As a first gen, I picked the cheapest school without realizing the significance of college rankings. Now, as a sophomore majoring in information technology, I’m unsure if I should continue my degree. I’ve heard that getting into the field is much tougher without a degree from a top school. Should transferring be my priority, and how difficult is it to transfer to a good school as a junior?
What types of careers interest you?
Have you been working with your college’s career center to understand the various pathways to careers with an IT degree, as well as help you put together a resume? They should have outcomes data for past years’ grads. Have you talked with profs about potential careers? Joined any career oriented clubs?
You can also start looking now to procure an internship for next summer. Does your school use Handshake for job postings? If not use LinkedIn and Indeed to help target companies that are hiring for next summer.
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If you’re at an accredited college / university, you should speak to your career center.
In fact, many of the top IT schools aren’t the same as the top overall schools. And you know rankings are a thing that magazines or websites do - they aren’t real.
If you’re at a school that’s affordable to your family and if the education is good, I’d urge you to stay the course and to work toward an internship. Have you interacted with a club at school or a favorite professor outside of class?
A rank does not secure a career and a non-rank doesn’t assure failure.
Not sure your interest in IT, but there are opportunities for kids from all schools, including yours. Much of your success will be based on your persistence (whether in applying for jobs, networking) and not - my school is ranked #9 or #249.
Best of luck.
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I do not know who told you this. It is likely that you were told something that is wrong.
I have worked in high tech my entire career. I have worked with people who graduated from a huge range of universities. I have worked with graduates from MIT and Stanford and Harvard and U.Mass and Rutgers and U.Michigan and San Jose State and UNH and quite a few schools in India and a huge range of other schools many of which I had never heard of. Thinking of IT specifically, I have known a number of network operators and IT people, many of whom have helped me in a wide range of ways. In most cases I do not even know where someone got their degree and don’t care, although one of the best IT people I have ever known went to seminary school (he was intending to be a priest, but then decided to get married instead). What your coworkers and employer will care about is whether whatever you do works, and whether you are a reasonable person to work with.
And graduating university with no debt can be a huge advantage. As two examples, both daughters did something immediately after graduating university that was very interesting, but that they could only do because they had no debt (one took a dream job that paid badly but helped to set her up for her current career, the other volunteered in Europe for three months before taking a job).
It is hard to know more without knowing which particular university you are currently attending.
I agree with @Mwfan1921 that you should work with your college’s career center and see whether you can arrange an internship for next summer. It might be too early to arrange one now, but you can start asking.
And frequently the best schools for any particular major are very simply not the same as the highest ranked universities overall.
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