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b_b  ·  3300 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: 'It Doesn't Matter Where You Go to College': Inspirational, but Wrong

The Economist published an article recently that draws a different conclusion.

In their analysis, the subject you choose to study has a greater bearing on future income than on where you receive your degree.

Let me say this. I'm at a point where I sometimes get to hire people. I personally don't care even 1% where a potential candidate went to school. (I think mainly consulting and financial firms care the most; most jobs aren't in finance and consulting; finance and consulting are mainly run by thieves and charlatans anyhow.) If their resume looks good enough based on school and experience, I want to talk to them, and I want them to talk to me. Personality matters in the real world, and it can get you really far, provided you're also competent and committed to your craft.

Below, kleinbl00 offers good advice when he says, "...expand your learning and grow as a person." I would argue that all learning is good learning, even if the topic seems to be unrelated to the topic at hand in the immediate sense. The world is rife with convergences, analogies, crossroads. Having the most expansive knowledge lets you see the problem from angles that you might not otherwise consider. This is a skill, and it's one that college can help you develop, but that you need to own personally if you wan to develop it.

Get skills. Get to know people. Do a good job. If you do these things, it won't matter if you have a Harvard logo on your degree.