Uncertain Future

LegacyUser

Hello everyone,

I graduated from college last year with a third class honours degree. The year has passed and well i have been struggling to get employment as you all know things are really tough out there. I just feel that my degree is really holding me back from getting anything that its not as strong a qualification as a second or first honours. Is there any chance that I could return to college to improve my degree or do a masters. I should also say that getting the third class honour was a big disappointment to me personally and that I feel myself I have let myself down an aweful lot as I think I am (or was) capable of better and its just getting me down at this stage. Im stuck at home now every day while practically all of my friends have moved on and I feel there is nothing I can do because of my degree, its made a bleak future for me worse.

fghijkl

Just curious as to if you actually have it written on your CV?
I certainly don't have my actual degree result in my CV. I know people do if they've got a 1st class honor but not anything under usually?

Are you being asked in interviews what grade you've achieved?

Also i may not be correct on this but isn't there something about if you only get a pass then it renders your honours degree as just an ordinary degree/cert? Again i'm not 100% on this.

It's very unlikely you'd get accepted onto a masters program i'm afraid OP, the very minimum needed is a 2.2 degree, or a hell of a lot of work experience behind you.

Is there any chance of getting or being able to do a work placement or internship, unpaid ?
Depending on your area of work, most employers would see that as more valuable or at least equally as valuable as a 1st or 2nd degree?

If you're getting interviews OP, it could just be the jobs market in general at the moment, it's tough for everyone out there trying to find employment, regardless of what grade you've gotten tbh.

LegacyUser

Thanks fghijkl for your response its much appreciated,

I dont have my results on my CV just the degree I have, but the problem is that Im just getting no interviews what so ever and I just had one interview in the past year that I can say was got from my CV. I have been trying the unpaid FAS graduate training programme but I have been unsucessful so far. That would also require moving from home and Id be just barely getting enough on the dole to cover the costs.
My degree by the way is an honours degree. Some colleges award Ordinary degrees if your results are not up to standard but that was not an option where I was.
There are jobs out there as far as I know, some of my classmates have got employed with better degrees, its just so competitive that Im not being considered for anything now. Im stuck with a useless degree and I feel that theres nothing I can do about it now.

Scrappychimow

Maybe the open university accepts people with honours degrees for masters,regardless of the it being 1.1,2.1 or 2.2

http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/index.htm

LegacyUser

Try not to stress out and assume it is down to your degree.
It could just as easily be down to your approach with recruitment companies.

Why not ring the agencies... and get feed back on your cv. Are there jobs in the area you are looking? If you were focused on working in this area and had interviews but were being rejected due to the result then it would be worth looking at further training or repeating. However in the current environment it could be a lack of practical experience, the result of a weakly constructed cv, poor approach to following up with recruiters, or simply that there is little or no work out there.

Why not ask one of your friends from your course about possible temp work where they are? Maybe even offer to work for free simply to get some practical experience on your cv?

dafunk

You've a very good chance of getting on to a masters. The colleges are suffering financially as much as everywhere else and they get funding for every student so while they might have a minimum requirement set on the prospectus etc they will often overlook this to fill as many places as possible. If you were to apply fo two or three I reckon you'd be pretty much guaranteed to get onto one of them. Also look at masters programs in the ITs as well as the universities. If you have a third class from a uni you've a great chance of getting onto a masters in an IT.


Ordinary degree is the new name for the old diploma, it's got nothing to do with your grade.

LegacyUser

Thanks for all your responses.

I cant say for sure - Lending Hand - that I was rejected because of my degree but I do feel that its the main reason for not getting considered for interviews. Ive only got one interview related to my degree since graduation. Ive applied to countless places but Ive continuously gotten refusals for jobs im qualified for. It feels a bit like a vicious circle by getting a poor degree and then getting no work experience etc. My CV is probably just looked over to reduce the amount of people to interview for the job. The only option for me here is probably to gain experience without pay however Im unsure if I can afford it

As regards doing a masters, I feel myself that I have a lot to prove to myself after the disappointment I got after my degree and just a general feeling of letting myself down with my results. Its just now Im suffering from a bit of a confidence issue as to whether Id be able for a masters degree. Is it a bit silly to apply for a masters with a third class degree? I just would not want it to be a repeat of my degree if I apply for it. That all depends now on whether I get the chance now or not.

LegacyUser

degree problem wrote: »

Is it a bit silly to apply for a masters with a third class degree? I just would not want it to be a repeat of my degree if I apply for it. That all depends now on whether I get the chance now or not.

Not silly at all. You should know yourself whether you could have put more effort into your degree or not. If you feel you could have and want to prove to yourself you can do it then go for it.

LegacyUser

You've a very good chance of getting on to a masters. The colleges are suffering financially as much as everywhere else and they get funding for every student so while they might have a minimum requirement set on the prospectus etc they will often overlook this to fill as many places as possible. If you were to apply for two or three I reckon you'd be pretty much guaranteed to get onto one of them. Also look at masters programs in the ITs as well as the universities. If you have a third class from a uni you've a great chance of getting onto a masters in an IT.

