my thinking, a better school gets me a better shot at getting a job with some of the bigger companies right off the bat. Also should I decide to get a Phd down the road, I suppose a Masters from CMU might be able to help me get into a better Phd program.

Also I should note my primary motivation for going to graduate school isn't the higher salary (although it's a nice bonus) but rather I feel like there's still too much more for me to learn.
To this degree I feel that classes are better at the more "elite" schools... I know I personally learned more about Electromagnetics from a couple MIT lectures posted online than I did from weeks of classes at my undergraduate university.

Also I don't want it to sound like I don't think well of Ohio State... I actually already have a lot of friends in the Columbus area and I'm sure I'd have a great time there. I think part of my motivation to go to CMU also stems from my experience as an undergraduate. I'm getting my bachelors degree from a state school, and there are several times I felt disappointed by the program and it's faculty/management. My computer engineering classes always progressed more slowly than I would have liked. I've always been the best one in my class at computer engineering at my school and I don't consider that a good thing. The way I see it, if there's no classmates for me to learn from then I'm not learning as much as I can.

I apologize if my thoughts seem fragmented, but I'm still trying to work out the pros/cons or each school (part of the reason I started this thread).

I think in this case CMU is clearly a step or two above OSU that it's worth the extra money spent. Go for it

 

[RKS]

My cousin is in school to become a Certified Nurse Anesthetist. She applied to local hospitals in s.w. OH and nobody was hiring. When prospective employers found out she was at Georgetown she not only got job offers; she is now also getting tuition assistance.

 

[edro]

I'm a big fan of Ohio State and all... but I think Carnegie Mellon's MIS degree would be much more valuable.

 

[SandEagle]

as a CMU graduate i'd say save your money and go to a state school. however, since i'm not a CMU grad, i'll just say do whatever u want..no one cares.

 

[xeemzor]

My take on it, and this is coming from an "oldster," is this:

There's a reason competition is so high to get into schools like Carnegie Mellon, MIT, etc. vs. Ohio State, etc.

Classes tend to be much smaller at the "elite" schools and can give much more personalized instruction.

The name on the diploma can be a tipping point when trying to get some job positions. Which would you hire from two equally qualified applicants.....the one from a state school that the first thing you think of when hearing its name is its football team, or one from a more competitive, more academically stringent school?

And then there's another big reason so many try to get into the "elite" schools....the contacts one makes while attending the school. Despite the naysayers out there, many, many times in getting hired, it's not what you know but who you know. Sometimes certain doors get opened to you simply because you went to X school and know person/professor W, Y, or Z.

Disclosure aside, I'm an Ohio State Accounting student. Depending on what you want to do , a state school is a fine option. For $6,500 a year I'm able to go to the 6th best accounting school and the 16th ranked business school in the nation. That's one hell of a bargain, especially considering the MASSIVE amount of recruiting employers do on campus. If you graduate with a 3.5+ gpa in accounting here you WILL be getting a good job somewhere. Ohio State some really great programs that rival any "top" schools out there. You just have to be smart in the degree you select. Obviously, it's not the best place for an english major, but it's not a bad place to pursue an engineering or business degree. It's surely not worth 10 times more money to go to an elite private school over OSU.

 

[2Xtreme21]

I would never pay CMU's outrageous tuition costs. Granted, a buddy of mine went for electrical engineering and landed a job with Apple making >$100k right out of undergrad in the midst of a recession, but just having the piece of paper doesn't mean anything. He worked his arse off and had two internships with different technology companies in California, so he deserves it.

To compare--
Me (University of Pittsburgh):
Tuition Costs for 8 semesters -- ~$96,000
My loan balance (at graduation) -- ~$52,000
My starting salary (job landed 3 months after graduation) -- $46,500/yr

My buddy (Carnegie Mellon):
Tuition Costs for 8 semesters -- ~$440,000
His loan balance (upon graduation) -- ~$175,000
His starting salary (job landed immediately after graduation) -- $105,000/yr

I'm adding cost of room/board in as we were both undergrads.

