Is Florida State or Rutgers considered more prestigious by employers and graduate schools?

The biggest practical tradeoff is national research reputation versus broader name warmth and regional recognition. Rutgers tends to carry a stronger academic signal to graduate schools because it is the flagship public university of New Jersey, and a major research institution with a long-established reputation in fields like the sciences, public policy, and some humanities and social sciences. Florida State is also well known and respected, but its strongest reputation is often tied more to its overall public university profile, student experience, and visibility in the Southeast.

For employers, the answer is more dependent on region and industry than on abstract prestige. Rutgers has especially strong recognition in the Northeast, and being close to New York and Philadelphia can help with internships and employer familiarity. Florida State has very solid name recognition in Florida and across much of the South, and many employers will view it as a credible large public university without drawing a sharp distinction in status.

For graduate schools, Rutgers usually has a modest edge in perceived academic prestige. That does not mean Florida State would limit you in any serious way, but Rutgers is more likely to be read as the slightly stronger institutional brand in research-heavy or academically oriented settings. Graduate admissions committees, though, will care much more about your GPA, coursework, recommendations, and research or internship experience than about this particular gap.

If your question is strictly about overall prestige, Rutgers is more often viewed as the more prestigious of the two, especially by graduate schools and by employers in the Northeast. Florida State is still a respected option, and in some Southern markets its name may land just as well, but on pure reputation alone Rutgers usually comes out ahead.