2:2 Degree, anyone here got one?

If so, what was it like to get it and what has your life been like since??

One of my close friends obtained a 2:2 in Mechanical Engineering. She was disappointed/upset when she found out, but she's ok with it now. She's been looking at jobs. I haven't spoken to her in a few weeks, so I don't know how she's gotten along with that.

I know someone else who got a 2:2 this year and went straight into a £29,000 a year job. They're working for a friend's dad though, so I don't think their grade would have made much difference.

Reply 2

returnmigrant

21

Best friend got a 3rd in Biological Sciences. Joined the Navy and hasn't looked back.

Another friend got a 2.2 in Social Anthropology. Now running her own catering business.

Life is what you make it. Getting a 2.2 or a 3rd will only hold you back if you let it.

Reply 3

ineedtorevise127

20

Original post by returnmigrant

Best friend got a 3rd in Biological Sciences. Joined the Navy and hasn't looked back.

Another friend got a 2.2 in Social Anthropology. Now running her own catering business.

Life is what you make it. Getting a 2.2 or a 3rd will only hold you back if you let it.

good on them if you don't mind me asking what universities did they go to

Reply 4

Mrx123

OP

18

What I don't understand is that some people really look down on a 2:2 saying that it's like having no degree at all and is worthless yet I here so many success stories from people with a 2:2 degree and a lot of people with a 2:1 struggling to get employed

Original post by Mrx123

What I don't understand is that some people really look down on a 2:2 saying that it's like having no degree at all and is worthless yet I here so many success stories from people with a 2:2 degree and a lot of people with a 2:1 struggling to get employed

Because a lot of people are are almost exclusively focused on the most competitive graduate schemes, e.g. the Times 100 ones, but outside of those it generally doesn't matter nearly as much, and a 2:1 only means you aren't automatically filtered out of the application process before a human can read the rest of your application.

Reply 6

Carnationlilyrose

18

Original post by Mrx123

What I don't understand is that some people really look down on a 2:2 saying that it's like having no degree at all and is worthless yet I here so many success stories from people with a 2:2 degree and a lot of people with a 2:1 struggling to get employed

It's linked to the obsession with league tables, I think, and all to do with the current economic climate, whereby jobs are hard to get for many people, and often students will grab onto an idea that they think will prevent them from struggling to get a job. A kind of good luck charm. In a environment where the majority of students have little experience of anything outside academic life, and it's all they know, a magic grade becomes a kind of talisman against everything they fear. Real life is both more complex and less clear cut than university life, and it can be frightening. It's important to realise that not everybody views things as students do. Employers certainly don't maintain an encyclopedic knowledge of the position a particular university occupied in the league tables at the very time when a particular job applicant entered it, and a good many of them will have 2.2s or below themselves. (Remember that there are two grades below a 2.2.) As I said, it's a kind of self-protection mechanism: I will be all right if I get a 2.1. Like touching wood.

Reply 7

skotch

16

At my uni (Bristol), I know lots of people that got 2.2s but every single one of them is now working except one, but he's a bit of a mug. They did courses like Economics or Maths, which are typically very difficult and where very clever people can still get bad marks. My one key bit of advice would be to get work experience and internships, because at the end of the day, that's what will get you a job; the classification of your degree won't get you a job.

Reply 8

rattusratus

14

I dont have a 2.2 but have research my options if that happens so I know what further study and what jobs I could go for...

if your worried just have a look around, I found a 2.2 is by no means that bad you can even progress with 3rd (although I struggled to find anything that accepts ordinary degrees in England)

Reply 9

Mellomum

A 2:2 in a good subject from a decent university will still be good- it's your overall profile such as internships holiday jobs and language skills that will make the difference. Here's hoping!

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 10

gustavus

13

Several of my pals with lower seconds are now successful teachers.

One did a doctorate (they were borderline 2-1 and had horrid circumstances at the time of finals)

Another one travels worldwide setting up university partnership programmes in far east.

Another works as a senior HR person in NHS Trust.

Think it depends how you sell yourself, not chasing positions where you will be automatically binned at first screen and be clear of your transferable skills and enthusiasm!

