[CDBacklash]

I graduated with a large amount of honours (not in the US, mind you), and have not had a job in over a year because I have no work experience outside of music gigs at pubs. Since I cant do that anymore, I have nowhere to go.
Quite frankly theyre meaningless. I've been rejected from 4 fast food places because of lack of experience even though I could probably learn the stuff in about 10 minutes.

 

[Khanate]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mookowz13 /img/forum/go_quote.gif In my experience here, an hours degree is nice to have, but really doesn't benefit you that much unless you plan on taking a masters/doctors later on.

Only in certain fields or for ivy league. Most universities accepted me for masters with a 3.02 and nothing special attached. From a top 15 uni, but still in the lower half of the class.

 

[moogoob]

I've found that in my field (graphic design) "put up or shut up" is the name of the game. Work experience and being able to do my job well is what matters. My schooling... makes for funny stories sometimes, and helps only insofar as what I've learned can be applied to my job.

Might be different in other fields, though.

 

[purk]

If you plan to work right after your graduation, it isn't a big deal. Honors only matter if you choose to continue on with the graduate degree. I missed an honor mark by 0.1 and it wasn't that big of a deal. Personality & experience count a whole lot more than GPA.

 

[linuxworks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pcloadletter /img/forum/go_quote.gif Employers will respond the same way regardles if they see "3.8" or "3.8 magna cumlaude". Don't worry about not getting the respect you deserve either, the 6 yrs experience will likely speak the loudest to employers. They tend to value experience more than anything else.

I certainly do!

I ignore their school - completely 100% ignore it - when I interview other engineers in my field.

I can tell all I need to know just by talking with them for an hour.

good interviewers can look beyond schools IF you have work experience. its only those that have none that school starts to matter (again, in engr, my field).

more often than not, its the 'highly schooled' software guys that I fear the most, in terms of supporting their code! eggheads often are quite disconnected with writing SUPPORTABLE code.

so, I'm a bit biased. school often gets in the WAY of a quality education.

 

[Omega]

I'll present a minority opinion here. Prestige matters. It is easy to downplay honors, especially if you haven't achieved them yourself. I have gone to big state universities and prestigious private universities, and there is a marked difference in the overall competitiveness of my peers (in favor of the prestigious private universities). It is similarly easy to justify the path you have taken as being equally great to any alternative path...but you can never know what kinds of opportunities you may have had with the 4.0 GPA, honors, etc. That's life, eh?

Now, when hiring for jobs, as others have said...it usually boils down to a smallish number of satisfactory candidates. Looking good on paper will get you past the filters and onto that short list. But experience and personal qualities will be what get you from the short list of candidates to the payroll. A 3.8 GPA is good, regardless, who cares about the latin accolades.