Anonymous
07/17/2025 16:37
Subject: Engineering and nursing are two areas that if you don't go to a top school, it's okay..
PP here. I'm not disputing that top firms recruit from the top schools but what I'm saying is their number of hires is so little that it really makes no difference for the "average" students at these top schools. Most of these kids will end up at a regular company.
Anonymous
07/17/2025 16:31
Subject: Engineering and nursing are two areas that if you don't go to a top school, it's okay..
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Top engineering firms only really actively recruit grads from the Top engineering schools. Not that other grads won’t eventually end up somewhere. They will just have a different path to get there.
This. Prestige matters for engineering at the top levels. There are about 15 ivy/privates and 5 publics that are far above the rest
Yes but remember there are thousands of students at each of these top schools and top companies will not hire them all, only the top students. So the average Joes there will end up in the same places as students from other colleges.
Not true
How is it not true? [b]Is every student from those top schools being scooped up by Jane St and the likes?[/b] At my workplace (not prestigious) I see plenty of interns/co-workers from MIT or GT but also VT or GMU.
More as a percentage than most other schools. That's the point.
So? Some take jobs at other places for all sorts of reasons personal to them. This anectdote means nothing.
Ok so like 5% from top schools get the tippy top jobs vs 0% from no name schools. Noted.
Anonymous
07/17/2025 12:44
Subject: Engineering and nursing are two areas that if you don't go to a top school, it's okay..
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Top engineering firms only really actively recruit grads from the Top engineering schools. Not that other grads won’t eventually end up somewhere. They will just have a different path to get there.
This. Prestige matters for engineering at the top levels. There are about 15 ivy/privates and 5 publics that are far above the rest
Yes but remember there are thousands of students at each of these top schools and top companies will not hire them all, only the top students. So the average Joes there will end up in the same places as students from other colleges.
Not true
How is it not true? [b]Is every student from those top schools being scooped up by Jane St and the likes?[/b] At my workplace (not prestigious) I see plenty of interns/co-workers from MIT or GT but also VT or GMU.
More as a percentage than most other schools. That's the point.
So? Some take jobs at other places for all sorts of reasons personal to them. This anectdote means nothing.
Anonymous
07/17/2025 12:15
Subject: Engineering and nursing are two areas that if you don't go to a top school, it's okay..
Anonymous wrote:You need to "accept" that it's not "except."
I was wondering if OP meant exPect. I dunno.
Anonymous
07/17/2025 12:01
Subject: Engineering and nursing are two areas that if you don't go to a top school, it's okay..
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Nurses can graduate as an RN in 2 years from a community college.
Or they can go to Penn and pay $400,000.
80% of Penn Nursing receives significant financial aid. It makes sense.
Anonymous
07/17/2025 11:59
Subject: Engineering and nursing are two areas that if you don't go to a top school, it's okay..
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I don’t know what the average starting salary is for nursing, but Penn nursing students supposedly are at like $125k for new grads.
Maybe that’s due to locational differences…but maybe that’s what all nursing grads make.
I'm calling BS on this. My DD is a nurse with a BSN. She's worked at several hospital and no one is paying a new nurse grad that kind of money no matter what school they went to. Unless that person is working in some very specific research they are making what every other nurse in their hospital makes. I know that nurses in LA and NY may make more right out of school but it is based on the cost of living so $85,000 in one place may be equivalent to $125,00 in a very high cost of living area. Truly, nursing is one field where choice of school doesn't matter as much as NCLEX pass rates and the ability to pass the RN licensing exam. They all have to pass the licensing test to be a registered nurse. One thing that I do believe is true is that most hospitals prefer nurses with a BSN and in some cases require it. However, the 2-year degree to BSN is also a viable path.
The data says the average for UPenn is $93,750, though 3 of the graduates (out of a total of 16...it's a small school) are making $120k+.
Top employers are Penn Medicine, NY Langone (the two combined are by far the largest)...followed by Cleveland Clinic and Children's in DC.
Anonymous
07/17/2025 11:48
Subject: Engineering and nursing are two areas that if you don't go to a top school, it's okay..
