I graduated 5th in my class at the U of MN - Carlson School of Management.
Two A-'s, the rest were A's.
The students ranked 1-4 were all bought and paid for by their parents and took a year longer than me to graduate. I also worked full time.
I will never do that again and let that be a lesson to you kids out there - GPA's don't matter.
It is an issue of marginal benefit. Without trying your Captain is getting solid B's, low A's in his classes in computer networking. To eek out all A's I would have to nearly double my study time and life is frankly too short (actually it was the observation your Captain had that he got a B+ on his latest test and it didn't bother him, whereas 13 years ago it would have enraged me that prompted this post).
Since many of you are in college and in your youth, I suggest drinking more and partying more and studying less. The straight A's ain't worth it. Go do fun stuff, maintain a B average, and enjoy your life. Study, but take an intermittent break to chase girls or something (they won't let you catch them, but it's a fun game to play anyway). Besides, it ain't like there are any jobs out there for you anyway, and by now nepotism and cronyism has so corrupted the labor market, if you don't know anybody, then forget it. Life's too short.
12 comments:
I agree that grades are mostly worthless for undergrad. As a JD holder working for biglaw, however, I still get asked my GPA by prospective employers 10 years out. That's probably a function of the asshattery and poor management that's ubiquitous in biglaw, but it's still a fact that grades matter in some fields.
Very Wise. The old saying it is not what you know, it is who you know is so true.
Funny story; a guy I know was wild guy in his youth. Got kicked out of numberous high schools, his parents kept putting him in new schools to try to keep him out of trouble.
He winds up in Sales after finally graduating and makes money hand over fist because of all the people he got to know by attending all these different schools...
That's the way to do it.
That's actually the way I think all CS students view their classes. I remember one class in particular where every student in the classroom had figured out in advance of the final what it would take for them to get a C and/or a B, and just answered exactly that many questions on the final. (This instructor's tests took -me- up to two hours to complete, and I'm the guy who is done when everybody else has finished reading the first problem.)
Loser.
Not exactly true. I'm a computer engineering and physics double-major who is going to go for a PhD in physics (while starting my own company). I'm still in the higher math and general physics courses, but I'm maintaining a 4.0 GPA and it matters quite a lot. Since I'm a community college student who will be transferring, it's important that I have the highest GPA I can muster to maximize my chances at getting into a good school (which may mean a school a thousand miles away in Texas) and also at getting merit-based scholarships (I'm white and a guy). Already I'm on track to be eligible for a scholarship which will cover the rest of my associate's degree. There are also scholarships for two-year college students like me who will major in a STEM field. It gives you $30,000 a year. You can bet I'm angling for that and my GPA is important for that too.
Once I get my bachelor's degree(s) I will need a GPA of at least 3.5 if I want a great job (assuming I don't start my company right away) in engineering or to get accepted to a good grad school, and a 3.0 if I merely want a job in engineering. The 3.5 and 3.0 figures come from numerous discussions with engineers and head-hunters in engineering forums, as well as physics PhD students.
So, maintaining a high GPA can save me a lot of money in tuition and living expenses, broaden my options for both employment and grad school, and give me mucho bragging rights. Unfortunately having a knack for vectors doesn't impress the ladies. I'm thinking of buying a motorcycle with a built-in gun (or just building one, after a couple more Newtonian mechanics classes).
That's all well and good for you, cap. However, some of us are on scholarships based on GPA, and if I fall under a 3.8 I drop to the next tier (which is about $3000 less per year).
Then again, my natural procastinatory habits keep me from studying any more than the minimal amount necessary...
Generally I agree, but with one caution. If your chosen career depends on completing graduate studies, grades do count. And often students in college/undergraduate programs don't understand that until it is too late.
Duly noted about grad school and scholarship merit.
But I would even go so far as to say straight A's isn't worth the measly $3,000 per year.
And Jacob, please don't ruin your youth. You will be sorely crushed when you realize just how little people care about your hard work and your dedication. YOu might find a good employer that would appreciate that spirit, but you have to realize it's like being the best mechanic on the Titanic.
Sound advice. Except to the kids in my classes, who should ignore it.
I'm with you cap.
My final year of engineering I got just over 3.0 mainly to keep the grad school route open. But most of the times my gpa hovered far closer to 2.0 then 4.0. I worked 2 jobs through most of school, payed my own way and generally had a good time (sometimes too good).
Strangely enough when job hunting season came around (jan-feb of 4th year) I had interviews at nearly every job I applied for. Not becuase I had 3.8+ grades like many of my friends but becuase I had great work experience.
If you have no relevant work experience then yes GPA maters, but once you have 1 iota of experience no one cares if you got a C in some history class or that B- in organic chemistry.
I graduated from a pretty good school a few months ago with a 3.8 (look at my name to figure out which one it was). I majored in Whisky and Skirt Chasing. If you can't get a 3.5 from a quality school (ie the primary public university for the state), you are not that intelligent. If you can't get a 3.0, you are a certifiable retard who shouldn't have gone to college in the first place.
College was in all honesty, far easier than high school was. I got a 3.8, and it did matter because now I'm getting my MA in Econ from a much better school than I went to for undergrad. But I made sure that my education never got in the way of my drinking and partying and lady friends.
Sorry if this post sounds mean. It's the truth though.
I actually got *ALL* A's, not even any A-'s to pad it out, and I've gradually come to agree with you. Here's my post on the topic: Getting Straight As Exactly like you said, the huge extra work needed for those last few points is NOT worth it at all. If anything, grad schools or employers would look at the perfect 4.0, and think, "Does this guy have autism??"
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