THE BORE
General => The Superdeep Borehole => Topic started by: CrystalGemini on January 11, 2008, 04:38:40 AM
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Ok, so there's an ongoing discussion between a group of my friends and I about whether grades matter or not in finding a job. I've recently been elected to office in the honor society we are all a part of and would like to voice my opinion and experiences in the matter: grades play a very minimal role in helping you find a job. Yes it is an "honor society", but it also doubles as the school's community service club.
Just some background on the situation, we are all art students (Interior Design, Graphic Design, Media Arts and Animation, Web Design, Fashion Design, and Fashion Marketing represented). Though I realize every employer is different, creative fields such as those listed above go by a different criteria than those in, let's say, an accounting field. For example, as some of you may know a portfolio of your work is required during the interview process. It is in some ways more important than your resume as it demonstrates (vs. tells) what skills you have mastered and your creative capacities.
Attitude/Character is also extremely important as most jobs in these fields are team oriented, face-to-face every minute jobs.
Yes, grades CAN help. Like if two potential candidates have both shown themselves equally bright and promising during the interview(s) the GPA can be the deciding factor. But the amount of time and effort put towards strictly getting that honors award (as opposed to gaining experiences through internships/jobs...etc) is baffling to me.
Just because you rock in the classroom does not mean you are a good worker.
What are your thoughts, Evilborians?
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I agree, especially in fields like art.
My GPA is 2.8 I think, which is pretty bad, but you really only put your grades on your first resume, so I'm not too worried.
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In creative fields, managing your finances also becomes a huge factor in your GPA. Half the students I know work full time to pay off their financial aid. You add that to having to take five classes with roughly 20-40 hours out-of-class homework time and your grades are sure to suffer.
Employers know this - they've been through it at some time in their lives.
***Mind you, the above mentioned students are NOT the students I'm having trouble with. The other half of art students are the ones that are so well off they have their tuition paid off, don't pay rent, get a new car every year...etc.
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I've been asked in only two interviews what my GPA was. The rest of the interviews I've had were more interested in my knowledge of specific subject matter related to the field.
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i've never been asked my gpa
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i've never been asked my gpa
Same here. Portfolios and internships are bigger deal breakers in the creative fields.
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My thought is that your GPA can be somewhat useful in helping you get a job right after you finish college if you have little to no experience in your field but after that it's useless. Experience, your portfolio, and your communication skills will mean a lot more than a number on a paper.
I had a CS professor who owned his own business for about 20 years and preferred to hire CS graduates who finished with a 2.8-3.2 GPA over students with 4.0s. Apparently his experience with the latter was that in seeking perfection they annoyed him with endless questions to the point where he felt he should have just coded it himself. I just thought that was interesting.
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is this a thinly veiled thread basically saying that because you work(ed) hard you deserve a good job? lol
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is this a thinly veiled thread basically saying that because you work(ed) hard you deserve a good job? lol
hard work leading to good things is absolute bullshit.
if you're working for someone else barely skating by and not caring is the way to go.
caring about your company is stupid, because your company doesn't care about you and you're definately the bitch in that relationship
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pretty much yeah
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is this a thinly veiled thread basically saying that because you work(ed) hard you deserve a good job? lol
hard work leading to good things is absolute bullshit.
if you're working for someone else barely skating by and not caring is the way to go.
caring about your company is stupid, because your company doesn't care about you and you're definately the bitch in that relationship
I wouldn't exactly say that. I'd say it has more to do with actual managers/supervisors than the company you work for. A good manager/supervisor WILL look out for you and care about you.
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We already went over this before when Crystal snapped because some dude had a 2.5
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I had a 3.5
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Honestly it depends on the field. No one really looked at my GPA for my current job so much as my experience and drive.
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Depends on the field. A good GPA can be the difference between whether you become a book-keeper or accountant for instance...but then again if you pass the CPA test it won't really matter
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i don't factor in grades when hiring, and i do a lot of hiring. in fact, grades aren't even mentioned in my company's hiring training -- however, samples of a candidate's development skills and communications work are.
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I wouldn't exactly say that. I'd say it has more to do with actual managers/supervisors than the company you work for. A good manager/supervisor WILL look out for you and care about you.
i'm having a really frustrating week at work which probably adds to my bitterness
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is this a thinly veiled thread basically saying that because you work(ed) hard you deserve a good job? lol
Actually, I am saying exactly the opposite. Not that hard work is a bad thing. If you work hard that says something about you; however, hard work means jack shit if you can't apply certain skills and experiences to a real world situation.
Good grades should be an added bonus to learning the actual material as opposed to being the #1 goal to a class. :-\
Does that make sense?
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I wouldn't exactly say that. I'd say it has more to do with actual managers/supervisors than the company you work for. A good manager/supervisor WILL look out for you and care about you.
i'm having a really frustrating week at work which probably adds to my bitterness
it's ok. <3 come work for me. i'll hire you.
and to note, when i hire people I don't even worry about grades. I worry about if they can do the job and if they want to do the job.
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I wouldn't exactly say that. I'd say it has more to do with actual managers/supervisors than the company you work for. A good manager/supervisor WILL look out for you and care about you.
i'm having a really frustrating week at work which probably adds to my bitterness
what do you do? you don't need to name the company
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grades don't matter. i was horrible college student -- i just did the minimum to get my B.A. in four years. though i was at least a 3.80 student when i went and got a second degree in film. go figure.
nonetheless the grades didn't matter. 2 years after graduation i got a job that made nearly 60k -- and this was with minimal experience. if you're in the art/design field like i am, your portfolio is what matters. show them that you can produce some great shit and you'll get hired. i nailed my current job pretty quickly after i showed off a dvd reel of my works. not once was there a mention of my educational background. it's all about skills.
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i do VoIP stuff
it's usually awesome
but with the holidays and some new added responsibilities it's just making it hard to only work about 10 hours a day, which is my absolute personal limit when it comes to jobs
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I don't even know when I'm going to find time to do an internship
You really should make that a priority. Business fields put a huge emphasis on internships/experience when trying to hire.