<p>
I agree with your brother-in-law on this point. In areas with land-grant colleges and fields with established “Good Old Boys’ Networks” (I don’t use that term disparagingly here), a diploma from the local state school is often more valuable than one from anywhere else: It’s a known and trusted quantity. If your son did want to work in Texas in something related to your brother-in-law’s field, he’d probably do well to heed the advice and gratefully accept any networking assistance offered by the brother-in-law.</p>
<p>If his ambitions lie elsewhere, the advice is irrelevant – and the brother-in-law might be receptive to a “Thanks, but he’s more interested in (e.g.) coastal areas, and an HMC degree seems to be golden there.” Or just a pointer to the [Career</a> Paths Chosen by HMC Alumni](<a href=“http://www.hmc.edu/about/administrativeoffices/careerservices1/students1/majorsandcareers1/careerpathsofalumni.html]Career”>http://www.hmc.edu/about/administrativeoffices/careerservices1/students1/majorsandcareers1/careerpathsofalumni.html) and the [2009</a> PostGrad Survey (PDF)](<a href=“http://www.hmc.edu/files/careerservices/PostGrad09survey.pdf]2009”>http://www.hmc.edu/files/careerservices/PostGrad09survey.pdf).</p>
<p>Ultimately, though, convincing your brother-in-law is a lot less important than ensuring that your son (and family) makes an informed decision based on his goals. Most 17-year-olds don’t have concrete career plans grounded in reality; that’s ok and to be expected. But if you haven’t done this already, it might be worthwhile to sit down with him and explore some of the possibilities from each college’s Career Services site. Ask him where he sees himself in five or ten years. If he feels a strong pull toward a certain area, it wouldn’t hurt to find out what the employers consider to be golden tickets (hint: If the CEO’s alma mater is a state school…).</p>
<p>
From what I’ve seen and heard, this doesn’t seem to be the case at all. Grad school, sure, many go on. Business school? I think an entrepreneurial Mudder is probably more likely to hook up with a CMCer if he’s looking to start a business.</p>
<p>Those are entry-level salaries you’re looking at in the annual surveys. They’re not high because the Mudders went into middle management; they’re high because the work is specialized and demanding, and perhaps in part because of the cost of living in their locations.</p>
<p>I will note that we met with an HMC alum last year whose career path took a rather unusual turn: He’s a patent attorney, which surprised me at first, but that line of work makes a lot of sense for someone with the Mudd core and the writing/presentation/communication skills Mudd emphasizes.</p>