I don't mean to dishearten the OP but this is not really true at all. There are huge numbers getting back into full time education with the recession, and colleges can only offer certain numbers of places on each course.
I've applied for a masters this year and they've stated numerous, numerous times that they absolutely could not accept anyone who didn't meet the minimum requirement. My grade was even brought up and verified in interview, and this was for a masters in an IT, and it wasn't even a particularly academically taxing course.

That's not to say the OP couldn't apply in a few years time with a bit of both life and work experience behind him. But his chances, (while at least worth a try, no harm in trying), are very slim at the moment to be honest, so i wouldn't get my hopes up OP, sorry

Don't feel you have to do a masters to prove yourself OP, theres no point in doing one for the sake of it if you have no real interest in it, or you'll just end up hating it not wanting to put in the effort and end up getting poor grades again.

OP employers aren't going to know from your CV what grade you got, so i honestly don't see how that could be stopping you getting jobs? I'd put money on it being down to a poor CV OP or else just huge competition for jobs in your line of work.

OP also i'm not sure of your line of work but if it's at all possible, i'd try to apply for jobs directly to the company offering them, rather than recruitment agencies. Recruitment agencies in my experience tend to favor people with experience and ignore new graduates. When i was applying for jobs, i'd say 99.9% of the interviews i got were as a result of applying directly to the company offering the job, i honestly might of been emailing my cv into a black hole when responding to recruitment agency adverts. Actually i don't think i got a single interview as a result of applying to a recruit agency ad. Also check the websites of companies you'd be interested in working with, again depending on your line of work they sometimes have their own job sections, or are just interested in hearing from people who may be able to offer them x y or z.

Also i don't know if i should say this but be a bit weary of those fas 'training' programs on the fas website OP, anyone can post up a job and call it 'a work placement' on that website, from personal experience and that of friends, there are a few who are people just looking for free labour and offering very little in the way of 'experience'.

Best of luck OP.

LegacyUser

Ok, well first off some good news at last. Ive gotten word today that Ive an interview within the next forthnight. I know its not a guarantee of a job but still its good news for me personally even if its only my second interview thats in any way related to anything I did in college.

Thanks maybellelancome for your honest comments regarding doing a masters. but its that fact that fears me about not being able to get back to college by not having the requirements and so on. I know its true and that is what I suppose is what hits me hardest now. I agree with you that it can be a bad idea just to return to college to try to prove I can better myself. In fact I had planned on returning to education as a more long term prospect but after a year on and only 2 interviews from my degree you can probably understand the how Im feeling about it. In the past year I have been in contact with careers services and Ive also shown my CV to one of my past lecturers who made a few adjustments so I dont know where to go from there. What really worries me is if im left with nothing after 4 years. It just feels like a waste. Hopefully this interview will bring a change.

IrishEyes19

maybellelancome wrote: »

I don't mean to dishearten the OP but this is not really true at all. There are huge numbers getting back into full time education with the recession, and colleges can only offer certain numbers of places on each course.
I've applied for a masters this year and they've stated numerous, numerous times that they absolutely could not accept anyone who didn't meet the minimum requirement. My grade was even brought up and verified in interview, and this was for a masters in an IT, and it wasn't even a particularly academically taxing course.

That's not to say the OP couldn't apply in a few years time with a bit of both life and work experience behind him. But his chances, (while at least worth a try, no harm in trying), are very slim at the moment to be honest, so i wouldn't get my hopes up OP, sorry

Don't feel you have to do a masters to prove yourself OP, theres no point in doing one for the sake of it if you have no real interest in it, or you'll just end up hating it not wanting to put in the effort and end up getting poor grades again.

OP employers aren't going to know from your CV what grade you got, so i honestly don't see how that could be stopping you getting jobs? I'd put money on it being down to a poor CV OP or else just huge competition for jobs in your line of work.

OP also i'm not sure of your line of work but if it's at all possible, i'd try to apply for jobs directly to the company offering them, rather than recruitment agencies. Recruitment agencies in my experience tend to favor people with experience and ignore new graduates. When i was applying for jobs, i'd say 99.9% of the interviews i got were as a result of applying directly to the company offering the job, i honestly might of been emailing my cv into a black hole when responding to recruitment agency adverts. Actually i don't think i got a single interview as a result of applying to a recruit agency ad. Also check the websites of companies you'd be interested in working with, again depending on your line of work they sometimes have their own job sections, or are just interested in hearing from people who may be able to offer them x y or z.

Also i don't know if i should say this but be a bit weary of those fas 'training' programs on the fas website OP, anyone can post up a job and call it 'a work placement' on that website, from personal experience and that of friends, there are a few who are people just looking for free labour and offering very little in the way of 'experience'.

Best of luck OP.

True having said that, there is no harm in trying for the masters, many colleges and this is fact, often state that they accept people who dont meet the requirements grade wise through an interview or else submitting a proposal and an essay why you want to do this course. There is no harm in trying out this at all, if its what you want. The above posters advice is excellent dont get me wrong and what they are saying holds much fact, but you can still get into a masters by other means.