I work in the industry and personally know people who work (and some who interview/hire) at Google, Facebook, Apple, you name it, for background. I have also lived in Florida for a majority of my life, but have also lived in the northeast (currently enrolled at a school in Boston) and am currently in California working for a big tech company.
- Carnegie Mellon has been one of the best CS colleges for quite some time before Google even thought about existing. Google has offices all over the place. When you get hired at Google as an intern/co-op, the first step in the process is team matching - you can be matched with teams at many locations, and while the selection has to be mutual of the team and yourself, you do not have a guarantee of location (as far as I know from my friends who have worked here). I am sure that many CMU students work at Google in Seattle, not in Pittsburg, as well as all over the country. As a CMU student, you really have your pick of anywhere. Google having an office there is really not too important compared to so many other aspects of the school.
- I have not worked with grads of either due to regionality, the important part of what I said. UCF is known for its cybersecurity in particular, and because of its size, companies come from all over the state to recruit there, since it's the place where they can get the most applications. The sheer number of students is not what matters, it's the amount of jobs compared to the amount of students. U of KY is not known in particular for any specialization that I am aware of, is not located in any place better than UCF, and they are similarly ranked. Again, where your son wants to go after graduation makes a big difference. In the midwest, I am sure U of KY is better known and viewed. Outside of there, UCF has the edge in my experience.
A small CS department can often mean classes are not offered frequently enough and cause the same problems you listed at UCF. You should check that out for sure. It also does not imply a smaller student to faculty ratio, though that could be true. Again, something to look into, not assume based on number of students.
Most people in CS do not get masters degrees, as they have no need. They are actually starting to be looked upon skeptically as they imply the student was not ready with just a bachelor’s. There are also few names in CS that open significant doors in terms of prestige and networking, and getting into those, even for a masters, will be tough and not something to bank on. CS is about what you can do, not the name on your degree. In the case of schools like CMU and other top tier schools, the name often gets your foot in the door to get better experience and can carry more weight later, particularly in advanced areas of CS.
As far as your second post goes, a lot of that is fit factors. I’m sure many would prefer the climate of FL and being in a city. Some may I can also tell you right now that Orlando is far from the crime-ridden city you painted it as. I don’t know the direct area around UCF well, so less than perfect safety off campus makes sense for a city. Again, depends on what you value. I’ve lived in cities near “dangerous” areas and have had no problems.
New buildings are nice and shiny, but don’t really affect teaching or reputation in any meaningful way. It does indicate the schools is investing in the department at least.
You’ve highlighted the bigger point, which is that a decision between the two really doesn’t come down to the CS departments, but other fit factors, which I would strongly agree with.