<p>How does getting an engineering degree from rose-hulman or harvey-mudd compare to graduating from say…UMich or UIUC? Is there alot more job opportunities when graduating from a large, doctoral university vs. a non-doctoral?</p>
<p>What’re you looking for in the job market? Working for Google, Boeing, NASA, Intel and other big companies or are you looking for smaller companies? And what level of education are you shooting for? Are you going straight to a masters/PhD or do you plan on working with a bachelors?</p>
<p>If you plan on doing a masters or PhD then I would say, if you have a good in-state university, I would take advantage of the lower cost and just go there and possibly look at more prestigious universities for the higher degree.</p>
<p>The biggest advantage of the doctoral universities is research as far as I know. As an undergrad. you don’t need research experience, really, though a research position is looked at similarly as internships and can give you good experience in your field. Even places like Rose-Hulman (I am a sophomore engineering physics major at Rose-Hulman) and Harvey Mudd have research opportunities. I have mainly heard of summer research programs, but they may have ongoing ones throughout the year.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t choose between doctoral and non-doctoral universities based only on the job prospects, focus more on the quality of the school and where you feel most comfortable. What will determine your employment after graduation will be your diligence in school(GPA, leadership experience, etc) and in searching for/apply to internships while in school. Garnering a good base of experience and contacts paired with effort in finding positions (through your contacts, school career center, career fairs, or online postings [roughly from best to worst options]) will be the best thing you can do for your career.</p>