Your Uni. Does it really matter?

[zoltorg]

Having talked to many of my McGill friends, I have found that mcgill students (including myself) generally hold themselves higher than other school in Montreal and Canada for that matter. It is probably incorrect and our close-mindedness wont serve us very well. It brought up an important question.


Does going to a high end, mid end or "low end" university hurt your chances of succeeding in the workforce in the short or long run and how?

Ponder:

Going into a competitive field
Vying to get a professional designation
The public's perception of your school

I hope we can have a heated debate!

[netriones]

There's no correlation between career success and higher education.

[rems]

It will help when you first start out and have little/no work experience. After that it doesn't matter what school you went to but your performance and responsibilities of the jobs you held.

[KennethToronto]

There's no correlation between career success and higher education.

Are you kidding me?

[Nettles]

In the GTA it's:

You might as well go home if you see your friend from UofT at a job interview

(for student jobs of course :D ). I bet York students are more friendly, I go to UTM and they're snooty/not that friendly.

[Aristophanes]

It's really the people you meet that matters.
Like-minded people will probably apply to the same school and attend there. While at school, make friends, work together, go out, etc. Friends help out friends later in life. Simple as that.

Of course, if you attend a prestigious school, you should be proud...but the degree you attain is merely a short term marketing tool for when you graduate. The network you've built will last much longer.

[Legend24]

I don't think the school you went to really matters when you're talking about undergraduate degrees... I'm talking specifically about Canada here. When it comes to grad school and one guy went to Harvard while the other went to Mac, I think the school will make a difference.

The general public's perception of your school does not matter at all because they are not the ones offering you a job. Anywhere you apply to, assuming that management is knowledgeable, will know that an undergrad business student from Western will have been taught the same curriculum than a business student at Windsor.

If every possible factor is equal between two job candidates, then maybe it will come down to what school you got your degree from.

[waterloser]

There's no correlation between career success and higher education.

statistically speaking, correlation coefficient is a university level mathematical concept.

[matthewlyle]

statistically speaking, correlation coefficient is a university level mathematical concept.

Or 11th grade data management. Haha.

[nalababe]

For an entry level position there is no preference given to a U of T student vs Queen's vs Trent. Achievements and personal interview are far more important. At higher levels, we don't even look at school other than "well that's nice". A record of success is more important...as someone else mentioned, Networks are key as well (two friends who completed their Schulich MBAs recently, both of whom were higher managers in their companies, agreed that the networking was by far the most importent aspect of their schooling as they learned little that could not/was not learned on the job).

Now I say this as a Queen's graduate...If I see a desirable candidate from Windsor, Lakehead, or Queen's...if all are equally qualified and have a track record of success in University, school has zero importance. BTW, despite what is often on this board, GPA is not an indicator of success in the real world. Just as IQ need not be an indicator of success (I know many gifted >130 HS students who failed miserably at HS and Univesity). People skills, Leadership, self confidence, communication...these are extremely important and not measured in the GPA.

However, is there a relationship between school and success...maybe. Do the more highly rated schools attract more desirable candidates? and is there a probability that these students will continue their success at the next level, I would think so....

So what does that mean. It means that if you work hard at whatever school you attend you will be fine. Again, I know people who went to Lakehead and Trent that are extremely successful laywers and doctors today.

[BiGGiEx3]

For your first job, education *may* matter depending on the field you're in, however, afterwards, it's not that useful. Experience is key - no senior position is determined by the education level of the candidate: their track record is what we look at.

However, don't underestimate the importance of that first job - for instance, those who finish at a good business school can land a decent job at a tier 1 financial firm, which in turn helps their long-term success. That's not to say that those who went to lower-end schools won't get good jobs, it's just a little easier with the better known schools.

From my experience, we prefer engineering students from the top tiered engineering schools for junior positions, for instance, but for our senior engineers, their work experience is what matters.

I spent 8 years at Waterloo and when it was all said and done, my experience was what got me my first job.

Now, my education is simply a footnote. The same goes for any senior staff - we never talk about where we went to school, but rather, where our last few positions were.

[Sylvestre]

For your first job, education *may* matter depending on the field you're in, however, afterwards, it's not that useful. Experience is key - no senior position is determined by the education level of the candidate: their track record is what we look at.

From my experience, we prefer engineering students from the top tiered engineering schools for junior positions, for instance, but for our senior engineers, their work experience is what matters.

I spent 8 years at Waterloo and when it was all said and done, my experience was what got me my first job.

Now, my education is simply a footnote. The same goes for any senior staff - we never talk about where we went to school, but rather, where our last few positions were.


Exactly. It helps you get the first job (maybe), but over a full career of 40+ yrs, it plays little to no role. (Mind you, there's a networking component that may play a part, but again, that's different from your degree per se).

