"I Love College"

[Devil]

Am I the only one who believes where you get your degree from really only effects where you get your 1st job after that most employers care about your job history more?

I know that the above statement may not be true for Law & Medical fields. Outside of that does it really matter?

Example you have two guys that have been engineers for 10 years does the guy with the degree from MIT beat out the guy with the degree from Joe's engineering school if the guy from Joe's has a better more applicable work history?

In my experience no, however I would certainly be interested in what other people have experienced.

I'm going to talk to you now because Rabbit's hatred for the establishment and bias against proper education is just tiresome and juvenile.

The answer to your question is simple. It depends. It depends on the employer.

For instance, I look heavily at educational background when selecting candidates for employment, even when the position may not require it. The reason is that I think it speaks to whether people habitually take the easy road. I enjoy throwing people's resumes in the trash when they went to an online clown college. There are a lot of those people these days, so it helps people stand out when they went to a real school.

If the position doesn't require a specific educational background I like to pick the people who had a difficult major. I hire a lot of entry level business people. I'll take someone with a mathematics degree over someone with a sociology degree any day of the week. That's just how I roll.

I have colleagues who don't give a **** if someone went to Phoenix or Yale. That's just how those dumb motherfuckers roll. They're idiots, but they get to hire people just like I do. A lot of a job seeker's potential for success when interviewing relies on luck of the draw.

Edit - to Rabbit. You're right. The good ole' boy network is real. Best get plugged in so you don't get left behind.

[ChenPengFi]

It's hard to be wrong about Harvard MBA culture since the Dean of the Harvard Business School agrees with me, and note one of the big factors why Harvard MBAs are doing so well (hint: international networking)

Yes, that's part and parcel of a Harvard MBA, so yes the degree is "better".
Are you trying to argue that the course work at Harvard doesn't live up to it's reputation?
I'm certain Harvard, at least used to, pride themselves on a very high attrition rate, particularly at the law school.

[Permalost]

...says the white, American male.

Hey, part of our white American heritage is being able to hate on other white dudes for what they have, regardless of whether we already have plenty. Its the American Way.

[slamdunc]

Am I the only one who believes where you get your degree from really only effects where you get your 1st job after that most employers care about your job history more?

I agree with a minor reservation; in most cases, the job interview, connections (networking), and recommendations from faculty are more important for the first job.

Yet not because the degree is special or better or because they have good faculty.

Because of who they meet and socialize with at Harvard, which anyone who knows Harvard knows is the truth.

Sorry, the Good Ol Boys network beats the name on your degree every time in the real world, and Harvard has one of the oldest networks in America.

Again, networking; using what you have to get what you don't have. This is pretty normal with the Ivy League schools, but is just as common with most colleges and universities.

I worked as an intern during my senior year of (state) college. A few of my classmates had 'juice', 'yank', 'pull' or 'stroke' if you will, and were able to do work-study with engineering firms. They were getting paid, and paid well. I was doing the same type of work for free.

I ended up getting a job with my sponsor. I was a 'have not', and wasn't politically connected; what got my foot in the door, was a recommendation from my fluid mechanics professor. What kept me working until I chose to leave that field, was work ethic and dedication.

College education in general is wasted on some people.

[goodlun]

It's hard to be wrong about Harvard MBA culture since the Dean of the Harvard Business School agrees, and note one of the big factors why Harvard MBAs are doing so well in light of the recession (which put many MBAs from all sorts of schools, including League schools, out of work).

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...893732362.html

The Good Ol Boys network is truly global.

Your missing something here. Its not just the network they make at Harvard. Most of the students that go there do come from families of privilege. These same students that go to Harvard would have been well off no matter where they go. When your daddy/mommy is a C-level executive your job perspectives tend to be rather good.
Nepotism and Family Friends go a long way.

[W. Rabbit]

Edit - to Rabbit. You're right. The good ole' boy network is real. Best get plugged in so you don't get left behind.

My grandfather was a Harvard professor and a CIA lifer, so I was born into a place where many networks meet.

Are you trying to argue that the course work at Harvard doesn't live up to it's reputation?
I'm certain Harvard, at least used to, pride themselves

Not really. I bust on Ivy Leaguers because it's a family tradition and I went to UMASS.

erezb said:

Some degrees prepare you nicely. You know, even starting as a middle manager in big department store isn't that bad. His dreams are simple enough.

And Devil told him this:

And do you really think Harvard MBAs go to work as middle managers in department stores?

And I called him out on it because "Harvard MBA = 95% employed" can easily include middle management retail jobs at department stores.

The fallacy is thinking Harvard MBAs end up sitting on gold thrones collecting big paychecks....nope once out in the "field" they're as vulnerable and have to work as hard as most other folks. And they take all sorts of biz mgmt jobs...even at Macy's, Target, and Walmart.

[ChenPengFi]

Please show me a Harvard MBA who works at say, Macy's (edit) in middle management.

[goodlun]

I hire a lot of entry level business people.

I 100% get this reasoning for entry level. Although even then I still like to see that they at least have worked at Hot do on a stick during the summer or something. Since the work ethic and time management skills used for Academic success can be different than that of well work.

My real question comes to hiring above entry level. At this point are you still heavily focused on where the education came from or more focused on relevant job experience. I will assume all things being equal your still going to take the guy with the better pedigree, but how much does that pedigree compare against real world experience.

[ChenPengFi]

That grew up lower middle class in an ethnic (Filipino) neighborhood

Oh, do you have some black friends too?

[goodlun]

Please show me a Harvard MBA who works at say, Macy's (edit) in middle management.

Can we define middle management for this question?
Are we talking an assistant manager, a store manager, a regional manager, a logistics manager.
I highly doubt to many of them are doing anything on a store by store level.
I can see them doing something in the middle management corporate level in this current environment unlikely but I can see it happening. IE Manager of Marketing for CA or something.