<p>You won’t apply for the same job. How do most people find a job after graduation? If you go to a low-ranked school, you’ll search Monster.com and company websites for a position, then you’ll apply along with 10,000 other recent graduates from similar ranked schools. If you go to a higher ranked school, the employers come to your school, interview the students from certain majors, then hire directly (these are called “target schools”).</p>
<p>The positions that companies hire through target schools are the $60,000+ starting salary positions with good advancement opportunities. The positions that companies hire through internet postings are low-level positions with much lower salary and often much less opportunity for advancement. So there’s a major difference between graduating from a target schools vs. a non-target. UF is a target for a good number of companies. FIU is not. </p>
<p>A UF IE degree will lead to a substantially different first job than an FIU degree. And a first position has a lasting impression on your career. If you make $35,000 per year as a dispatchers, you’re not going to jump to a six figure salary as a procurement manager overnight (it’ll probably take you at least 10 years to get there). On the other hand, if you’re a $60,000 per year supply chain analyst, that jump isn’t so extreme after a few years. Also, if you’re able to land a first position well respected Fortune 500 company after graduation (something that could happen from UF but not necessarily FIU), you’ll have more opportunities for the second position than if you worked at a small local company. </p>
<p>Further, a UF degree is more mobile than an FIU degree outside of Florida, and is viewed more favorably by grad schools.</p>