Anonymous wrote:The people I know who graduated from top tier schools have very average successful careers. Also, they have below average social lives. It may be due to poor soft skills. I know several people with lower tiered schools who have great careers (maybe due to good soft skills), even a couple people without college degrees. Yes, one is a SVP at a major company another is in sales and makes tons of money.

For example, my firm is full of top tier school graduates with bottom 1% social skills. They are not gonna make it in a F500 company or the government. Hence they are here, making big bucks doing what they are good at.
Having a team with good cultural vibe and the right cultural fit determine how successful you can be. School/Firm/Skill can only get you half way.

Anonymous wrote:I rarely know what school my colleagues went to unless l interviewed them. I’m over 40. Over a certain age it doesn’t really come up, except for a few particularly annoying people who manage to slip it into conversation still. Thinking of a few people over 40 in particular who still talk about Stanford, Harvard, Duke and MIT - why are you talking about this still??!?

At this age your position should speak for itself.

That is my reaction to this thread--who talks about where they went to college once you are a few years out? Unless you're telling me that your team made the NCAA Tournament, I don't care where you went. At all.

I rarely know what school my colleagues went to unless l interviewed them. I’m over 40. Over a certain age it doesn’t really come up, except for a few particularly annoying people who manage to slip it into conversation still. Thinking of a few people over 40 in particular who still talk about Stanford, Harvard, Duke and MIT - why are you talking about this still??!?

At this age your position should speak for itself.

Anonymous wrote:Would assume they were not super academic / did not study that hard in HS to have the grades and stats for an elite school. But worked very hard in college and after, had an aptitude for relationships along with results.

There have been pedigrees that surprised me but don't influence my view of the person's competence in their current role.

Strange assumption to make when finances are such a huge part of why kids end up going where they do. And even if money isn't a factor great grades/stats are no guarantee of going to an "elite" school.

I would think better of a company with employees from a variety of colleges, if I came to know that. It's not something I am generally aware of. I do now have kids going through the process so it has made me interested and sometimes I look colleagues up on LinkedIn and they are from a wide variety of places. I'd actually think worse of an organization that only hires from Ivy+ schools. I would assume they are focused on wealth and prestige above all else and that's not someone I want to work with.

FWIW, my company's CEO went to a midwest college I'd never heard of. My immediate coworkers have gone to Ivys, flagships, regional publics, elite and mid-level LACs. All over the place. College has zero correlation with how good they are at their jobs.

Anonymous wrote:My IT executive cousin got her DD all the right internships to get her into Microsoft. My dual physician neighbors got her DS all the right internship, shadowing, research, Africa medical trip etc to get her into a medical school. Both kids went to community college and regional state school route so its somewhat fair to assume they weren't top students and connections helped.

My spouse went to a no name school and has a good job as a competitor. Microsoft isn't as impressive as you think.

I have a bias about people who have degrees from diploma mills like Stayer, University of Phoenix. I feel bad saying that buy it irritates me that I have a Ph.D. from University of Chicago and my kids' central office has Ph.Ds from diplomas mills. I don't think University of Phoenix or Stayer are competitive schools. I don't think people with Ph.Ds. or MBAs or other professional degrees from the university carry as much weight as other legitimate or competitive degree programs. I also cringe at how they call themselves "doctor". I'm a social scientist and I have use Dr. Only in professional publications.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My last 3 CEOs went to crappy colleges. So what

Having worked for the government and private industry I haven't seen many people in high places from elite universities. I don't know where they all go, but they certainly aren't well-represented in the federal govt. or in many fortune 500 companies.

I'm a fed and think the opposite. Especially of political appointees in substantive leadership roles.

Anonymous wrote:My IT executive cousin got her DD all the right internships to get her into Microsoft. My dual physician neighbors got her DS all the right internship, shadowing, research, Africa medical trip etc to get her into a medical school. Both kids went to community college and regional state school route so its somewhat fair to assume they weren't top students and connections helped.

No, the doctor family did the right thing - minimize undergrad expenses and ensure high grades in required courses to get into Med school by having a less competitive cohort. It’s really hard to get into Med school if you go to NYU or Ivy undergrad, the competition in O-Chem and P-Chem is brutal.

Would assume they were not super academic / did not study that hard in HS to have the grades and stats for an elite school. But worked very hard in college and after, had an aptitude for relationships along with results.

There have been pedigrees that surprised me but don't influence my view of the person's competence in their current role.

My IT executive cousin got her DD all the right internships to get her into Microsoft. My dual physician neighbors got her DS all the right internship, shadowing, research, Africa medical trip etc to get her into a medical school. Both kids went to community college and regional state school route so its somewhat fair to assume they weren't top students and connections helped.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My last 3 CEOs went to crappy colleges. So what

Having worked for the government and private industry I haven't seen many people in high places from elite universities. I don't know where they all go, but they certainly aren't well-represented in the federal govt. or in many fortune 500 companies.

It’s weird. I work in a pretty high profile part of government (financial regulator) and there’s lots of elite UG or law schools in leadership of these agencies. Legal divisions of agencies tend to have more elite school representation. Lots of Under Secretaries and other appointees with elite credentials.

I also know a lot of Ivy League grads that just….faded away from the work force. No clue what they are doing with their lives, but basically a lot of them got burned out by academia or corporate world or startups and just sorta disappeared. I feel like Ivy Leaguers are more likely to have 2nd careers or career pivots in their 30s and 40s. Why? Because they can rely on degree prestige to credibly enter a new industry.

But yeah, there are plenty who have sorta just disappeared, or they jump from passion to passion with no clear path to paying for daily necessities. I think so many of them have trusts or some other external help.

Anonymous wrote:See this all the time. It does not matter where you went to college after the 1st year. I have no idea where most of my colleagues went to school including us in the c-suite. People get offended because they need to justify paying for a so-called fancy degree. Nobody cares. Sorry but that is the reality. Ivy leaguer here.

Agree.

Work in consulting and I sign off our proposals before they go out so every now and then I thumb through the resumes. Our people went to all sorts of colleges. Some of the most accomplished went to colleges no one on here has heard of because they're regional colleges. After your first job / year, your career is entirely up to you. A top college doesn't make you bright, sharp, organized and successful. You make yourself bright, sharp, organized and successful - and driven.

--Ivy grad who knows plenty of Ivy grads who went nowhere.

Anonymous wrote:See this all the time. It does not matter where you went to college after the 1st year. I have no idea where most of my colleagues went to school including us in the c-suite. People get offended because they need to justify paying for a so-called fancy degree. Nobody cares. Sorry but that is the reality. Ivy leaguer here.

YES. Says the BIG 10 employee working with the Ivy Leaguers.

Anonymous wrote:How would a privileged person end up at an embarrassing low tier school? Wouldn't they use privilege to get into a good school they weren't qualified to attend?

I’m privileged and chose an SEC school. Loved it and career has been great!😀

See this all the time. It does not matter where you went to college after the 1st year. I have no idea where most of my colleagues went to school including us in the c-suite. People get offended because they need to justify paying for a so-called fancy degree. Nobody cares. Sorry but that is the reality. Ivy leaguer here.