do work experiences overweigh low/average gpa?

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giantqtipz

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Hey guys. So some of you might know me as the circumcised virgin based on my previous threads (a couple of pages back), but I'm also a college student hoping to secure a job (and get laid hopefully) before I graduate next year.

So I'm about to end my junior year. My gpa is 2.9 and I kind of have a feeling that it can either go up or go down by the end of the semester, and I blame my professors for it. I currently have 3 professors who just lecture out of their ass. They told us to buy textbooks, but don't refer to them at all, but we are still responsible for everything in it. I don't want to go into further details because there is no point really. But apart from that, I'm also about to finish my 4th internship. I have some extra curics, like being a TA for anthropology course (lol) as well some volunteering and that's about it.

Now I have a pretty low gpa, and I'm a finance major so I don't know if 2.9 is bad? All my internships are in the business/financing side of media/film making companies, since I'm not interested in financial services ( just realized that recently). I'm not going to switch majors either since I will have to spend more time in college.

But what do you guys think? Do experiences outweigh low gpas? Or does a low gpa with plenty of work experiences show a lack of consistency, as in an inability to balance work-school? Of course I'm going to bring my gpa up higher, but I doubt I can get it anywhere near 3.5..
 
ok well, if somebody else got a higher grade in those same classes, then it couldn't have just been the professors now could it? come on now, a lot of teachers are ass but you should be far away from the highschool "it's the teacher's fault" phase.

as for the gpa question, yeah just about anything is more important than gpa. however, getting experience at an internship might rely on a good gpa to get into it in the first place. this also probably depends on the field, so maybe i shouldn't be talking about finance. I guess you already have internships under your belt so you're set? did you get any valuable connections through any of them?

have an impressive resume and experience to back yourself up, learn how to talk to people. maintaining a 3.0+ will help, but again, how much that matters could depend. do you have a minor you could pursue instead? i imagine your gpa isn't very high because you've admitted to not being motivated towards your major. that's a more honest excuse but you are not going to enjoy yourself in a career you dislike -- not to mention it's harder for unmotivated individuals to find a job compared to people who actually care.

also i may be talking out of my ass, so look for more valuable posts.
 
@panzerfaust
I had a few teachers in College in my major that were known for being especially difficult to please. I had some really bad grades in two classes that really drug down my average. I had two friends who I'd consider smarter than me that also did very poorly in one of the teacher's classes. It is the case sometimes...

As for GPA, it matters for the first job (and only sometimes), and after that nobody cares.
 
[quote name='panzerfaust']ok well, if somebody else got a higher grade in those same classes, then it couldn't have just been the professors now could it? come on now, a lot of teachers are ass but you should be far away from the highschool "it's the teacher's fault" phase.

as for the gpa question, yeah just about anything is more important than gpa. however, getting experience at an internship might rely on a good gpa to get into it in the first place. this also probably depends on the field, so maybe i shouldn't be talking about finance.

have an impressive resume and experience to back yourself up, learn how to talk to people. maintaining a 3.0+ will help, but again, how much that matters could depend. do you have a minor you could pursue instead? i imagine your gpa isn't very high because you've admitted to not being motivated towards your major. that's a more honest excuse but you are not going to enjoy yourself in a career you dislike -- not to mention it's harder for unmotivated individuals to find a job compared to people who actually care.[/QUOTE]

ah thanks for the advice. that is true. i struggle in classes that im not interested in, because i have no desire to learn it (procrastinate, didnt want to pick up the book etc.)

im minoring in anthropology, which is completely non related to finance.
however i guess i shouldnt say that im not interested in finance; because i did like the work i did in my internships. perhaps it just depends on the industry that i apply finance to..

right nowmy goal is to get a job before i graduate. i dont think ill work anymore since my senior year is coming up. then ill have more time to focus on my studies.

but i just dont know if what i have is enough to get a job before i a graduate. does that even happen often? (getting a job before graduating?) my friend was a bioengineering major and secured a job at l'oreal before graduation. maybe i should ask him how he did it.. though he has a science degree and im a business major.. ugh..

networking perhaps is what i ahve to do.. but talk to who?? counselors?
 
