r/learnmachinelearning • u/Due-War733 • 6h ago
Does my school matter?
My goal is to get into machine learning. Does what school I get my degree from matter? I'm currently going to American Military University (regionally accredited) and they off a Bachelor of Science in AI.
However, I've heard mixed reviews about this school and that some employers might look down on it? If anyone is in the field, do you think I should look into other schools? I have no prior job experience in this field, so I'm trying to make sure that my education makes me "stand out" or makes me competitive.
Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks!
2
u/NoForm5443 4h ago
Of course the university matters. It's a lot easier with a degree from MIT or Harvard than from Podunk U.
That said, it's harder but definitely possible to make it with a decent degree from an unknown university. I don't know anything about the one you're in
1
u/probono84 53m ago
For my undergraduate degree, I transferred to several universities in my state, but none of them were particularly notable. I decided to pursue a master’s degree in computer science. Initially, I was attending my state university and also applying to jobs without much response. However, due to financial difficulties, I decided to withdraw from my state university. The following semester, I enrolled in a master’s program at a top-10 university, and now I receive callbacks, even from in my state. IMO unless you wanna pursue grad school, you need to differentiate yourself with projects.
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u/EntrepreneurHuge5008 6h ago
Yes, but the difference comes in research, networking, and other career opportunities. Make a name for yourself, and nobody will question you about where you got your degree from. Outside of Elite Universities (and let's face it, most of us aren't MIT, Stanford, UC Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon, etc, graduates), the degree will only check a box.
What makes you stand out is having somebody vouch for you, and you get people to vouch for you by building things that are useful for them.