[netriones]

Are you kidding me?


http://www.pennylicious.com/2006/10/09/billionaire-dropouts/

[dark169]

http://www.pennylicious.com/2006/10/09/billionaire-dropouts/

ok now contrast that extreme to the other end of the spectrum and poll people making minimum wage and see if they have college degrees.


I will point you to http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aa072602a.htm which clearly shows that getting a bachelors degree doubles your earning potential.


To the OP, school and grades only really matters for your first job. And even then only stuck up asshats would screen based on school alone, and who wants to work for them.

[skewed]

Having talked to many of my McGill friends, I have found that mcgill students (including myself) generally hold themselves higher than other school in Montreal and Canada for that matter.

Your right about McGill students thinking highly of themselves.

We have a McGill grad where I work that thinks he is all mighty because he went there. Too bad he can't back it up and we laugh at him as a result. He's a good friend anyhoo. :)

I personally don't think it matters that much. Regardless of the school, the great workers come out naturally. It ain't the name of the school on your degree that matters.

[BananaHunter]

Everything else constant, a more reputable school is obviously better than a lesser known school.

In between, a zillion variables affect your success in life, ranging from your looks, to your family connections, to how smart you are, or even the color of your shirt. These zillion other variables affect your chances in life much more than your school.

Yeah it's a pretty useless response. But it's really all you need to know. When you apply to uni, chances are, you already applied to the best one available to you based on your brain power and how rich your parents are. Once you pick your uni, it's just a matter of trying to manage those zillion variables.

Also, keep in mind better schools generally let you make better networks. They have better alumni, better recruiting events, professors have better connections.

[yell0w_c0w]

I went to McGill too and it doesnt make a difference... all my colleagues are pretty diversified from Polytechnique, Concordia, Sherbrooke and ETS.

However, if they had good experience with one university with their hires, they might be biased to take again from the same university!

[arnab]

i know this for a fact that when getting a job university does matter a lot. I have seen my engineering friends with higher marks from Ryerson having a much tougher time as opposed to my friends graduate from UofT. My friends from UofT got jobs within 1 month. It could just be me but it does matter a lot.

[dealtacular]

Everything else constant, a more reputable school is obviously better than a lesser known school.

In between, a zillion variables affect your success in life,.

Good answer, I agree. It depends on the situation.

[Sylvestre]

i know this for a fact that when getting a job university does matter a lot. I have seen my engineering friends with higher marks from Ryerson having a much tougher time as opposed to my friends graduate from UofT. My friends from UofT got jobs within 1 month. It could just be me but it does matter a lot.

That's true, but again, that's just your first job. You'll have lots after that'll not rely on where you attended. A lot of students put too much weight on finding the perfect school to secure that first job. Over a full life/career, getting the right experience and training is far, far, far...far more important.

[Ebola]

As far as Canadian schools go, no , the established universities are basically all held in the same regard. Although McGill and Queens students do seem to think they are hot ****, but who am I to treat them with indifference right?

[jonno]

In the long run it really doesn't matter. Ideally, select a course/school that has a co-op program, this will pay dividends far beyond a "prestigious" degree from a Canadian school.

[CrackBaby]

University doesn't matter anywhere near as much as students currently enrolled and just graduated tend to think. They will realize the truth when it comes recruitment time and that kid from Brock with 9000 extracurriculars is more valued by a recruiter than Mr. McGill.

I'd say it only matters in a few fields, for instance Investment Banking, where recruiting is done on campus for the most part and they will only visit the places they are really interested in (which is UofT, Western, and York before McGill/Queens/McMaster). I can't even think of another field where it matters much at all - teachers all seem to think going to OISE is the grail but landing that first job is the deciding factor in how your career goes, and that is pretty much 90% on who you know unless you are very very lucky or very very distinguished (in which case your university mattered a lot less than your volunteer experience).

Some people might argue engineering, but as long as you went to an accredited school (which is slightly more difficult than it sounds, both the university set up for engineering [UOIT] and Ryerson have lost their accredition at least once in recent memory) this doesn't matter either.

But I guarantee that there is no difference from a recruiting standpoint whether you graduated with a common degree (Arts, Business, Science) from UofT, McGill, Western, York, McMaster, Waterloo, or Queens. There are way more things to separate candidates than the relative rankings here of even the top 10-15 schools - and no they don't generally care that your program was way harder than school X's program because you had to do blah blah topic courses all the way until blah blah.

[rdx]

It will help when you first start out and have little/no work experience. After that it doesn't matter what school you went to but your performance and responsibilities of the jobs you held.

100% agree. It only helps you to get the first job. After that, it would be your job experience, designations to your related field, and connections/references to get your to higher level.

Unless you graduated from Ivy League Schools, like Harvard or Yale, then it will always help you to catch employers' eyes from the resume. But, they will also have a very high expectation :)

[oasis100]

You get an interview because you meet their qualifications, after that, your education won't make a difference, it is how you present yourself at the interview itself that matters.