[quote name='giantqtipz']So I'm about to end my junior year. My gpa is 2.9 and I kind of have a feeling that it can either go up or go down by the end of the semester, and I blame my professors for it. I currently have 3 professors who just lecture out of their ass.[/QUOTE]

Forget everything else - that attitude is going to be your #1 problem in landing a job.

Whiny self-entitled brats are dime-a-dozen at colleges, my guess is that you don't even know we have you pegged less then halfway through the interview (if you get that far).

To answer your question - a below average GPA won't necessarily torpedo your chances, but it puts any decision to hire you under pressure, so you better figure out how to dazzle interviewers.
 
I know several friends of mine who absolutely hate the field they have their degree in. They never doubted it while in school but the world itself is a mighty different place.
 
First off, how did you do four internships? Don't companies require that interns are taking a credit course for it, and what university would allow the intern credit to be repeated?

Second, if you interned at four companies and didn't get a full time position offer for after graduation, you're prob fucked beyond your GPA. (Which you want to be at 3.25 or higher cumulatively)
 
Haha I definitely don't talk about other people in my interviews. But ok I guess I should stop the blame game. But haven't you ever had a professor who seemed to not care about their students or for their jobs?

I'm not talking about my professors being hard. My current corporate finance professor is like a drill sergeant, but he can at least teach.

Difficulty doesn't matter to me, but what I do mind are professors who don't have a plan.

After a while you just begin to realize the qualities that separates a great teacher from a good one and a bad one.

Of course, in the end its my fault since I registered for those courses with the bad professors; and I should just do what I have to do; but I just can't comprehend why my school hired them in the first place?
 
[quote name='QiG']First off, how did you do four internships? Don't companies require that interns are taking a credit course for it, and what university would allow the intern credit to be repeated?

Second, if you interned at four companies and didn't get a full time position offer for after graduation, you're prob fucked beyond your GPA. (Which you want to be at 3.25 or higher cumulatively)[/QUOTE]

First, many schools have a cap on the number of internship credits you can earn but usually you're free to intern as at as many or as few companies as you want to meet that cap if you want to meet it. Usually there is a range of units you can complete per semester/quarter based on the number of hours you work at the internship.

And second, most graduate level internships don't equal job offers even if you do a good job. Undergrad internships most certainly don't automatically turn into job offers. So much depends on what kind of company it is, where any openings are, and what the economy is like. Jeez.
 
[quote name='QiG']First off, how did you do four internships? Don't companies require that interns are taking a credit course for it, and what university would allow the intern credit to be repeated?

Second, if you interned at four companies and didn't get a full time position offer for after graduation, you're prob fucked beyond your GPA. (Which you want to be at 3.25 or higher cumulatively)[/QUOTE]

Not all internships offer college credits. They're technically not "internships" but the work were related and relevant to the field I'm majoring in.

I started interning since freshman year, and I didn't report to the school, because they were paid, gave no credits, but at the same time only lasts one semester. My current one is the only one I'm getting credit for.
 
There are bad professors out there for sure. But unless it's a very hard class that really needs quality teaching to understand the material (calculus, physics etc.) then it's still on the students to do the work to get good grades.

You're spending the money to go to school and thus should strive to get as high a gpa as possible to get maximum benefit out of it on the job market, applying for grad school/med school/law school etc. if you decide to go that route.

Also a lot of professors you think suck probably aren't professors. At research universities something like 70% of under grad classes are taught by adjuncts (part time instructors) and grad students rather than tenured/tenure track professors. Not that there aren't tenured faculty who suck at teaching, but being a prof. and I can say for our department that for the most part the only courses getting bad student evaluations are those taught by grad students and adjuncts. Only one prof gets rough evaluations, and that's just for being an uber-strict hardass.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']There are bad professors out there for sure. But unless it's a very hard class that really needs quality teaching to understand the material (calculus, physics etc.) then it's still on the students to do the work to get good grades.

You're spending the money to go to school and thus should strive to get as high a gpa as possible to get maximum benefit out of it on the job market, applying for grad school/med school/law school etc. if you decide to go that route.

Also a lot of professors you think suck probably aren't professors. At research universities something like 70% of under grad classes are taught by adjuncts (part time instructors) and grad students rather than tenured/tenure track professors. Not that there aren't tenured faculty who suck at teaching, but being a prof. and I can say for our department that for the most part the only courses getting bad student evaluations are those taught by grad students and adjuncts. Only one prof gets rough evaluations, and that's just for being an uber-strict hardass.[/QUOTE]

Ah that explains it because I saw my hot marketing professor, studying in the library..
 