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I don’t know what the average starting salary is for nursing, but Penn nursing students supposedly are at like $125k for new grads.
Maybe that’s due to locational differences…but maybe that’s what all nursing grads make.
I'm calling BS on this. My DD is a nurse with a BSN. She's worked at several hospital and no one is paying a new nurse grad that kind of money no matter what school they went to. Unless that person is working in some very specific research they are making what every other nurse in their hospital makes. I know that nurses in LA and NY may make more right out of school but it is based on the cost of living so $85,000 in one place may be equivalent to $125,00 in a very high cost of living area. Truly, nursing is one field where choice of school doesn't matter as much as NCLEX pass rates and the ability to pass the RN licensing exam. They all have to pass the licensing test to be a registered nurse. One thing that I do believe is true is that most hospitals prefer nurses with a BSN and in some cases require it. However, the 2-year degree to BSN is also a viable path.
Our DD is a new nurse in Virginia (not NOVA and not a major metro area but a really big hospital). Her starting salary is $86,000 for three 12 hour shifts. After her initial five-month training period (could be six), she will make a differential wage for nights, holidays, and a fourth shift that could put her salary well over $100K. As an aside, she would have made less money working for the INOVA hospital system in NOVA in what is a much more expensive area.
Anonymous
07/17/2025 11:47
Subject: Engineering and nursing are two areas that if you don't go to a top school, it's okay..
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Check engineering reddits pleny of unemployed recent engineering grads. No career is guaranteed via degree.
Disagree. Especially for nursing. May not pay the highest or in the desired location, specialty etc but a nursing degree guarantees a job and same many healthcare affiliated fields. Same for teaching.
Same for accounting.
I agree. Accounting does not matter.
How is the job outlook though? I hear all the time that there is a shortage and many accountants are set to retire without new ones to replace them, but what about AI? Isn't it a huge threat to accounting? I feel like it will be easy for AI to take over.
Anonymous
07/17/2025 11:38
Subject: Engineering and nursing are two areas that if you don't go to a top school, it's okay..
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Top engineering firms only really actively recruit grads from the Top engineering schools. Not that other grads won’t eventually end up somewhere. They will just have a different path to get there.
This. Prestige matters for engineering at the top levels. There are about 15 ivy/privates and 5 publics that are far above the rest
Yes but remember there are thousands of students at each of these top schools and top companies will not hire them all, only the top students. So the average Joes there will end up in the same places as students from other colleges.
Not true
How is it not true? Is every student from those top schools being scooped up by Jane St and the likes? At my workplace (not prestigious) I see plenty of interns/co-workers from MIT or GT but also VT or GMU.
Anonymous
07/17/2025 11:20
Subject: Engineering and nursing are two areas that if you don't go to a top school, it's okay..
Anonymous wrote:I don’t know what the average starting salary is for nursing, but Penn nursing students supposedly are at like $125k for new grads.
Maybe that’s due to locational differences…but maybe that’s what all nursing grads make.
I'm calling BS on this. My DD is a nurse with a BSN. She's worked at several hospital and no one is paying a new nurse grad that kind of money no matter what school they went to. Unless that person is working in some very specific research they are making what every other nurse in their hospital makes. I know that nurses in LA and NY may make more right out of school but it is based on the cost of living so $85,000 in one place may be equivalent to $125,00 in a very high cost of living area. Truly, nursing is one field where choice of school doesn't matter as much as NCLEX pass rates and the ability to pass the RN licensing exam. They all have to pass the licensing test to be a registered nurse. One thing that I do believe is true is that most hospitals prefer nurses with a BSN and in some cases require it. However, the 2-year degree to BSN is also a viable path.
Anonymous
07/17/2025 07:16
Subject: Engineering and nursing are two areas that if you don't go to a top school, it's okay..
Nursing for sure. My relative has a 2 year degree from a community college and she makes as much as other RNs. In fact, she's the charge nurse.
There's such a shortage of nurses that most of the others come from Caribbean schools.
There's such a shortage of nurses that most of the others come from Caribbean schools.
Anonymous
07/17/2025 07:01
Subject: Engineering and nursing are two areas that if you don't go to a top school, it's okay..
