Best schools for Computer Science in Califonia?

ucbalumnus
Thu, 24 Sep 2020 20:02:24 +0000

PikachuRocks15:

Is there a difference between a Stanford or UCB CS degree and one from San Jose State? Yes. BUT, the need for a more “prestigious degree” depends on WHAT you want to do (working for any CS company is different from wanting to work for Apple/Amazon/Microsoft or create your own startup etc.)

Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft probably recruit very widely, since they need to hire many new graduates (and everyone knows who they are and can apply directly to them if they want). In contrast, a smaller company may recruit mainly at local colleges, with an occasional foray to a distant college that its people think is worth recruiting at. For example, SJSU has a local advantage for many companies in the region, but is probably little known out of state.

If you are starting your own startup, the technical work is all about what you can do, not what college you graduated from. Getting funding, however, may be affected by college prestige or other factors that really should not be relevant.