Reputation of engineering and computer science programs at Temple U. (Penn: fit in, find a job)

[Leon2014]

Originally Posted by thedirtypirate

US news and world report ranks Temple tied for 121 best University in the country, with the University of Kentucky

Kentucky? Well that settle it.

[phillies2011]

Originally Posted by Leon2014

That's correct, Temple in 2014 is above community college standards of 2014. But community college standards of 1985, or even 1995, were above Temple standards of 2014.

You clearly don't know what you're talking about.

[Angus215]

Originally Posted by thedirtypirate

This dude pretty much just lost all credibility on this site. Hmm.. A major university with multiple campuses around the world is a glorified community college.. I really do not need to address anymore of this. However, I went to temple and got a BS in CS. One thing I always thought and know that the facilities weren't cutting edge. However they just built an entire new building which houses all the new labs and classrooms! As long as your GPA is above a 3.0 you will options in the job market when you graduate. I don't think I have ever been looked down upon by my colleagues because I went to TU. I would love to know where the mighty LEON2014 went though. US news and world report ranks Temple tied for 121 best University in the country, with the University of Kentucky, University of Arizona, University of Utah, and Colorado State University ranked the same or right around.

I think Temple is fine if you have a good GPA and stay in the Philadelphia area. But it's not going to have the national reputation or alumni network of Penn State or even Pitt if you leave the area.

[MikeNigh]

Where I work I know of a lot of drexel CS grads but I don't know of any Temple CS grads.

[G Goo]

Originally Posted by Angus215

I think Temple is fine if you have a good GPA and stay in the Philadelphia area. But it's not going to have the national reputation or alumni network of Penn State or even Pitt if you leave the area.

Outside the area I've actually had multiple people react with a sincere "Wow, that's a good school" when I've mentioned where I did my undergrad. Yes the alumni network may not be great/huge outside of Philly, but there are at least some people around the country who think Temple is a great school. Probably the uneducated ones

Either way, my Temple education has served me very well. It's not Ivy League but it does have a lot to offer at a relatively inexpensive price. I'm proud to be an Owl.

[Leon2014]

Originally Posted by G Goo

but there are at least some people around the country who think Temple is a great school. Probably the uneducated ones

[2e1m5a]

Originally Posted by Leon2014

Unless you are in Temple medical school, it's a glorified community college otherwise. It's not the 1950's anymore. Universities are accepting lower and lower quality candidates. Kids that 20 years ago would not have even gotten into a real community college are getting into Temple.

There was at least one person I know from my high school class of '05 that was accepted to Saint Joseph's University but not Temple. If I stayed local for College Temple and Drexel were my choices-a lot because of the large network, especially at Temple.

[mcguirk]

What are your eventual goals? If you want to enter academia or get a shot at some interesting places (like NASA), the big-name schools are where it's at. But if you're really looking for a solid education for an ordinary job path, Temple is great.

To be honest, if you want to become a software developer, a BSCS isn't even really that important. You're better off spending a lot of time self-studying and contributing to an open source project. If you have the aptitude for it and you work hard, you can grab an intro-level programming job within a year or so.

That said, some of my Temple classmates went on to work at Google and other "cool" places. Myself, I work at a big mutual fund company (yes, _that_ one, out in the burbs). I have plenty of coworkers who achieved CS degrees from Penn State, Villanova, and even Drexel who can't think for themselves or write clean code for their lives.

Like somebody else said upthread, once you've got a couple years' experience, you're viewed as a Professional Engineer or something like a Junior Software Developer (depending on your field of study). No hiring manager cares about your school.

[Leon2014]

Originally Posted by mcguirk

To be honest, if you want to become a software developer, a BSCS isn't even really that important. You're better off spending a lot of time self-studying and contributing to an open source project. If you have the aptitude for it and you work hard, you can grab an intro-level programming job within a year or so.

What a giganic pile of horse****!

Self study will never even come close to a well structure academic program. Virtually noone has aptitude for the fundamental concepts taught in undergrad, outside your few mythical friends from Google.

[cpomp]

Originally Posted by mcguirk

What are your eventual goals? If you want to enter academia or get a shot at some interesting places (like NASA), the big-name schools are where it's at. But if you're really looking for a solid education for an ordinary job path, Temple is great.

To be honest, if you want to become a software developer, a BSCS isn't even really that important. You're better off spending a lot of time self-studying and contributing to an open source project. If you have the aptitude for it and you work hard, you can grab an intro-level programming job within a year or so.

That said, some of my Temple classmates went on to work at Google and other "cool" places. Myself, I work at a big mutual fund company (yes, _that_ one, out in the burbs). I have plenty of coworkers who achieved CS degrees from Penn State, Villanova, and even Drexel who can't think for themselves or write clean code for their lives.

Like somebody else said upthread, once you've got a couple years' experience, you're viewed as a Professional Engineer or something like a Junior Software Developer (depending on your field of study). No hiring manager cares about your school.

Throwing shade at my school.