How much does it matter which university you attended?

My industry is software development. It matters most for the most competitive employers, big tech companies - especially when you are a new graduate.

Although a degree is not necessary at all, many people are self-taught, after years of experience it doesn't matter anymore and most employers will consider a candidate with 5 years of experience the same regardless of degree. However to get a very competitive job with no degree one must stand out in other ways, usually this means being a contributor to a well-known project, or a prolific writer on technical subjects.

Personally, I am a self-taught developer. I started at age 14 because it interested me and still does. I went to college for software engineering but dropped out. I've always hated school and did not do well. Later I finished my degree - in accounting, while I was also working full time. I thought being a programmer was not for me so I did accounting because it's safe and also interesting. But I've never used that degree. I took some crappy administrative assistant jobs, then found an entry level programming job that had an online skill test which I passed. Since then I've had successfully less crappy software development jobs and at this point I'm considered a senior developer and on equal footing as someone with a degree. I would have a hard time applying to Google or Facebook maybe, because I did not go to any prestigious school and have only worked for mundane employers that are not household names, but just about any other job would not intimidate me.

/r/AskAnAmerican Thread