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

Reply 11

gustavus

13

Btw in response to the two grades below 2-2 comment - are these grades used much, ie 3rd and pass degrees?

think one person with 3rd on my course out of 200 students - they barely passed exams /didn't do much coursework and spent much of degree on rugby field!

It's my understanding that there is a lot of pressure on examiners not to give them unless absolutely necessary as it impacts on their outcomes? Have come across several people whose average was 48/49 and they were bumped up to 2-2. Seems different unis have different rules as to which grade can be considered?

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

Reply 12

Carnationlilyrose

18

Original post by gustavus

Btw in response to the two grades below 2-2 comment - are these grades used much, ie 3rd and pass degrees?

I think Unistats will give you the answers to this, but it obviously varies from course to course and university to university. To some extent, I think it's a change over time as well. When I graduated, over 30 years ago, out of a very handy cohort of 100, mathematically speaking, there were 3 firsts, 3 thirds and one ordinary, with the rest divided equally between 2.1s and 2.2s. When my son graduated in June, it wasn't possible to tell what any of the honours grades were as they were done strictly alphabetically, but there were 7 ordinary degrees out of 70*. Hardly a scientific survey, I freely admit.

*There were 5 firsts, of which my son was one. Proud mum.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 13

Klix88

17

People tend to get a bit over-dramatic about a 2:2 but it's really not the end of the world. As has been shown above, many people go on to have successful careers and are perfectly happy.

A couple of my former uni colleagues have gone on to do a Masters with a 2:2 via a PGDip course, so it doesn't even have to be the end of an academic career if you want to go further. It just takes a bit of shopping around for the right course/uni.

Don't let a 2:2 bring down your confidence or your self-image. It's still an Honours degree and it still takes hard work & committment to achieve.

Reply 14

ManifoldManifest

13

I got a 2:2 from Plymouth in 2007. Since then I've done graduate work at KCL and joined the Civil Service. Can't say I've done too badly, really.

Reply 15

Mrx123

OP

18

You just sometimes worry that if you get a 2:2 that other people are going to look down on you and I've heard it being associated with people who spend more time going out to clubs at night then doing work.

I have Aspergers and when I was young, I was told that getting to University was extremely unlikely by my GP and teachers, even my parents but here I am in my final year of Uni, achieving a 2:1 in my 1st and 2nd yrs but the final year looks so hard that I am unsure whether I have what It takes to get that 2:1 but if I do get a 2:2 I'll be proud because I will know that I tried my best and I'd still have proven everyone who doubted me wrong, and for me that's worth a 1st anyday.

Reply 16

ruby_v

Original post by Forum User

I graduated in 2000 with a 2:2 in Maths. I worked for an investment bank for about six months and then quit to become self-employed, which I have been ever since. I went back to university as a mature student in 2011 and will graduate soon with a first in Law, hopefully going on to study a Masters level program starting in 2014.

What uni are you at now?

Reply 17

username447608

14

Original post by Mrx123

What I don't understand is that some people really look down on a 2:2 saying that it's like having no degree at all and is worthless yet I here so many success stories from people with a 2:2 degree and a lot of people with a 2:1 struggling to get employed

Its because some people don't understand that getting a 2.2 doesn't make you stupid. The fact you even got into uni proves you are intelligent. There is a lot more to life than just academia and I think a fair few companies recognise this. Whats the point in employing somebody whose got a 1st yet is stuck up their own arse, lacks skills in team work and basic common sense ?. THe people who look down on you are the ones who haven't had a struggle so just ignore them

Reply 18

likeaMoss123

That's actually illegal xD

Reply 19

DarkWhite

17

Whether or not you get a 2:1 appears to be more important for graduate jobs than anything else by far. Bear in mind that only 20% of graduates go into graduate jobs; the amount of pressure people put on the 2:1 threshold is barely justified. I also know people who have ended up on grad schemes with 3rds before now, because they've been able to demonstrate the required skills and expertise in other ways; you just need to contact HR directly about your application.

Either way, everyone I know who graduated with below a 2:1 is doing very well for themself :smile:

2:2 Degree, anyone here got one?

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