Computer Science student needing advice...

[TRUlivin]

Hi guys first time using the forum.

 

So currently i am in my first year Computer Science at a small university Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops British Columbia. I am wondering if by attending a smaller university ( not that prestigues) if i am limiting my future job potential. For example from my knowledge, bigger companies such as Google (etc..) will hire from more prestigious universities such as University of British Columbia etc... Is this true? Or will i be able to achieve such after graduating from Thompson Rivers, i just don't want to be limiting my future job potentials because of my university. I know that to my knowledge the content taught between the universities is virtually the same.

 

 

So i have been debating transferring to a University of British Columbia, or University of Victoria just for this prestigious factor.

 

So from your guy's experience does attending a high ranked university really play a big role in the long run? Or am i stressing myself out for no reason?

 

Any advice is much appreaciated, i have been really stressing this the last few weeks.

 

Thanks in advance !

[TheGeckomancer]

Not a high end computer tech. I am a certified computer technician but just A+ Net+, frankly most places DO NOT CARE AT ALL about college degrees for any technical field. You build your degree in the form of your portfolio. There was a really complex math problem posted online on google's home page for a while, this was like a decade ago, if you SOLVED the problem it actually led you to another web page where google would offer you a job. No one cares about a piece of paper anymore. Formal education is still incredibly useful, self taught is usually gappy and it's hard to stay motivated, but just know that you can't rest on a heavily engraved piece of parchment, no one cares, you need a portfolio, people want to see what you can do. That's all that matters. In case you care about the math problem, and how it worked, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=3916173

Edited December 5, 2015 by TheGeckomancer

[ajb]

Unless you go to the very top university, something akin to Cambridge or Oxford, I get the impression most employers will not care too much on where you obtained your degree. Others here may have different experiences.

[physica]

There's multiple angles in which people look at this. I am starting UCL in September (postgrad) and my friend is currently there also doing postgrad. I regularly visit him on campus. What we have both noticed is that there are loads of recruitment fairs (like every week) from top employers. I and my friend have had experience from non prestigious universities before UCL and there wasn't many recruitment fairs and when they were they were not from top employers. Another advantage is the fact that prestigious universities have more money. You can debate whether students from prestigious universities are smarter till the cows come home (my suspicion is that they are not) however students from more prestigious universities generally have a wider selection student projects to choose from which can be more fancy. That being said university is what you make of it. I don't know what it's like in the USA but the top universities in the UK really don't care where you did your undergrad. I'm field in medicine/applied physics/engineering, in these fields you need equipment, funding and facilities. In fields that don't require such like theoretical physics you will find some high flying successful people tucked away in unheard universities. I don't know what computer science is like personally but from what I guess it really isn't elitist. The computer tech industry is littered with people who dropped out of university and forged empires. There seems to be a get on with it a do it attitude in the computer industry. Code is cheap to write and there's little to no regulation in doing it. Once you have a finished product distributing it is super easy and cheap, you don't have to buy and stock a product. Because of this you can have a survival of the fittest in start up companies and interns. You'll see elitism in areas where there is a lot of regulation and heavy cost that needs to be laid down initially. My guess is that if you work hard. Work on your own side projects and enter competitions you will standout. We can't stick our heads in the sand and say that going to a prestigious university doesn't help. However, we also cannot assume that employers are one dimensional and don't realise that there are multiple factors that make someone a good employee.

[TJ McCaustland]

Hi guys first time using the forum.

 

So currently i am in my first year Computer Science at a small university Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops British Columbia. I am wondering if by attending a smaller university ( not that prestigues) if i am limiting my future job potential. For example from my knowledge, bigger companies such as Google (etc..) will hire from more prestigious universities such as University of British Columbia etc... Is this true? Or will i be able to achieve such after graduating from Thompson Rivers, i just don't want to be limiting my future job potentials because of my university. I know that to my knowledge the content taught between the universities is virtually the same.

 

 

So i have been debating transferring to a University of British Columbia, or University of Victoria just for this prestigious factor.

 

So from your guy's experience does attending a high ranked university really play a big role in the long run? Or am i stressing myself out for no reason?

 

Any advice is much appreaciated, i have been really stressing this the last few weeks.

 

Thanks in advance !

It depends, like ajb said, on what university it is. It also depends on what job you are looking for in one of those companies. If you want to hired a regular employee and work your way up to higher jobs stay at Thompson Rivers, if you want to be hired a manager of a department or project look at going to a big university like cambridge.

[Mordred]

As I also went to University of the Cariboo in Kamloops I can attest that employers in Computer science aren't too concerned with where you attended. Although I later chose a different career path. I had no issue finding jobs outside the norm. No single employee turned me down for someone from a more well known institute.

 

Keep in mind computer science is a good start. Further studies into specialized Computer aspects can lead into higher careers. One direction is PLC programming for industrial control applications.

 

Keep an eye out for further courses into different software. Such as excel, visual C++ etc. Look through the want ads for the common asked for languages.

Jobs tend to be more plentiful in business oriented lanquages. Such as data collection and processing.

Edited January 9, 2016 by Mordred