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29 year old with a BA and a MSc who can't get a graduate job without GCSE maths!

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Original post by BTAnonymous
You must be applying to some pathetic, pretentious companies; this is just baloney. GCSEs at your age are completely irrelevant now that you have a MASTERS IN COMPUTING SCIENCE which is heavily Maths orientated.



Well it's not fair enough because the qualification is just inferior to a Msc; I don't think you realise how easy GCSE Maths is. Ok fair enough he didn't pass GCSE Maths but that was 13-14 years ago? We change a lot in 13 years and OP has certainly gained a lot of knowledge in this time frame.

OP, I would just pay for a private exam with an exam board because that's just ridiculous.

Wish you all the luck!


Thanks! I guess I will, so long as I can just sit the exam. I cannot afford the time or money to do a course, that would be total BS!
(edited 6 years ago)
Reply 61
Original post by BillMurray
Thanks! I guess I will, so long as I can just sit the exam. I cannot afford the time or money to do a course, that would be total BS!


Look at some past/example papers, but I'm sure you can get a C+ just by sitting the exam.

It might make sense to do GCSE English too.
Original post by Arran90
I would like to know of instances of this. At the age of 29 I'm surprised if any employer would ask for GCSE certificates unless you haven't worked or attended higher education.

Considering that a grade C isn't exactly the cream of the crop academically then I suspect that it's just a tickbox exercise rather than trying to weed out anbody but the A* students at secondary school.

My attitude is suck it and see.


Here's an article from the Guardian showing some examples of employees being dismissed for lying on their CV https://www.theguardian.com/money/2006/oct/10/workandcareers.g2
Original post by Doonesbury
Look at some past/example papers, but I'm sure you can get a C+ just by sitting the exam.

It might make sense to do GCSE English too.


Hmm, maybe. my English is pretty good, I mean I can speak it (I'm English), and I can read and write, I wrote and 10,000 word dissertation without a single spelling or grammatical error.

I know what a noun is.

Is that enough to pass a GCSE English exam ha!
Can I just ask, are you planning to take the advice to go and sit your maths GCSE?
Original post by BillMurray
I did in secondary school, but I think I got one C in business and the rest were D's and E's. I wasn't very good at school in academic terms.


What uni did you go to then?
Reply 66
Original post by BillMurray
Hmm, maybe. my English is pretty good, I mean I can speak it (I'm English), and I can read and write, I wrote and 10,000 word dissertation without a single spelling or grammatical error.

I know what a noun is.

Is that enough to pass a GCSE English exam ha!


I don't know the current spec, and if, for example, it requires coursework etc. But yeah I'm sure, like for Maths, your standard is more than enough. :smile:

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Original post by Moonstruck16
Can I just ask, are you planning to take the advice to go and sit your maths GCSE?


Of course. Some users here think I'm just whining about all of this, when really I simply thought it was an interesting topic (granted it's a little infuriating, I simply didn't think it would matter given my recent academic history).

It just seems so illogical to me. But I guess it makes some sense if an employer gets large volumes of applications. But as a result they may be excluding excellent candidates, candidates who may be much more suitable that others who do have the inferior GCSE maths qualification graded at C or above.
Original post by glebp
What uni did you go to then?


Staffordshire University for my bachelor's and Swansea University for my Masters
Original post by BillMurray
Of course. Some users here think I'm just whining about all of this, when really I simply thought it was an interesting topic (granted it's a little infuriating, I simply didn't think it would matter given my recent academic history).

It just seems so illogical to me. But I guess it makes some sense if an employer gets large volumes of applications. But as a result they may be excluding excellent candidates, candidates who may be much more suitable that others who do have the inferior GCSE maths qualification graded at C or above.


I think the point is that if an employer asks for the bare minimum of a grade C at GCSE, then all these brilliant candidates will have the common sense to get the bare minimum.

I'm currently in the process of applying to medical school and it doesn't matter how much quality work experience I have, or how well I do in the admissions exams, if I didn't have the stated minimum required, I wouldn't consider myself superior enough to get away with it, just because the rest of my application may be glowing. This is especially true if I'm getting judged blind.

If you want to sell yourself, do it in person.
I don't think I've ever been asked to show my actual GCSE certificates (I don't even know where they are anymore). Just saying.
Original post by Moonstruck16
I think the point is that if an employer asks for the bare minimum of a grade C at GCSE, then all these brilliant candidates will have the common sense to get the bare minimum.

I'm currently in the process of applying to medical school and it doesn't matter how much quality work experience I have, or how well I do in the admissions exams, if I didn't have the stated minimum required, I wouldn't consider myself superior enough to get away with it, just because the rest of my application may be glowing. This is especially true if I'm getting judged blind.

If you want to sell yourself, do it in person.