[quote name='giantqtipz']Ah that explains it because I saw my hot marketing professor, studying in the library..[/QUOTE]

If you want to see if they're professors, check their department's website and see if they're listed under faculty. If they're not on there and listed as an Assistant Professor, Associated Professor or Professor (those are the three promotional ranks) then they're an adjunct or grad student. You could see Emeritius Professor and that just means they were a full professor who retired but is teaching some courses. Anything like Distinguished Professor etc. is just added distinctions they've been given.
 
[quote name='giantqtipz']Hey guys. So some of you might know me as the circumcised virgin based on my previous threads (a couple of pages back), but I'm also a college student hoping to secure a job (and get laid hopefully) before I graduate next year.

So I'm about to end my junior year. My gpa is 2.9 and I kind of have a feeling that it can either go up or go down by the end of the semester, and I blame my professors for it. I currently have 3 professors who just lecture out of their ass. They told us to buy textbooks, but don't refer to them at all, but we are still responsible for everything in it. I don't want to go into further details because there is no point really. But apart from that, I'm also about to finish my 4th internship. I have some extra curics, like being a TA for anthropology course (lol) as well some volunteering and that's about it.

Now I have a pretty low gpa, and I'm a finance major so I don't know if 2.9 is bad? All my internships are in the business/financing side of media/film making companies, since I'm not interested in financial services ( just realized that recently). I'm not going to switch majors either since I will have to spend more time in college.

But what do you guys think? Do experiences outweigh low gpas? Or does a low gpa with plenty of work experiences show a lack of consistency, as in an inability to balance work-school? Of course I'm going to bring my gpa up higher, but I doubt I can get it anywhere near 3.5..[/QUOTE]

I'll explain it to you like it was explained to me. You know what the last person in a medical school is called? Doctor. They look at your degree few places bother with transcripts it's a pain in the ass looking through all the resumes and stuff. Don't put your GPA on a resume unless you had a 3.5 or higher.
 
Is it really possible to be a junior in college and not know who the real professors are?


[quote name='silentevil']I'll explain it to you like it was explained to me. You know what the last person in a medical school is called? Doctor. They look at your degree few places bother with transcripts it's a pain in the ass looking through all the resumes and stuff. Don't put your GPA on a resume unless you had a 3.5 or higher.[/QUOTE]

There's a big difference between medical school and East Podunk State. If you went to a top tier college, then maybe you can get away with a mediocre gpa. But for the most part, if I'm hiring someone out of college, I'll ignore the average GPA if they have great work experience. But all things being equal, I'll hire the person with a better GPA and the same quality school.
 
[quote name='confoosious']Is it really possible to be a junior in college and not know who the real professors are?[/QUOTE]

Sure. I'd actually say the majority of students I teach have no idea what real professor is.

They just go to classes, party etc. They have no idea how higher education works and the difference between faculty and adjuncts etc.

I cared when I was in undergrad and tried to take as many classes as I could from faculty and avoid the grad student and adjunct classes. I only had one real professor I thought sucked as an undergrad, while most of the adjuncts and grad students weren't very good with a couple of exceptions.
 
[quote name='confoosious']Is it really possible to be a junior in college and not know who the real professors are?[/QUOTE]

It can be pretty confoosing to be honest.. Yea I don't know what I'm saying

And DAMN dmaul you're a professor? And you're on CAG? That's sexy. What do you teach?
 
[quote name='silentevil']I'll explain it to you like it was explained to me. You know what the last person in a medical school is called? Doctor. They look at your degree few places bother with transcripts it's a pain in the ass looking through all the resumes and stuff. Don't put your GPA on a resume unless you had a 3.5 or higher.[/QUOTE]

Lack of a GPA on a transcript is a red flag that it's probably low though.

High GPA matters a lot more today when every job is getting a ton of applications and most all of them have degrees.

It's not going to outweigh work experience or having connections by any means. But having a high GPA from a decent school on the resume is one more thing that will make your application a tad less likely to go straight to file 9.

But really, who you know is always more important.
 
