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Roughneck16 OP t1_jawek8w wrote

Reply to comment by Jackdaw99 in Yield rate for Top 150 US Universities [OC] by Roughneck16

Which did you pick and why, if you don’t mind me asking? What did you study?

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Jackdaw99 t1_jawh1jo wrote

Brown, as an undergraduate, because it was considered sort of artsy (this was a while ago). Columbia for grad school. In both cases, I studied philosophy.

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Roughneck16 OP t1_jawokw1 wrote

What do you do with something like that jobwise?

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Jackdaw99 t1_jawztab wrote

Well, the intention was to teach -- and write -- philosophy, but I left before I got my doctorate. Still, it's actually fantastic training for just about anything, because it teaches you to think -- to reason -- as carefully (and quickly), and to write as clearly, as you possibly can. Two skills which any employer appreciates -- any white-collar employer, anyway, and probably any employer at all. Unless you have another, very clear vocation in mind, it's ideal training for almost any profession, from law to journalism to medicine to business. What I actually do is kind of...public, the sort of thing where my name matters, so I'd prefer not to say in an open forum. I like making an ass out of myself on Reddit from time to time... But I appreciate your interest.

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Roughneck16 OP t1_jax8see wrote

So the main advantage of elite universities isn't the quality of the instruction, it's the strength of the alumni network. A Brown alumnus can major in something irrelevant and leverage their professional connections with the scions of wealthy and well-connected families to land a good-paying jobs. And you're right, many jobs are all about OJT and that foundation in reasoning and communication skills will prove invaluable. That was the same logic the military had on commissioning me to be an officer with my BS in civil engineering (which I didn't directly use for most of my career, but helped me develop invaluable problem-solving skills.)

I went to a non-elite institution (it's still on that chart), but honestly I could've gone to any college and my career would've been the same. Prestige is mostly a non-issue in engineering.

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Jackdaw99 t1_jaxbk16 wrote

Hang on: I didn't say anything about any alumni network, or leveraging professional connections with scions of whatever, or prestige, nor did I say that I studied something irrelevant. Quite the contrary. In fact, if you'd taken a philosophy course or two, you might have learned not to set up a straw man. They get blown over pretty easily.

As for elitism: I dunno. Some of my friends and colleagues have fancy educations and some don't. Talent will out, wherever it comes from, and brilliance needs no pedigree. That said, I'm grateful for the education I received. I have no idea if I could have received the same or better somewhere else. I'm long past the point of caring.

At no point since the day I graduated college has anyone in any work context ever -- ever -- asked me where I went to school, or what I studied.

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