Your situation isn't really a good example. How old are you? GCSE and A-Levels are important to start higher education. A better example would be if you had already been to and passed medical school and take the next step. At that point the relevancy of your GCSEs goes down.
Original post by ChaoticButterfly
Your situation isn't really a good example. How old are you? GCSE and A-Levels are important to start higher education. A better example would be if you had already been to and passed medical school and take the next step. At that point the relevancy of your GCSEs goes down.


Why is not a good example? Why on Earth would I be stupid enough to apply to something when I do not meet the basic required requirements, knowing that my application would be filtered out straight to the trash heap? I'm 21, I've already been through one degree.
Original post by Muserock
Here's an article from the Guardian showing some examples of employees being dismissed for lying on their CV https://www.theguardian.com/money/2006/oct/10/workandcareers.g2


This is the Guardian so it's unwise to take it as gospel.

Lying about a degree or other higher level qualification is one thing but lying about GCSEs when you have a degree or higher level qualification is another thing.
Original post by ChaoticButterfly
Yeah but they wont find out.

If I was an employer I wouldn't even ask to see the GCSE certificates or particularly care. The fact they have done a masters in a maths heavy subject proves they can do maths.

Life is full of having to jump through stupid hoops if you want to do anything. This is one of those hoops.





Why? If it is stopping you from getting interviews what have you got to loose? It is 100% worth it.


I would always be paranoid that they would find out - stress, stress, stress. If they did, you would lose your job and maybe other jobs if they talked to potential employers. You have A LOT to lose in other words.
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by YaliaV
I would always be paranoid that they would find out - stress, stress, stress. If they did, you would lose your job and maybe other jobs if they talked to potential employers. You have A LOT to lose in other words.


We never know what could happen. If someone gets caught lying on their application, the company might order an investigation on everyone and how many people will get caught out? If caught, lose job and then some jobs will be closed to the them.
Original post by Moonstruck16
Why is not a good example? Why on Earth would I be stupid enough to apply to something when I do not meet the basic required requirements, knowing that my application would be filtered out straight to the trash heap? I'm 21, I've already been through one degree.


because GCSEs and A-Levels are more important when they are all you have to show you can do a subject, aka when you are applying to university. Once you have already been to university you have that. You can't get a 2:1 in Physics without being able to do maths at a higher level than GCSE. The OP has already been though the university stage.

Women are also told to still apply for things even if they don't have all the requirements as men tend to still do so. If you had all the requirements for a job, except GCSE maths, but had a degree in physics, you would be stupid not to still apply anyway. People apply for jobs all the time where they don't 100% meet the requirements. I know my employment history is terrible but all the interviews I have ever had, I didn't' 100% meet the requirements.
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by ChaoticButterfly
because GCSEs and A-Levels are more important when they are all you have to show you can do a subject, aka when you are applying to university. Once you have already been to university you have that. You can't get a 2:1 in Physics without being able to do maths at a higher level than GCSE. The OP has already been though the university stage.

Women are also told to still apply for things even if they don't have all the requirements as men tend to still do. If you had all the requirements for a job, except GCSE maths, but had a degree in physics, you would be stupid not to still apply anyway.


Great but if the minimum requirements ask for GCSE maths or your application is going in the trash, and you don't have GCSE maths, why would you be surprised you don't get accepted? This isn't about proving anything, it's about meeting the criteria in terms of ticking boxes.

Everyone is free to apply to things they won't get accepted to but it seems like a waste of time.
Original post by YaliaV
I would always be paranoid that they would find out - stress, stress, stress. If they did, you would lose your job and maybe other jobs if they talked to potential employers. You have A LOT to lose in other words.


I wouldn't advise making things up generally in that you should't pretend you have a physics degree in a job where you are going to need to know physics. But it isn't like you are going to not be able to do basic maths if you have a maths heavy undergrad and postgrad :-/

If you were doing the job just fine but then your employer found out you didn't have GCSE maths they would be nuts to fire you. Although mindless bureaucracy can get in the way of common sense.
Original post by ChaoticButterfly
I wouldn't advise making things up generally in that you should't pretend you have a physics degree in a job where you are going to need to know physics. But it isn't like you are going to not be able to do basic maths if you have a maths heavy undergrad and postgrad :-/

If you were doing the job just fine but then your employer found out you didn't have GCSE maths they would be nuts to fire you. Although mindless bureaucracy can get in the way of common sense.


You are missing the point. It is not about requiring the qualifications in order to be able to do the work. You would not be dismissed because you did not have a GCSE qualification in maths; you would be dismissed because you lied in order to secure a job.

In reality, this isn't likely to be much of a problem. As @Arran90 says, this does not seem to affect those of us who did not take the English educational route. However, lying about it could in fact turn it into quite a serious problem.

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