Ehh.. well to reply more on topic: The last place I interviewed at asked me about my GPA and the GPA I got in my specific major courses and I've been out of college for about four years now with 3 years of relevant work experience as well.
 
I was always under the impression undergrad GPA meant very little. It's pretty difficult to judge someone based solely on a GPA, considering variations in grading between majors and schools. Where you went is probably more important. A 3.75 from nowhere U is probably going to be less impressive then a 3.2 for an Ivy. Also, a 3.75 in liberal arts can't really be compared to a 3.2 in Biomed Eng. But, of course, the thing that really matters is who you know.
 
[quote name='giantqtipz']Ah that explains it because I saw my hot marketing professor, studying in the library..[/QUOTE]

I'd be asking for a discount on tuition. Why should you be paying for someone else's learning?

This is CAG, is it not?
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']Sure. I'd actually say the majority of students I teach have no idea what real professor is.

They just go to classes, party etc. They have no idea how higher education works and the difference between faculty and adjuncts etc.
[/QUOTE]

thats quite sad.
 
i think most students know when their teacher is a grad student, in fact that's what most assume if the instructor is young.

luckily they mostly teach basic gen eds, but some find a way to even make those a nightmare.
 
Lots of social science classes also get taught by grad students, as well as labs in the hard sciences.

I agree most students probably no when they teacher is a grad student. But they don't know the difference between adjuncts and professors since you don't generally have the age difference there.
 
A lot of actual professors aren't great teachers any ways. Some are brilliant scholars who can publish like none other, but aren't that great at actually communicating that knowledge to their students. I had a lot of prof's in grad school who literally wrote the textbook for the class but sucked at teaching and would just read off their power points. I've also had prof's who were far less prestigious who were actually passionate about teaching and really tried to engage their students.

Besides, I learned incredibly little practical information in my years of higher education.
 
Just varies, there are professors who stink at teaching for sure. I try to do a good job at it, but my research definitely comes first as that's what I enjoy and what I get judged on for tenure and promotion. But I get pretty good teaching evaluations so I'm doing alright I think.

But anyway, like I said in my experience more of the actual profs do better in the classroom than grad students or adjuncts. I only had one actual prof I thought sucked when I was an undergrad, and one in grad school that was mediocre. All the others were at least good if not great. Most of the classes I had with adjuncts or grad students were crappy or mediocre with a couple exceptions. But I suppose that's the luck of the draw.

Also, like I said, where I work now the only real complaints we get are about adjuncts and grad students, with the exception of one prof that gets complaints because they're a hard ass and fail a lot of students.
 
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When I graduated college my GPA was a 2.8. I was able to apply with a temp agency and now I have a good job for a few months right out of college. Work experience throughout school definitely helps offset a low GPA. Not to mention, internships show companies initiative. You definitely want to try and secure one before trying to get a job. Very few jobs ask for or require a certain GPA so I wouldn't sweat it much.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']Just varies, there are professors who stink at teaching for sure. I try to do a good job at it, but my research definitely comes first as that's what I enjoy and what I get judged on for tenure and promotion. But I get pretty good teaching evaluations so I'm doing alright I think.

But anyway, like I said in my experience more of the actual profs due better in the classroom than grad students or adjuncts. I only had one actual prof I thought sucked when I was an undergrad, and one in grad school that was mediocre. All the others were at least good if not great. Most of the classes I had with adjuncts or grad students were crappy or mediocre with a couple exceptions. But I suppose that's the luck of the draw.

Also, like I said, where I work now the only real complaints we get are about adjuncts and grad students, with the exception of one prof that gets complaints because they're a hard ass and fail a lot of students.[/QUOTE]

Dmaul what do you teach?
 
It's been a while since I've interviewed/hired any new grads but all things being equal, I'll take the higher GPA. That said, it also never happens. No matter what their GPA is, if the person can't hold a conversation or their personality is on par with that of a jelly bean, they're out.

After your first job, experience and perfomance at said job are far more important that your actual major in college, let alone your GPA. I work at a large financial services firm in compliance and my undergrad degree is in computer science. Go figure.
 
2.9 in Finance? :rofl:

Yes, you are the bitches of us accounting majors.

Sorry, nothing personal, just needed to troll you. It's our job as accountants.

