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There are far too many variables to give a simple answer.
If for example, you are in veterinary medicine, Texas A&M will get you your first job a lot better than ”Jolly Jim's College of Horse Doctoring”. If you are in solid state physics, your degree from CalTech is probably more helpful than your degree from Wayne State.
But on the other hand if you're just going to college ”to go to college”, then your three years and incomplete degree in General Studies from Podunk State College will be worth about as much as your three years and incomplete degree in General Studies from the University of Nebraska.
An employer is looking to see if you got the degree that the job requires. That's it. While there may be some places that hire based on where you go to college they're in the minority. If they are this elitist you don't want to work for them anyway.
is it really true where you go to college does not affect your employment ?
I thought going to good colleges increases your changes of connections networking etc
ofcourse exceptionally intelligent wealthy or lucky people will be successful regardless
But is it really true for the vast majority of us ?
According to two studies by Alan Krueger and Stacey Dale at least among very well qualified college students where any of the cadre attend college has zero impact on life outcomes.
Degree provenance does not matter for most people most of the time. There are some outliers but, yes, I think it is true for the vast majority of us.
If you want to be an attorney for one of the top law firms in the country, you don't go to Joe's School of Law. If you want to have a family law practice in your hometown Joe's is fine. Some institutions have a very robust alumni network that is probably worth more than the education itself.
Degree major and personal career goals are big factors.
As we have seen on the news for some time now, "top schools" can certainly be administered by spineless idiots who spend more time appeasing temper tantrums than they spend being the adults in the room, which makes people question the quality and value/s of these institutions.
Degree provenance does not matter for most people most of the time. There are some outliers but, yes, I think it is true for the vast majority of us.
If you want to be an attorney for one of the top law firms in the country, you don't go to Joe's School of Law. If you want to have a family law practice in your hometown Joe's is fine. Some institutions have a very robust alumni network that is probably worth more than the education itself.
Degree major and personal career goals are big factors.
As we have seen on the news for some time now, "top schools" can certainly be administered by spineless idiots who spend more time appeasing temper tantrums than they spend being the adults in the room, which makes people question the quality and value/s of these institutions.
Graduate and professional schools are a separate matter.
As a relative and friend of quite a few college graduates (I am not one), and a number of those who interview potential employees, they all say just about the same thing...
Grades and degrees related to the desired opening and how it relates to the job opening matter more than just about everything else.
Once you have 2-3 years in any career, it becomes more about your previous work history than your education.
The first impression and first interview has as much to do with your chances as does where you went to college.
Basically, the execs I know mostly agree that it is fully understood a very large segment of the college graduates are limited in their school choice, and that more often than not isn't part of the equation. Of course, like the OP stated, that does not include those lucky or wealthy enough to go to an Ivy League school or a career in medical (doctor) or legal (lawyer), where the school very much can make a difference.
So, for the rest of us, it often doesn't make much of a difference at all where you went.
I think that for certain skillsets the actual degree matters. Law graduates from Harvard are more valued than law graduates from community colleges - as an example, whereas a degree in computer science may be seen the same everywhere.
1. The article linked by the OP is about undergraduate education.
2. The studies I noted are only about undergraduate education.
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