UC vs. SUNY Stony Brook

fogcity
Tue, 01 Oct 2013 18:46:58 +0000

I think that after getting my CS degree I will get jobs easier in California than in NY.



Assuming that you will be an eventual CS graduate with a high (think 3.7+) GPA your perception is accurate. This is certainly the case for UC Berkeley and UCLA graduates. Recruiting at these universities is national and intense. It is mostly true at UC Davis and UC San Diego. Both universities have very strong CS departments. Some of the other UCs have excellent CS departments although recruiting at those may be more regional than at the ones I’ve mentioned.

California has a more breadth and depth in CS related jobs than most areas of the United States. Graduates with strong stats and depth (modern, quick, with skills in CS fundamentals, related skills in EE in addition to modern languages, modern infrastructure, proven domain specific knowledge, etc.) do very well. And indeed, at the moment, there is a shortage of CS engineers in California. Starting salaries in the 100K+ range are typical for the very best graduates. If you expect to be one of them than the difference in OOS tuition between Stony Brook and UCLA (for example) is a minor issue.