Importance of grades

[AEKDBet]

Let's say the goal is to get a well paying job (or one that allows you to move up the ranks) and is somewhat interesting/furfilling to you.

How heavily would you weigh the importance of grades in college? Just how much of an edge would a 4.0 student have over a 2.0 GPA student? Throw in any variables you want (different schools, interview skills, activities, looks, etc)

[jakethebake]

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Let's say the goal is to get a well paying job (or one that allows you to move up the ranks) and is somewhat interesting/furfilling to you.

How heavily would you weigh the importance of grades in college? Just how much of an edge would a 4.0 student have over a 2.0 GPA student? Throw in any variables you want (different schools, interview skills, activities, looks, etc)

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That all depends on your defintion of well paying and what is interesting/fulfilling to you.

[MEbenhoe]

All I've ever heard from those I know that are recently out of college and have been starting at new jobs, is that most employers dont really care what your gpa is. They care that your qualified for the job, and what types of experiences you have. Something that has been stressed to me a lot by those I know is that its much better to concentrate on getting experience related to your future career while in college, than to worry about the difference between a 4.0 and a 3.0, etc.

[Richie Rich]

The current Apprentice asks the same question -- Street Smarts v. Book Smarts.

When you're just getting started, having better grades will get your foot in the door more effectively than if you had bad grades. But after you've been working in the real world for 5+ years, grades don't really matter anymore.

On top of that, many studies have shown that social darwinism is not a myth. Taller/better-looking people tend to be more successful, as a whole, than those who are shorter/uglier.

[housenuts]

i don't think your grades matter at all once you are done with school. if you have the piece of paper that says you graduated you're good.

the only thing is if you want to pursue more school. for example, a simple bachelors degree isn't much anymore. and if your grades for that weren't any good that could limit you from going on to a master's etc.

[swede123]

First of all, it's pretty common knowledge that resumes are only a first step. Graduating super-duper-cum-laude from Harvard with a 4.0 GPA will get you an interview over some other guy but once you get that interview it's up to you to convey that you possess the skills and attributes they are looking for.

That being said, GPA on your resume will matter more if it's an entry level job right out of college. Obviously GPA, and other college related stuff, becomes less relevant as you accumulate work experience.

Depending on what type of job you are searching the source of your education can be very important. Many blue chip companies, investment banks, law firms etc. look for degrees from top ten type schools (Harvard, Yale, Duke etc. etc.) but if you're looking for work elsewhere this has a smaller importance.

If you are asking these types of questions you really need to do some work on your resume skills. Purchase a good resume writing book, see if your college (if you are still in school) offers some kind of resume workshop or whatever, or look to hire a resume critiquer who'll review your resume and suggest ways to improve it.

Any of these methods will definitely improve your resume, but like I said in the beginning, ultimately it will be up to you yourself to impress a future employer.

Cheers,

Swede

[partygirluk]

[ QUOTE ]
Let's say the goal is to get a well paying job (or one that allows you to move up the ranks) and is somewhat interesting/furfilling to you.

How heavily would you weigh the importance of grades in college? Just how much of an edge would a 4.0 student have over a 2.0 GPA student? Throw in any variables you want (different schools, interview skills, activities, looks, etc)

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Grades are important, but one factor of many. Outstanding grades alone will not get you very far in a Law firm or financial firm.

I work for Deutsche Bank for a while. One of my colleagues was Jamie. He had previously spent 6 months as a stockbroker, was studying Economics, and had been in the Territorial Army for 2 years. The third of these was by far the most commonly brought up situation in interviews.

[soundgarden4]

I graduated 6 months ago from a tier one public university with a BA in finance. Grades do matter in the sense that some jobs require a minimum GPA (usually 3.0 out of 4.0 to even apply). There were some investment banking jobs that required a 3.4 to apply. Once you are above the threshold I don't think the number really means too much to them, i.e. a 3.2 looks about the same as a 3.8. Just my experience.

kevin

[istewart]

Dependent upon where you go and what you're applying for of course. Often just having a degree is enough. I'm sure as long as you graduate from the business school at my school you're quite well off as far as entry-level jobs go.

[AEKDBet]

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Taller/better-looking people tend to be more successful, as a whole, than those who are shorter/uglier.

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That is F-ked up. I guess I will wear some inserts in my shoes for the interview, and get a facial. Maybe do some tanning, get reservations at Dorcia...

[[censored]]

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I graduated 6 months ago from a tier one public university with a BA in finance. Grades do matter in the sense that some jobs require a minimum GPA (usually 3.0 out of 4.0 to even apply). There were some investment banking jobs that required a 3.4 to apply. Once you are above the threshold I don't think the number really means too much to them, i.e. a 3.2 looks about the same as a 3.8. Just my experience.

kevin

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Pretty much my experience in the accounting industry as well. The large firms all had a minimum GPA requirement between 3.3 & 3.5. So in those terms grades were very important. However once you got past that first hurdle, they were not important at all. Interviews focused on experiences and personality.

[BeerMoney]

Rather important for entry level jobs, and that's what I assume you're talking about.


At any competitive job interview that I had getting out of college I was asked my GPA. I was also asked for my transcripts to prove my GPA. Anyone I know that got a good job out of college was expected to do the same. If you want to go to work for a big company and get a big salary a good GPA and practical major are very important. If you just want to get a sales job, its not important.


if you are competing against 5 other people, they are going to make there decisions on a few things, and if your GPA is way lower than the other's, you will most likely hurt your chances.

Beer

[Boris]

If you want to get a good job then you should try to get good grades in college. Getting good grades requires a moderate dose of discipline, time management and eargerness to learn. These traits also happen to be helpful in being successful in your job. I don't think many people scrape by in college with a 2.0 GPA and then suddenly decide to get motivated for a job. Most of the people that don't need college to be successful probably realize it and just drop out. If you are in school you should try to get good grades in classes that are challenging and interesting to you. Hopefully you learn some cool stuff and you will always have more options with good grades than bad. You also need a little bit of luck to get a good job.

[partygirluk]

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Dependent upon where you go and what you're applying for of course. Often just having a degree is enough. I'm sure as long as you graduate from the business school at my school you're quite well off as far as entry-level jobs go.

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Depends what job. If you want to go to a high flying city job, a degree is nowhere near enough.