> The truth is, outside of ivy league schools and brand name tech schools (mit, Caltech, etc) your alumni network means jack diddly for finding a job for the majority of graduating students.
This does not align with my experiences, at all. I went to a private school in LA, and almost everyone I know from there got internships and first jobs in one of two ways: They casually mentioned to their professor that they were looking for a job, and the professor made a few calls, or they met a fellow student who's parents were hiring. And it makes quite a bit of sense: if you're trying to hire somebody, most of the time you're not looking for the best candidate, you're trying to weed out the bad candidates. If a professor you have some trust in suggests that this student would make a good intern, they probably will, and you can avoid all the hassle of trying to weed through the masses of applicants.
This does not align with my experiences, at all. I went to a private school in LA, and almost everyone I know from there got internships and first jobs in one of two ways: They casually mentioned to their professor that they were looking for a job, and the professor made a few calls, or they met a fellow student who's parents were hiring. And it makes quite a bit of sense: if you're trying to hire somebody, most of the time you're not looking for the best candidate, you're trying to weed out the bad candidates. If a professor you have some trust in suggests that this student would make a good intern, they probably will, and you can avoid all the hassle of trying to weed through the masses of applicants.