Over one‑third of Zoho, Apple and NVIDIA employees come from Tier 3 colleges, proving that “anyone can become a tech rockstar”
India, 22nd October, 2025: While elite college names still open doors, a new survey by Blind, the anonymous community app for verified professionals, shows that they are no longer the golden ticket many assume. According to the survey of 1,602 Indian professionals conducted between September 17–24, 2025, graduates from lesser-known ‘Tier 3’ colleges comprise over one-third of the workforce at top global tech firms like Zoho, Apple, and NVIDIA.
Colleges were grouped into four tiers based on National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2025: Tier 1 (IITs, IISc, top IIMs, BITS Pilani), Tier 2 (NITs, DTU, Jadavpur University, and similar), and Tier 3 (other state or private universities), with an additional category for overseas institutions.
While traditional financial firms still place value on college names, major tech firms tend to prioritize skills. At companies like Zoho, Apple, NVIDIA, SAP, and PayPal, where many respondents said college had no influence on their careers, an average of 34% of surveyed employees were Tier 3 graduates.
In contrast, traditional financial and other tech firms such as Goldman Sachs, Visa, Atlassian, Oracle, and Google still rely heavily on campus hiring. Yet even there, an average of 18% of respondents came from Tier 3 colleges. The message is clear: in today’s job market, talent speaks louder than your alma mater.
How people judged the importance of pedigree often reflected their own backgrounds. While the vast majority of Tier 1 and Tier 2 alumni agreed that campus recruitment shaped their careers more than any other factor, 59% of Tier 3 graduates and 45% of overseas graduates said their college was no more than another line on a résumé.
When asked about salary, only 15% of Tier 3 alumni reported a strong benefit from their education; 74% said it helped only early on or not at all. More than half of overseas graduates (53%) also felt college had little or no effect on their earnings.
These findings align with global trends. A recent Forbes analysis notes that 90% of companies see better hiring outcomes when they prioritise skills over degrees, describing the rise of skills‑based hiring as a “fundamental transformation”. For Indian professionals from lower-ranked universities, it’s proof that global tech careers are no longer out of reach, as long as they can demonstrate relevant skills.
A Salesforce professional who noted that they’ve taken over 300 interviews shared their observation on Blind: “In general, people from IIT/IIIT/NIT do better in the interviews…50% of the screened candidates from IIT/IIIT/NIT usually end up getting an offer. The other lot, the success rate is around 20%.” Yet a Goldman Sachs employee emphasized that opportunity is not closed off to others: “Companies aren’t just looking at IITs anymore, they’re hunting grads from small towns and Tier 3 colleges. They’re literally betting that with some training, anyone can become a tech rockstar.”
Methodology
Blind surveyed 1,602 verified Indian professionals via its app between September 17 and 24, 2025, to examine how college background influences career outcomes.
Questions asked:
- Which category best describes your college?
- Tier 1 – IITs, IISc, top IIMs, BITS Pilani, etc. (41%)
- Tier 2 – NITs, DTU, Jadavpur, other leading state/private universities (30%)
- Tier 3 – Other Indian state or private universities (25%)
- Overseas university outside India (4%)
- Which opportunity from your college has had the greatest impact on your career?
- Campus placement (49%)
- Strong entry into tech roles (13%)
- Access to global career opportunities (5%)
- Higher starting salary (7%)
- None of the above, it’s just another line on my CV (26%)
- How much has your education affected your salary?
- Strong – Major factor in salary offers and growth (36%)
- Moderate – Other factors matter equally (19%)
- Slight – Helped early, but performance counts more (25%)
- None – No link to salary (20%)
Colleges were grouped into four categories based on the NIRF 2025 university ranking, which lists the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru first, followed by Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE):
- Tier 1 includes perennial top performers like the IITs, IISc, top IIMs and BITS Pilani.
- Tier 2 covers reputable institutions such as NITs, DTU, and Jadavpur.
- Tier 3 consists of all other state or private universities in India.
- A separate category for overseas institutions.
Breakdowns by tier, company, and detailed response ratios can be found in the accompanying data sheet: full dataset