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:You will find a job, correct? My know-it-all brother-in-law states this, he's in his 50's and doesn't except things have changed that requirements are more demanding. Other opinions?
There is a fundamental difference between nursing and engineering that you are minimizing…..
How many Nurses have you seen running a Fortune 1000 company?
I love Nurses, but please. By accepting to be a nurse you are be default accepting to be in a subservient position to others in your own health field (Doctors). This is not the case with Engineers.
DP. Viewing nurses as a patient here: they come across as more helpful and personable than doctors. They also appear just as knowledgeable as they do their jobs.
This may be due to the fact the doctor stays in my room for 2 minutes, whereas the nurse is far more dedicated to my care.
I suspect I’ll see the dynamic you mention if I were to look behind the curtain, but I’ll take a nurse over a doctor any day.
Anonymous
07/17/2025 06:39
Subject: Engineering and nursing are two areas that if you don't go to a top school, it's okay..
Anonymous wrote:career outcomes at the 1and 5 yr mark as well as phd matriculation lists indicate the average joe engineer at stanford, princeton, penn, MIT, CMU UCB et al do much much better than the average joe at VT or NC state. Not even close.Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Top engineering firms only really actively recruit grads from the Top engineering schools. Not that other grads won’t eventually end up somewhere. They will just have a different path to get there.
This. Prestige matters for engineering at the top levels. There are about 15 ivy/privates and 5 publics that are far above the rest
Yes but remember there are thousands of students at each of these top schools and top companies will not hire them all, only the top students. So the average Joes there will end up in the same places as students from other colleges.
For DCuM, that is a fairly precise claim. Source?
Anonymous
07/17/2025 01:12
Subject: Engineering and nursing are two areas that if you don't go to a top school, it's okay..
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Top engineering firms only really actively recruit grads from the Top engineering schools. Not that other grads won’t eventually end up somewhere. They will just have a different path to get there.
Top tech companies are also actively recruiting from GMU and UMBC, not just UMCP and VT (or MIT and Caltech).
Why? The recruiters and interviewers only have 24 hours a day. They can’t interview everyone. Top tech firms use elite schools as a first filter.
As a hiring manager in STEM I am much more interested in which upper-level undergrad in-major electives were taken and in the applicant's specific skills. My experience is that the college they graduated from is not a significant variable of their success rate.
Examples.
In Computer Engineering I look for someone who took the OS class, the embedded systems/real-time class, and the Verilog/VHDL class -- and did well enough (B or better) in those harder classes.
For EEs, the equivalent hard courses might include the Advanced digital communications, the signal processing, and the E&M Fields. Again B or better.
Not engineering, but closely related is CS. I am looking for someone with OS internals experience (Linux, BSD, or other) which is usually the Advanced OS class, also the compilers class, the real-time/embedded systems class. Again, those are usually the harder courses. I am not so interested in someone who focused on web programming, which is much easier. Again B or better.
DCUM is addicted to perceived prestige. I can't fix that.
At the hiring time, I want to hire the students who chose the harder upper electives and got a B or better. I do not care which college they attended, though I will look for ABET accreditation if it is not one I know about.
Anectodal. I know top firms look for grads and recruit from certain schools first. No one is saying less than the top engineering school grads don't get engineering jobs out of school and grades do matter more so at those schools. But for the Top Engineering and Tech companies in the country the engineering school you graduate from makes a difference. These schools have built a reputation with these top companies for a reason. It's not by mistake. They are the top teaching schools in the country and world for engineering and these companies that have recruited and hired their grads know just how good and well prepared they are coming from the top engineering universities.
Anonymous
07/17/2025 01:02
Subject: Engineering and nursing are two areas that if you don't go to a top school, it's okay..
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Top engineering firms only really actively recruit grads from the Top engineering schools. Not that other grads won’t eventually end up somewhere. They will just have a different path to get there.
This. Prestige matters for engineering at the top levels. There are about 15 ivy/privates and 5 publics that are far above the rest
Yes but remember there are thousands of students at each of these top schools and top companies will not hire them all, only the top students. So the average Joes there will end up in the same places as students from other colleges.
Not true