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Ask The Hackers: Does it matter where I get my CS degree?

4 points by wntdaliv ↗ HN
This is my first post!

I'm currently an undergrad at UC Irvine and have just started the path to completing a CS degree there. I want to transfer to a school in Northern California to be closer to my girlfriend (technically ex-girlfriend, it's complicated) who goes to UC Berkeley.

I don't have the grades to get into Berkeley, but I could get into other schools in the area, like SF State.

Back to the question, does it really matter where I get my CS degree? Will transferring hurt my chances of getting into a decent Grad School, getting a good job, etc?

4 comments

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tmdg
I'll give you some advice you won't listen to: don't transfer to another college just for a girl. It's really not worth it. If you were married or have a kid together that is a different story. But if she's not even your girlfriend anymore, then definitely no. There are plenty of fish in the sea.

While grad schools do put some emphasis on the school you graduate from, the most important thing (I'm assuming you're talking about a PhD) is showing you can do good research and getting good recommendations by your professors. Getting decent grades probably wouldn't hurt either.

As far as getting a job is concerned, it really depends on what you want to do. If you want to go work in consulting or at an investment bank, then yeah, the school is very important and going to a good school will open a lot of doors. If you want to work at a startup, being able to get things done is much more important.

ScottWhigham
Yep - seconded. I did that and have regretted it for 20 years now.
dbul
It depends. But you will notice a huge difference in the reaction of someone who learns you went to Berkeley than if they learned you went to SF State or Irvine. Doesn't mean those schools are bad, people are just biased.

A Computer Science degree is kind of a benchmark. It's really what you do that matters. If you make a significant contribution to the linux kernel, you could have gone to community college and astute employers would still be impressed. Or you could distinguish yourself by publishing research papers as an undergraduate.

When it comes down to it, though, if you are just looking to get a job then experience is the key. Getting internships programming in popular languages is a good idea. There is a list on the web somewhere that contains languages used by employers in percentages.