How important is classification of degree (engineers)?

[alex282]

I'm asking this mainly to engineers but anyone can answer. How important is the classification of degree that you receive and what has it's impact been on your career?

I plan to work in industry and eventually towards chartered/professional status then management positions. For my MEng Electrical + Electronic Engineering degree I have one year left. My average grade for the years which count towards the degree is 66% so far, which gives a good base for achieving a 2.1 degree. My final year will count towards the other 50% of the total so I'll be looking at keeping my average above a minimum of 54% next year to obtain a 2.1 degree.

I feel like I should have tried harder to achieve a 1st class degree (>70%), however from my little experience I have seen that success is not always related to classification of degree achieved. How important is it?

 

[hyurnat4]

Once you've got your first job, they won't care. Of course, graduate roles are competitive and your first job can impact hugely upon your career.

 

[SteamKing]

I'm asking this mainly to engineers but anyone can answer. How important is the classification of degree that you receive and what has it's impact been on your career?

I plan to work in industry and eventually towards chartered/professional status then management positions. For my MEng Electrical + Electronic Engineering degree I have one year left. My average grade for the years which count towards the degree is 66% so far, which gives a good base for achieving a 2.1 degree. My final year will count towards the other 50% of the total so I'll be looking at keeping my average above a minimum of 54% next year to obtain a 2.1 degree.

I feel like I should have tried harder to achieve a 1st class degree (>70%), however from my little experience I have seen that success is not always related to classification of degree achieved. How important is it?

It's not clear which institutions grant such classed degrees.

In the US and other countries, you can graduate with certain honors (for example, cum laude or magna cum laude), but the criteria which are used to award such honors vary by institution.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_honors

Like many, if not most, professions, there is a certain period of practical training required before the freshly-minted graduate acquires all the necessary skills, judgement, and experience to practice a profession effectively.

 

[JakeBrodskyPE]

In my career, I have suffered many idiots who had nice looking grade point averages in school. At best, a GPA shows how well you understand the theory. It says virtually nothing about how well you might apply that theory.

In the working world, I care that someone graduated with an engineering degree. It shows commitment. However, I place a lot weight on lab and course projects that a candidate did in school. I care about what you want to do with your education, not how well someone thinks you understand it.

 

[Shaun_W]

I'm asking this mainly to engineers but anyone can answer. How important is the classification of degree that you receive and what has it's impact been on your career?

I plan to work in industry and eventually towards chartered/professional status then management positions. For my MEng Electrical + Electronic Engineering degree I have one year left. My average grade for the years which count towards the degree is 66% so far, which gives a good base for achieving a 2.1 degree. My final year will count towards the other 50% of the total so I'll be looking at keeping my average above a minimum of 54% next year to obtain a 2.1 degree.

I feel like I should have tried harder to achieve a 1st class degree (>70%), however from my little experience I have seen that success is not always related to classification of degree achieved. How important is it?

A 2:1 is decent. It's the standard cut-off level for most graduate jobs. But after your first job, "they", usually meaning employers, aren't particularly interested in your degree classification.