Can You Succeed in Physics with a GPA Below 4.0?

[bfusco]

hi, i am currently a physics B.S major and i have been reading around the internet for a while about the career prospects with this degree. i have noticed time and again that it is stated that one needs to ace all of their classes in order to have hope in any physics or math based career (unless of course you happen to know someone that can get you a job). i have read many posts about people with this degree that have gotten GPA's in the high 3's and can't get jobs and i have become confused. what about those physics majors who don't get those 4.0's or 3.9's or whatever, if one cannot ace their classes is there even a point to continue; from the way many people seem to describe it, that seems like the only logical decision. however, i know there are many many many many people who are in the same boat as me, who have difficulty getting grades that high, so what happens to them? and what kind of hope is there for me? (my GPA with all courses taken in my current school is 3.1, physics and math classes only 2.8)

 

[ModusPwnd]

No, you don't need a 4.0. Your GPA is important for applying to graduate school. I would guess the average of applicants to grad schools is between 3.6 and 3.8. Below 3.0 and most schools won't even look at your application.

For jobs its not as uniform. Some may care about your GPA, some may not. What they do care about is specific skills. Physics at the BS level is not a very marketable degree, it has nothing to do with the grades. A physics degree prepares you for physics graduate school rather than jobs and that is why physics BS grads have trouble getting jobs.