You work for a Silicon Valley startup, but the above posters are mostly talking about people who run one.

> There's a set of something like ten schools from which Silicon Valley companies hire.

I responded to GP's comment about hiring. Ivy-like pedigree surely helps for any career path, but that's no different for SV or anywhere else.

But you grew up in the US. You are not a "foreigner".

Even if that's true (it is), I have almost never had a meaningful conversation with a coworker about where we got our degrees from. Maybe that's because the conversation usually stops after I share my no-name institution. And in my current role I don't remember degree pedigree coming up once in any conversation.

If there's any lesson to learn from this thread I guess it's that no amount or level of credentials can overcome cultural biases, racism, and discrimination.