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Would it be better for me to not mention my degree?
Here is the situation I am in as I am applying for jobs (I am working at the moment but wouldn't mind getting something else soon).
When I was at University, for reasons I'll not go into, I made a mess of my degree, and ended up graduating without honours. Those are the facts. so I would appreciate if people left constructive comments rather than criticising me, i know already why that happened.
I now feel that is the worst possible situation to be in when I have looked at applying for jobs. I'm stuck both ways. Firstly, I am unable to apply for graduate jobs because they would not ever entertain anyone who does not have at least a 2:1 level or above of degree. Secondly, it's difficult to find something at a lower level than a graduate job because they see a degree of any sort being too highly qualified.
I sometimes think to myself it would be more beneficial for me to pretend that I don't have a degree at all. Would this be a good idea given what I have said?
When I was at University, for reasons I'll not go into, I made a mess of my degree, and ended up graduating without honours. Those are the facts. so I would appreciate if people left constructive comments rather than criticising me, i know already why that happened.
I now feel that is the worst possible situation to be in when I have looked at applying for jobs. I'm stuck both ways. Firstly, I am unable to apply for graduate jobs because they would not ever entertain anyone who does not have at least a 2:1 level or above of degree. Secondly, it's difficult to find something at a lower level than a graduate job because they see a degree of any sort being too highly qualified.
I sometimes think to myself it would be more beneficial for me to pretend that I don't have a degree at all. Would this be a good idea given what I have said?
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How would you explain the big gap in your cv then? You will have 3 years at Uni which if you don't mention will look like you spent 3 years sitting at home.
There aren't any blanks in my job history, though. I was working throughout the entire three years of University, actuallly for the same company that I still work for today. So, there isn't a need to use the degree to fill in an employment gap.
Can't you just be vague and put on your cv that you got a degree in whatever it is and not mention the honours bit? No-one will check.
I'd mention the degree, just not the classification, and there is always the possibility of improving it with distance learning (e.g. the OU)
Most jobs specifically aimed at graduates (which I believe is the position OP is in) these days ask for a 2:1 or above and it will be stated on the ad. My company does and they do check, people have had job offers withdrawn because of it.
Or the nick.
OP, is there no way you can 'top up' your degree to get the Hons?
In the short term I would only mention that you have a degree and don't mention the classification unless someone asks about it. Forget graduate entry jobs until you have sorted out your degree or until you have substantial work experience in the relevant area.
Erm without honours isn't a 2:2 it's a third.
On your cv list the degree without the grade. As others have said it will account for the time you spent on it.
If you get to interview it might well come up so you should be prepared to discuss why you think you got that grade, that will be your chance to spin it into something more positive. Lessons learned, knew it was a subject you hated 2 years in but determined to complete etc
Tbh though if you go into a job which isn't specifically a grad job and work your way up you will still benefit more from having a degree than not when it comes to being considered for promotion, and the grade will be much less of a factor.
Best of luck
And don't mention the 2:2 until someone asks. I never did, and they didn't actually care.
He's explained the gap in his cv, although I still wouldn't leave it off.
I have looked into to doing top ups, but seem to get conflicting information. I was under the impression that once a degree classification was awarded, that's it. There's nothing you can do about it unless you do the whole thing again. Is that not the case?
As others have said, put the degree on but leave off the grade. Your going to struggle with graduate positions, but its not impossible. What area are you looking in?
One you have a few years of experience under your belt your degree grade is largely moot anyway.
For my very first job though (cleaner in a bingo hall) I pretended not to have a degree. Was married at the time and I just said I had been at home living the life of a kept woman!
Lower than that - the classifications would be: 1st, 2:1, 2:2, 3rd, Pass and then Fail.
A third takes some stunningly consistent mediocrity to get. A pass degree is usually for other reasons like having to retake a year through failing exams (e.g. in my case) or illness / death of a parent. A lot depends on the specific rules of the college (I had enough passes and grades to scrape a 2:1, but had failed 6 modules when you were only allowed to fail 4 in the last 2 years (I still had 21 passes which was all you needed for an honours and my average was over 60%). Bitter - yes for about 5 years, not for the past 28 years.
The OU allows credit transfer from a degree so you might only need to do 2-4 Level 3 courses.
I would definitely put the degree in the CV though. Unfortunately I do think employers care about degree class at entry level (it matters less 10 years into your career). Even if you can't get into the big graduate schemes, medium or small companies may be willing to employ you if you have relevant work experience.
Did you go you a good standard university? For example, a 2:2 from Oxford may carry the same weight as as 2:1 from Bucks Uni or whatever it's called.
Honours Degree classifications work this way.
A First, 2.1 or 2.2, or 3rd class of Honours
If you don't get sufficient passes in your modules to even get a 3rd then you qualify for the degree without Honours, ie a Pass Degree.
Or you can fail!
Anyone with any degree can use it as part credit towards another degree through transfer of credits to another University such as the Open University. I believe in this case the OP would only need a few courses to complete the honours degree with them but he needs to apply for credit transfer to see exactly what he needs to do.
No not really, meaning it isn't worth the bit of paper it's written on.
To get a degree when working full time shows commitment and is worthy of mention even if you didn't get the grade you wanted. A good employer will take this into consideration.
On the negative side not including the degree could cause problems down the line when they discover you do have a degree as essentially you have lied by omission and they may start to wonder what else you have kept from them
good luck
True, but surely it is not nearly as bad as doing it the other way round ie. pretending you've got one when you don't.
Also, how likely would it be that they'd actually find out or even bother looking?
Can I ask re. top-ups or credit transfers, is there anyone here who has done that or knows someone who has?