<p>How important is prestige in civil engineering? Does it matter if I get my BS in civil engineering from Cal or from Wisconsin, from Michigan or from Penn State, and so on? Or does it only matter if someone gets the degree from MIT?</p>
<p>Also is it feasible for someone to work in a different state than that where he studied his BS (e.g. study degree in Michigan, work in Seattle as civil engineer)?</p>
<p>I’m kinda sick of rankings and am wondering if I should just go to the school I like most.</p>
<p>I’d say yes, especially if the school you like is in the area you’d like to work. Soils, for example, vary across the land, and you’ll learn a bit more about your locality. But this isn’t a huge deal - relative that just got hired saw a fellow co-worker hired from another state from another region (DOT work).</p>
<p>Now if you want structural, you might consider prestige a bit more if you’re shooting for the top firms. JMO.</p>
<p>In engineering it’s better to get the degree from somewhere than start and not finish at the best U.</p>
<p>Yes it’s feasible to work in states other than the one you studied in. While I’m sure there are differences in programs across the country, it’s still standard enough since you’re still really only learning the fundamentals. However, if you’re a geotech engineer with 20 years of experience in New Hampshire, it will not translate well if you move to Los Angeles.</p>
<p>I would recommend going to school near where you want to eventually work though, simply because you’ll have more companies recruiting there. There are few nationwide firms, but there are plenty of local ones.</p>