[quote name='camoor']Forget everything else - that attitude is going to be your #1 problem in landing a job.

Whiny self-entitled brats are dime-a-dozen at colleges, my guess is that you don't even know we have you pegged less then halfway through the interview (if you get that far).

To answer your question - a below average GPA won't necessarily torpedo your chances, but it puts any decision to hire you under pressure, so you better figure out how to dazzle interviewers.[/QUOTE]

This. The internships should help though.
 
I hate to tell you Dead of Knight, but accounting majors end up being the absolute most miserable people in the workforce.

It's a very thankless job and everyone kinda hates you.
 
[quote name='confoosious']I hate to tell you Dead of Knight, but accounting majors end up being the absolute most miserable people in the workforce.

It's a very thankless job and everyone kinda hates you.[/QUOTE]

it's also a very useful degree that leads to an actual job, which is somewhat rare in this economy. a miserable job is better than no job.
 
DoK's posted before that she had a Big 3 accounting job and hated it and quit and works for a smaller company now and is much happier.

From her "Super Bitch" user title I'd guess she doesn't mind people hating her anyway. :D
 
[quote name='Dead of Knight']2.9 in Finance? :rofl:

Yes, you are the bitches of us accounting majors.
[/QUOTE]

haha thats funny.

my corporate finance professor today said that in my school, the students who cant survive accounting move to finance; and students who cant deal with finance move on to economics; cant deal with economics? then move on to marketing.
 
[quote name='necrojustice']As for GPA, it matters for the first job (and only sometimes), and after that nobody cares.[/QUOTE]

Depends on how long your first job lasts. If it's only a year or two, it'll definitely still matter. If it's 5+ years, and you have experience to show for it, then no, it won't matter.

[quote name='QiG']First off, how did you do four internships? Don't companies require that interns are taking a credit course for it, and what university would allow the intern credit to be repeated?[/QUOTE]

We had co-op credit that could be used for 3 credits in your degree (I think it was 3). You could also intern for no credit, but get experience.

[quote name='kodave']And second, most graduate level internships don't equal job offers even if you do a good job. Undergrad internships most certainly don't automatically turn into job offers. So much depends on what kind of company it is, where any openings are, and what the economy is like. Jeez.[/QUOTE]

This. A lot of companies, unfortunately, are using interns as cheap labor, without really an intent on hiring them. This was not as widespread 5 years ago. Also, most companies can't hire every intern that they use. If you're not the best intern there, then your chances drop off.

[quote name='dmaul1114']Lack of a GPA on a transcript is a red flag that it's probably low though.[/QUOTE]

You WILL get asked even if you leave it out. It's one of the advice given for resumes that I have never ever understood.
 
[quote name='giantqtipz']haha thats funny.

my corporate finance professor today said that in my school, the students who cant survive accounting move to finance; and students who cant deal with finance move on to economics; cant deal with economics? then move on to marketing.[/QUOTE]

And if you can't handle marketing like some of my dipshit freshman year suitemates, then you leave the business school altogether and take on a worthless major like textiles and clothing or family science. Yes, really. No, I still don't think they have real jobs. And one of them is still in school, six years later.

[quote name='dmaul1114']DoK's posted before that she had a Big 3 accounting job and hated it and quit and works for a smaller company now and is much happier.

From her "Super Bitch" user title I'd guess she doesn't mind people hating her anyway. :D[/QUOTE]

Actually I'm leaving that job pretty soon too. Husband is getting transferred to Boston. I was going to leave this job within a year's time anyway as I can't handle the busy season requirement of 55 hour weeks including mandatory Saturdays for 3 months straight. Working 55 hours at the end of the month during a month-end? Ok. Working 55 hours a week for 3 months straight with no breaks or holidays? fuck you. It was ok last year since I started two weeks into the season (out of 12/13) and had taken a month break between jobs. Not so much this year. I was sick for a whole month and I'm still not 100% and I fully blame my job for my recovery taking so long. I like the work, but I can't handle this retarded busy season requirement. I'm not even in tax.
 
Yeah, that kind of work isn't for everyone. I typically log 50-60 hour weeks, but I don't mind it that much most of the time as I enjoy the work for the most part. Just gets frustrating when too much time is getting taking up by BS besides research and teaching.
 
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