academic records and the job market

[alanfutures]

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?

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Edited June 12, 2016 by alanfutures

[rising_star]

When you apply, people will ask for the transcripts of every institution you've attended so they will see the marks from your MA. You don't say what area you want to go into or anything about your research experience so it's difficult to say what options are open to you as you proceed. One thing you may want to do is take time off before pursuing additional graduate work to gain "real world" experience, which can be advantageous in the application process.

[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.

Edited June 13, 2016 by alanfutures

[Sigaba]

IME, background checks for private sector jobs center around verifying the information you provide IRT your education: institutions attended, dates of attendance, degrees earned. If you're asked about your GPA, the background check will be to verify the number you provide.

I got dinged ever so slightly on a background check when I was rehired at my present job because I was a month off in my high school graduate date. My division recently let go of a consultant because he didn't have the degree he said.

The assessment of your education will come during the job interview and exam.

I recommend that you get into the frame of mind that you're willing to give a prospective employer at least two years of your undivided attention. Finding, hiring, and training qualified employees costs a lot of time and money. Firms may balk at making a job offer to someone who isn't committed. To be clear, unless directly asked a question such as "Where do you see yourself in ten years?" don't offer your plans to go back to the Ivory Tower. Do not lie, but do not say anything you don't need to say.

Please understand that, at least in the U.S., it is a buyers' market. Before the recession, interns at my firm were typically collegians between their junior and senior years. Now, interns often have master's degrees.

[juilletmercredi]

Depends on what kinds of jobs. In my experience, most jobs don't really care too much about your GPA, including academic jobs. They may ask for transcripts or verify your attendance just to ensure that you actually have the degree in hand, but the GPA likely won't matter much.

Of course the GPA matters for PhD admissions, though. A 3.0 for an MA program is perceived as pretty low in the U.S., and may make admission to PhD programs difficult.

Before you go more deeply into debt for another MA or an MPhil, I'd consult with some trusted advisors in academia and see if a second master's degree would even help you with admissions to a PhD program. In my field, even one MA is more than you need; a prospective student with a lowish MA GPA would be better-served by working as a research assistant (university is ideal; industry is okay too) for a couple years and maybe taking a few graduate-level classes to show competence. The glowing recommendation of a research supervisor about the research potential of such a student could be worth a lot.

However, you may be being too hard on yourself. I am not very familiar with UK grading scales, but a bit of poking around seems to indicate that a 65% upper second class honors in the UK may actually be closer to a 3.5-3.7. The World Education Services grading conversion scale (https://www.wes.org/gradeconversionguide/index.asp) seems to indicate that upper second class honors is the equivalent of a A-/B+ average, which is usually a 3.3-3.7 range. Anecdoctal accounts seem to indicate that a 65.5% is actually relatively close to a first class honors, so that would push you up the scale towards a 3.5ish at least.