alanfutures

thanks for your response! i know that people will ask for my transcripts, but what i'm not sure about is how they'll regard the marks they see. my research experience is like most others who have degrees humanities disciplines, if that is what you're asking? it is unfortunately limited to coursework (and a thesis). now that i'm finished, i'm writing, researching, and translating in my free time, hopefully for publication. for an m.a. or m.phil, i've been looking at some history departments and a lot of politics departments. i think working before applying is great advice, but i'm curious to hear what options you think are still open.

hi all, i have an inquiry about the impact of academic records on phd applications, in job searches, etc, because i'm contemplating giving up my dreams of ever entering academia. in short, i graduated with a b.a. in a humanities discipline, achieving a 3.45 cumulatively (and a 3.93 in the last two years). like any other bright, passionate humanities student, i sought an m.a. soon thereafter and was awarded a scholarship to attend a relatively prestigious foreign school. for a number of reasons, the program wasn't really right for me, and in the end, i graduated with what they call 'upper second class honours', a 'good 2:1' -- a 65.5%, which roughly translates to something like a 3.0 on the 4.0 scale. now, burdened with an enormous amount of student debt and a mediocre m.a., i am finding it difficult to properly orient myself toward the future. on the one hand, i'm tempted to find work 'in the world ', where i might be able to put my skills to practical use. on the other hand, my dreams of researching, publishing, and working for a university will simply not relent, and i'm entertaining ideas about pursuing yet another m.a. (or m.phil) to prove that i am cut out for graduate work, that my work can achieve distinction, and to demonstrate potential that i know is there. i know that academia is meritocratic and thus seek advice about whether mediocre marks from a first m.a., in conjunction with my undergraduate work, will be used against me when applying for phds and jobs in the future. should i give it all up? what should i do? x