Does he make more? Yes, but it all just about breaks even with the amount of debt he owes vs. what he makes. CMU's a great school and I'm thinking about having my company pay for my grad degree there (MBA), but they only provide $8k a year in tuition reimbursement... which lands me, less than 2 classes a year. No joke that it's expensive.

Good luck with whatever you choose. If you end up moving to Pittsburgh, hit me up and I'll give you some insider info.

 

[xeemzor]

I would never pay CMU's outrageous tuition costs. Granted, a buddy of mine went for electrical engineering and landed a job with Apple making >$100k right out of undergrad in the midst of a recession, but just having the piece of paper doesn't mean anything. He worked his arse off and had two internships with different technology companies in California, so he deserves it.

To compare--
Me (University of Pittsburgh):
Tuition Costs for 8 semesters -- ~$96,000
My loan balance (at graduation) -- ~$52,000
My starting salary (job landed 3 months after graduation) -- $46,500/yr

My buddy (Carnegie Mellon):
Tuition Costs for 8 semesters -- ~$440,000
His loan balance (upon graduation) -- ~$175,000
His starting salary (job landed immediately after graduation) -- $105,000/yr

I'm adding cost of room/board in as we were both undergrads.

Does he make more? Yes, but it all just about breaks even with the amount of debt he owes vs. what he makes. CMU's a great school and I'm thinking about having my company pay for my grad degree there (MBA), but they only provide $8k a year in tuition reimbursement... which lands me, less than 2 classes a year. No joke that it's expensive.

Good luck with whatever you choose. If you end up moving to Pittsburgh, hit me up and I'll give you some insider info.

I might be moving to Pit in the near future. PNC really wants me to work for them

 

[Regs]

rule #1:

have someone else pay for your degree.

or so i've been told anyway.

Leveraging is a common practice.

 

[Rastus]

I worked for a large aerospace contractor. When downsizing happened, all the bootstrap engineers and people who went to minor schools went first irregardless of merit or seniority. Corporations do have a collective resume that they shop around when bidding for contracts that have that information on them.

 

[2Xtreme21]

I worked for a large aerospace contractor. When downsizing happened, all the bootstrap engineers and people who went to minor schools went first irregardless of merit or seniority. Corporations do have a collective resume that they shop around when bidding for contracts that have that information on them.

I've never heard of a company looking at where someone went to school after they started working. Methinks it would be more due to work ethic at that point, no?

 

[xeemzor]

I've never heard of a company looking at where someone went to school after they started working. Methinks it would be more due to work ethic at that point, no?

Yea, that sounds fishy. Who cares about what school someone went to or GPA as long as they do their work well?

 

[Gibson486]

It's a complicated thing....in engineering, yeah, MIT degrees are awesome. It will definately get you in the door at Intel or something. HOWEVER, lots of MIT grads go on to do their own thing after they leave school. It's something I noticed that is different from other schools.

Also, MIT grads are usually smart enough to reject offers from big companies. Why? Because big companies often lose you because of their "take a number" approach. I am not saying it's like this at all big companies, but it's the reason why MIT grads do not end up in companies like Rosemount/Emerson. If they are there, it's usually because some big company bought the small company they worked for.

In reality, the degree is pretty important for your first job. After that, its all about the experience. This is why I tell upcoming engineering students at my college to look into getting jobs at small engineering places. Yeah, no one will know the name, but the experience you get will far exceed a internship program at big places. You just get to do more.

Business Majors....it's a whole different playing field. The name means a lot. My g/f did a part time gig at Deloitte....that part time gig adds about a huge amount of glow to her resume just because that name is there.

For consulting gigs, it's not the name, it what you have under yours. The higher the degree, the better. The more certs and papers you have the better. They will take a dumb PE instead of a bright season professional without one. Essentially, the more professional you can make your business card look, the better.