[bookreader]

I talked to several programmers, and they mostly said that a prestigious degree only helps out with the first few jobs (though they said that no degree at all is a slight to moderate negative). I'm not sure how accurate their perceptions are, and I think the tech industry might also be unique in caring less about prestigious credentials.

These programmers also said that a prestigious degree does help significantly in other areas, like finance and law.

What areas has your Stanford degree helped you in?

[gyardley]

When many people hear you have a degree from a prestigious school, they automatically assume you're smart and talented and right about whatever you're talking about, even if it's unrelated to your degree. This is a general effect that goes far beyond individual fields like science or law. Just being aware of your school will cause many people to unconsciously defer to your opinions and automatically treat you like their social superior.

This effect is so pronounced, some people try to avoid saying where they went to school, instead saying things like 'I went to school in the Bay Area' or 'I went to school in Boston'. They find the automatic obseqious treatment they get awkward, so they only mention their school when they need to use it for something they want.

In practice, this general 'we automatically respect your opinions and assume you're right' effect makes getting all kinds of opportunities easier. Jobs, promotions, meetings with and mentorship from powerful people, etc. It can also help with petty bureaucrats, law enforcement, medical doctors - pretty much everywhere.

It doesn't surprise me that programmers say a prestigious degree doesn't matter - this is America, after all, and automatically treating someone as your better seems profoundly undemocratic. But saying you don't care about prestigious degrees is kind of like saying 'advertising doesn't work on me'. People who actually don't care about and react positively to prestigious degrees are very rare.

I'll add that I didn't know this effect existed when I was going to school - I just wanted to be a history professor! I only noticed it later, when I realized the game board of life was oddly slanted to favor me. But I bet your parents are very well aware of this, and that's why they want you to stay in your school.

[bookreader]

Thanks for the informative response. Based on your experience with people from prestigious schools, do you think this automatic deference is justified?

[gyardley]

Not really, no. A person with a degree from a prestigious school is likely to be smarter than a person selected at random from the population, sure. But that doesn't mean they should be deferred to in areas where they lack knowledge and experience, and never automatically.

That said, we all get to deal with the world as it is, not as it should be, and an Ivy degree is a pretty nice perk. It seems a shame to toss it away if there are other ways to deal with your depression.

[rjbwork]

"I talked to several programmers, and they mostly said that a prestigious degree only helps out with the first few jobs"

Any degree helps out with the first few jobs. A prestigious degree is for life man. Would that I lived in a state with a top-tier CS school in a good location. I'm doing fine, don't get me wrong, but a Stanford or MIT or Carnegie Melon degree is worth so much more.