Importance of first job out of grad school

[anom217]

I've been admitted to Master's programs for Software Engineering. I was wondering how much of a difference going to a higher ranked school is, especially after you get your first job coming out. For instance, I'm deciding between the software eng. programs at Carnegie Mellon and USC. CMU has a better reputation, but is more expensive. If I go to CMU and get an average job coming out, then if I look for a more ambitious job in a couple years or so, will employers still look at my degree from CMU as highly as a fresh graduate? Or is it the kind of thing where landing your first job out of grad school is really crucial and the biggest payoff from a MS program?

After being out of grad school and working for a couple years, are employers going to care much where my degree is from?

Edited March 31, 2011 by anom217

[MSEgirl]

i went to cmu for undergrad and i can almost guarantee that you will find an awesome job with a cmu degree whether you are a fresh grad or not. especially if you want to be on the east after you grad, usc won't do much for you. cmu is great.. i paid the full 4 years of undergrad but it was extremely worth it

[frenzydude]

Though I am not experienced, I would like to give my two cents :

It seems your aim is to get a good job (and not go for a PhD after MS).

1. CMU is ranked much higher than USC for graduate studies.

2. The very best companies will come to recruit from both USC and CMU and you will have to prove yourself no matter where you go to get in. However, from CMU they are likely to hire more students but also the competition will be tougher due to higher quality students (Google has an office in their campus). From USC, it would be easier on the competition.

Both universities have some top notch faculty (Boehm at USC is a legend in software engg.)

Remember that the major difference between the two universities would be the quality of other MS students, which would be much higher at CMU. However, that might not be an important factor for you. Further, you have to see if the difference in cost is significant between the two.

No matter what you choose, good luck with your decision !

Edited March 31, 2011 by frenzydude