No they don't. What you actually do in your job matters a lot. If you're actually good, you get picked up by better firms. I've interviewed literally hundreds of candidates for top-tier companies I've worked for, and those candidates mostly cone from the 'rest' of the schools, not the top 10. I didn't come from the top 10 either.
Also, for grad school, the top 10 don't matter as much to an employer as relevant research to something they care about. Grad rankings are nearly useless.
I went to state school (VT) undergrad and grad. I've worked in plenty of very good places.
What you actually do in your job matters a lot. If you're actually good, you get picked up by better firms... Also, for grad school, the top 10 don't matter as much
This depends on the industry. I have plenty of tech friends who quit school, went to a local state school, etc. and ended up at a FAANG or launched a startup well-funded by VC. However, at the top management consulting, law, investment banking, private equity, hedge fund firms, etc., it is unlikely you'll get hired without a top 10 undergrad or grad degree, family connections, or something unique like you have a documented 150% return in the market over a decade.
I only work at Amazon so I’m not actually good. The “rest” are still only large in proportion because of their population size - most are like me and will never get into companies like Two Sigma or Google. I sure can’t.
You work at Amazon in IT? I don’t know your specific situation but you sure have a pretty defeatist attitude. That won’t serve you well. In my experience the most important factor for improving your career situation is finding opportunities and taking them and that requires a bit of a positive outlook and energy to expenditure.
I'm an SDE2, yes. I have no energy or a positive outlook because I already know that I'm considered an untermensch by everyone and society. It truly does feel like I have nothing, even my family thinks I'm a failure.
So you work for one of the most valuable companies in the world as a software developer, making decent buck, and you are a failure? I think you are young and have unreasonable expectations. You’re doing very good in the grand scheme of things; find your self worth and don’t listen to anyone that tells you you’re a failure, including yourself.
First, you're a really good writer, and no one can take that away from you.
The big picture is this - we are nearing the end of this society, and thus (in general) bad people succeed and good people fail. (I personally am doing OK if not stellar, this isn't sour grapes.)
You seem like a thoughtful, compassionate guy so it's no wonder that you aren't doing well.
My suggestion is artistic detachment. Treat life more like a surrealistic comedy and less like a game with live ammunition - it has aspects of both, of course. If you think of life as a dramatic presentation for your entertainment, even the bad parts will be more entertaining.
Turn on a "professional personality" at work which has nothing to do with who YOU are and then learn to turn it off after work.
Find something unrelated to... all this... to keep you entertained - something small and cheap and fun. In the past I've studied magic tricks and origami - right now my wife is doing watercolors and I'm reading 50 year old SF books.
In my case, people I met usually categorized me either into "everything is awesome" or "you're a failure". Few people took the time to listen and understand that things are going OK but of course there's always things to improve.
If you can get by financially and maybe save a bit for a bad day, then you're objectively doing OK or better. After that point, whether you're a success or a failure depends mostly on what you yourself think about it. There's a surprising amount of mean and selfish people out there. It's how they cope with difficulties in their own live.
At my old job, my manager was an ex-Amazonian. On my way out the door, he gave me one piece of advice - never work for Amazon. He left because of what they made him to do his reports.
You work for a company that negs its employees as part of its management playbook, and that’s bound to affect your mental health. If you can survive Amazon, you’re smart and can also hack it at other companies who treat their employees better. Don’t be obsessed with FANG. There are many many companies who pay as well as Amazon SDE2 but don’t systematically abuse their engineers.
It’s hard to believe that a SDE2 at Amazon is genuinely stupid. It sounds like imposter syndrome. Have you ever talked to a mental health professional? I’ve benefited greatly from that and I know many others in the same boat.
Also, for grad school, the top 10 don't matter as much to an employer as relevant research to something they care about. Grad rankings are nearly useless.
I went to state school (VT) undergrad and grad. I've worked in plenty of very good places.