Will a 2:2 in first year affect my chances of getting a good Chemeng placement?

Basically I just finished first year Chemical Engineering with a high 2:2 which I was quite annoyed with as I was aiming for a 2:1. I am on a 5 year MEng course with my placement in 4th year so I apply in 3rd year, and am worried my first year grade will affect my chances of getting a placement at a banking/consultancy firm which is my aspiration. If there is a situation where I finish second year with a first or a 2:1 grade, will my first year grade still be at a disadvantage to me? I will of course work much harder this year round to achieve a first but would like some advice placement wise.

Reply 1

Helloworld_95

As long as you get onto a 2.1 in second year you should be ok.

What I would be concerned about is that universities will usually have a requirement that your placement is sufficiently related to your studies in order for them to approve it as an official placement year, so if you're going for a year placement in banking/consultancy you will have a problem there. You can take an unofficial year in industry where that year doesn't count towards your degree however.

I would also say it's a good idea to apply in second year too as this will give you two opportunities to apply and in practice your university won't care whether you take it after 2nd or 3rd year.

Reply 2

mufferman1

Original post by Helloworld_95

Thanks for the reply. I reckon in my case it's best to apply in 3rd year because at least then I'll have my 2nd year grade to back me up, a 2:2 on its own wouldn't be the best grade to have under my belt if I applied in 2nd year

Nope

Original post by mufferman1

I think you've skipped over the point you're trying to address. It doesn't hurt you to apply in second year as well as third as you get two chances from it, it doesn't matter if you're disadvantaged in second year compared to third year. But it could theoretically hurt you if you applied only in third as you would only have one opportunity, and if you ended up being worse off in third year relative to second year then that could mean you lose out on the chance to do a placement.

Reply 5

Duncan2012

Can you do a banking placement year on a chemeng course?

Reply 6

Student-95

Original post by Duncan2012

Can you do a banking placement year on a chemeng course?

Yes

@OP: Most job applications don't ask for your yearly grades so they wouldn't even know you got a 2.2 in first year. Just put your expected grade on your CV. Does your first year even count?

Reply 7

Duncan2012

Original post by Student-95

Yes

Without knowing OP's uni and the regulations for the course what are basing that on?

Reply 8

Student-95

Original post by Duncan2012

Without knowing OP's uni what are basing that on?

Banking placement entry requirements

Reply 9

Duncan2012

Original post by Student-95

Banking placement entry requirements

The question was from the other angle - if you're studying a chemeng degree, where does it say that you can go work in a random job for a year? What benefit would there be to a student?

The people I knew who did a placement all did it in a sector and company directly relevant to their degree.

If you could quote at least one uni's rules that would be nice.

Reply 10

mufferman1

Original post by Helloworld_95

Original post by Duncan2012

Can you do a banking placement year on a chemeng course?

Have spoken to some 5th years at my uni myself who have done their year in industry in finance/banks

Original post by Student-95

Yes

@OP: Most job applications don't ask for your yearly grades so they wouldn't even know you got a 2.2 in first year. Just put your expected grade on your CV. Does your first year even count?

First year doesn't count but banks are extremely picky about their placement applicants and the slightest indication of bad grades will put me at a immediate disadvantage to others. Hence why I asked the question in the first place. I'm just hoping to get a 1:1 for second year which I'm hoping will improve my chances massively

Reply 11

Student-95

Original post by Duncan2012

If the placement year counts towards your degree then there will be requirements on its relevancy but even then you can do the placement and not have it count towards your degree or take a year out.

In terms of the benefit, most of the skills developed in industry are soft as opposed to technical, it lets the student see what that industry is like and gives them relevant experience if they want to pursue it after they graduate

Reply 12

Helloworld_95

Original post by mufferman1

There is zero chance I will land a financial placement with a 2:2. Besides, I want to take a placement in my 4th year like most people on my course are going to. My uni has a 100% success rate with allocating placements for year in industry students so I have no concern of landing one but rather the quality of it.

First year doesn't count but banks are extremely picky about their placement applicants and the slightest indication of bad grades will put me at a immediate disadvantage to others. Hence why I asked the question in the first place. I'm just hoping to get a 1:1 for second year which I'm hoping will improve my chances massively

If that's the case then having that extra year won't make up for it.

In addition there are plenty of financial companies which accept a 2.2 from what I remember, just not banking companies.

I would also ask those 5th years if they were on the technical side of things. A front office job in IB won't hold the same relevancy as a programmer in the same company.

Reply 13

Table dust

Original post by mufferman1

There is zero chance I will land a financial placement with a 2:2. Besides, I want to take a placement in my 4th year like most people on my course are going to. My uni has a 100% success rate with allocating placements for year in industry students so I have no concern of landing one but rather the quality of it.

Have spoken to some 5th years at my uni myself who have done their year in industry in finance/banks

First year doesn't count but banks are extremely picky about their placement applicants and the slightest indication of bad grades will put me at a immediate disadvantage to others. Hence why I asked the question in the first place. I'm just hoping to get a 1:1 for second year which I'm hoping will improve my chances massively

you don't need to declare your 1st year grade on your CV or the job application, it is not considered relevant as it either counts for 0%/10% of your final grade.

this is from first hand experience