Class of degree vs. job prospects

For an A-Level student you have a ridiculous amount of knowledge. But my main point is that degree class is not as important as people here seem to think in determining job prospects, I'd say everything else (work experience, evidence of teamwork, organisational skills, leadership, communication, social skills etc) is perhaps more important than whether someone has a 2:1 or a 1st. Most of the Top 100 companies require a 2:1 as a minimum criteria to apply, but thereafter it's everything else outside academia which matters to stand out.

Really, Jools? Would you not think though that it depends on fields as well? I mean there will always be a need for certain professionals whereas otehr fields are just highly competitative?

I'm talking about the bulk of jobs where they say it doesn't matter what degree subject you took - Management consultancy, Investment Banking (although Econ/Maths is useful), Marketing, Human Resources, PR, Law (provided you take a conversion course), etc. Even for jobs where your degree is directly relevant, eg Engineering for BAE, you're likely to have better employability prospects with a 2:1 and work experience (eg during uni vacations) rather than leaving with a 1st.

With your main point, however, I don't think there's much argument. Bear in mind this thread was started asking how people with 3rds would get on, and I think it has to be said that generally they would struggle.

oh and btw, Jools, I think a 2:1 from Oxford easily qualifies as academically successful.

Although I seriously thought 1:1s have it made and no hassle - generally speaking unless unemployment as such is a huge problem or extreme competition.

I got 4 As at A-Level, a first class degree from Oxford and PhD and I got rejected from the first 24 jobs I applied for over a 6 month period, certainly the most depressing time of my life.

The reasons given were similar - not enough experiences in life of things other than exams. I definitely feel I worked too hard and neglected other aspects of life - I got it wrong and it was a rude shock.

There are other things in life which matter more!

Yeah, with a 3rd you basically need to be lucky, or have something very special about you. Whoever said that getting a 3rd from a non-top uni will mean being unable to secure a graduate-entry job is correct in 9 out of 10 cases.

I meant compared to others here - despite doing one of the least respected courses at one of the least respected colleges, and probably being below average academically compared to others here (scraping 2.1 right now), I've had offers from investment banks & law firms that people with 1sts doing 'decent' subjects (Economics&Management, Law, Maths) were rejected from.

With the amount of stuff you do, I'll bet you're hardly struggling. I wonder how Mr Richardson is getting on - OxGoss suggests he's far from spectacular academically, but his extra-curricular (to use a very schoolboy term) activities are extraodrinary.

Richardson's a good example of what I'm saying - got 39.5% in BA Engineering, yet was inundated with job offers, including Dyson. Now got an unconditional offer for a City Law conversion.

nb - isn't 39.5% a fail?

Not if you buy your college a new kitchen

It must have been a very good kitchen.

H&E maybe we should buy a kitchen for our colleges when (if in my case) we get to Oxford?

I think for a PhD you'd need to buy a lot more than a kitchen.

How about a kitchen and a nice teapot?

Would work at Pembroke, probably.

I think that's the limit of my budget. Have to do it the hard way then

Are you doing a PhD?

Ask me in a couple of days time ... awaiting exam results