I see and hear so many people talking and posting about how they're really upset about having got a 2:2 in their degree or that they're worried about getting one. Seriously people it is not the end of the world. I know that people might want to debate otherwise and that's fine because everyone has different goals, aims and aspirations but I just want to offer some advice based on experience.
*A higher graded degree doesn't make you guaranteed to earn more money.
*Employers look at a range of things about you including your location, your flexibility, your attitude and whether they can see being able to get on with you in the workplace, whether you've filled out the application form carefully and included a covering letter, your work experience to date, how you'll fit in at the company, how well you interview, whether they think you can actually DO the job, are your aspirations realistic in line with the role on offer. Seriously, there are so many factors that influence whether someone will want to employ you and in the grand scheme of things although they may take your grade into consideration, the very fact that you've done a degree is often more of a kudos thing than the be all and end all.
*You don't have to get a graduate job to justify or honour the fact that you've been to uni. A lot of graduate jobs don't actually pay more than a non graduate job (some even expect you to do it for free!) and it can just be a cheap way of getting you to do a job that you'd otherwise not want to be doing if it didn't have the word "graduate" in front of the job title. Taking a non graduate job doesn't mean that university was a waste because at the end of the day you've got the degree and the world of work is very diverse in that some places require a degree and those that don't might still look at you favourable for having one.
*I can understand why throughout your school life you need to get the right GCSEs to move onto A level and then the right A levels to get to uni but beyond that most people don't go into anymore education after university so to grieve over a 2:2 that isn't necessarily a barrier either way doesn't make much sense to me.
*Sure, if you don't get a 2:1 or higher that will probably put you out of the running for some further study and some graduate jobs but for every one that you aren't suitable for there will be a fair proportion that you could get onto. Just keep going.
*A higher grade at uni won't necessarily make you more wealthy or open more doors to you. Stuff like that is often more holistic and comes down to the whole person.
*You went to Uni, you saw some life, chances are that you lived away from home and learnt to be more independent and your people skills and confidence improved. Regardless of the grade you come out with, all of that still stands.
*Long story short is that once you come out of the security of the education system, working life tends to be more holistic and less rigid. I've known an English graduate and a maths graduate who went to Cambridge who were on the dole for quite a while and I know a kid who messed about at just compulsory school who is doing very well as a landscape gardener now. My point is that this is about people as individuals rather than just one number on a piece of paper.
You've been to uni, you've completed your degree, now go out into the world feeling proud
(It is five years ago this summer that I graduated from my first degree from a Russel Group uni with a 2:2. Since then I have completed one masters at an ex poly and am currently hoping to take up my place on another one come September for career change related reasons. In terms of work I have not done a graduate job but that's only through my own choice, circumstances and interests. In the long run I want to be a teacher and from the research and communications I've put into it, nobody has told me to aspire to anything different or less as someone who holds a 2:2.
I was expecting a 2:2 even before I finished University, after being so unhappy at school and finally having the chance to work through that at University (social anxiety+counselling) I always told myself that I'd rather be happy than lock myself away desperate to get a 2:1. When I found out that I'd got the 2:2 I anticipated I carried on as normal and was like "cool, what next"
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