[hamidp]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned college and education in the context of signaling: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signalling_(economics)

A degree from a Tier-1 school and high GPA is a signal to potential employers that you are a hard worker and smart. This appears to hold well for "easy" majors who don't really use anything learned in college at work (except thinking and writing creatively) and less so for "hard" majors who do actually need to know stuff about biology, math, whatever to do well.

[antonovka]

A degree from a Tier-1 school and high GPA is a signal to potential employers that you are a hard worker and smart.

The only things it signals to me is that you have:

- Considerable financial support from your parents and/or considerable student loan debt.

- A strong ability to pass tests.

What it doesn't tell me is whether you'll actually be able to do the job, and do it well.

[steveplace]

But you're probably not a potential employer at a Fortune 500 company.

[antonovka]

No, I'm not. Are you? I can't argue against an invented hypothetical.

[steveplace]

Invented hypotheticals work so well with sarcasm.

Point was, yes, I completely agree with you, the brand name of a degree means less than what it is assigned in society-- but our opinion will most likely diverges from a potential employer.

[antonovka]

I am a potential employer (and have been responsible for hiring technical candidates for years), but I'm not a hiring manager at Fortune 500 company.