What prospects do i have with a third class degree in computer science (truthfully)

2

So, i got 47.9 in total. I needed 48 to get to the threshold for a 2:2. 0.1 off. Now i have had a lot of issues, being a carer for my severely autistic younger brother who is prone to violent meltdowns, having health issues and money issues myself and chronic depression and anxiety. I know i've failed with this. But what prospects can i expect now? I know it's a competitive field. I was thinking CCNA and Comptia Network plus certifications would help, but what else. Is it worth even going into this field anymore. What would i even put on my CV. Got a degree and just not mention what class it is? Maybe even join the army, be a part of the royal signals and get network engineering experience through that? Sorry it's long.

Reply 1

Baleroc

13

Original post by BobRossThe4th

So, i got 47.9 in total. I needed 48 to get to the threshold for a 2:2. 0.1 off. Now i have had a lot of issues, being a carer for my severely autistic younger brother who is prone to violent meltdowns, having health issues and money issues myself and chronic depression and anxiety. I know i've failed with this. But what prospects can i expect now? I know it's a competitive field. I was thinking CCNA and Comptia Network plus certifications would help, but what else. Is it worth even going into this field anymore. What would i even put on my CV. Got a degree and just not mention what class it is? Maybe even join the army, be a part of the royal signals and get network engineering experience through that? Sorry it's long.

Hi,

Before I begin with any other suggestions, have you tried appealing your grade? Sometimes if you are borderline around a grade, you can appeal if you have extenuating circumstances, and they can boost your grade up if you are very close to the next grade. You would need to speak to your academic advisor or student support services to see what they think, but if you have reasons like you say that affected your studies, perhaps that may work in your favour.

1.

Try to gain any hands-on experience as possible. Try to find internships, even if unpaid, or volunteer for a company to gain practical experience.

2.

I do recommend you state you have a degree, but focus on the skills and knowledge you obtained.

3.

Focus on building a portfolio of building applications. Perhaps apply your knowledge of programming to build a website, make an app for a phone or a desktop.

4.

When you finally get back on your feet and you are in a good place, you might want to consider the Open University. You could start a new degree in computing, transferring some credit from your previous university and transferring into the second year and starting again to try get a better degree grade.

But, as I say, there are a lot of options for you. Either you can focus on building a portfolio of apps to show to employers, try and find unpaid internships in computing roles, or, start a degree at the open university. When you are confident your mental health has improved, and you can get a good grade at it, then you can try your degree again if you wish.

So, while it seems bleak, there are still plenty of options available for you.

Hope that helps

(edited 12 months ago)

Reply 2

BobRossThe4th

OP

2

Original post by Baleroc

Hi,
Before I begin with any other suggestions, have you tried appealing your grade? Sometimes if you are borderline around a grade, you can appeal if you have extenuating circumstances, and they can boost your grade up if you are very close to the next grade. You would need to speak to your academic advisor or student support services to see what they think, but if you have reasons like you say that affected your studies, perhaps that may work in your favour.

1.

Try to gain any hands-on experience as possible. Try to find internships, even if unpaid, or volunteer for a company to gain practical experience.

2.

I do recommend you state you have a degree, but focus on the skills and knowledge you obtained.

3.

Focus on building a portfolio of building applications. Perhaps apply your knowledge of programming to build a website, make an app for a phone or a desktop.

4.

When you finally get back on your feet and you are in a good place, you might want to consider the Open University. You could start a new degree in computing, transferring some credit from your previous university and transferring into the second year and starting again to try get a better degree grade.

But, as I say, there are a lot of options for you. Either you can focus on building a portfolio of apps to show to employers, try and find unpaid internships in computing roles, or, start a degree at the open university. When you are confident your mental health has improved, and you can get a good grade at it, then you can try your degree again if you wish.
So, while it seems bleak, there are still plenty of options available for you.
Hope that helps

I'll ask to see if there's anything that can be done. In one module, i got 32 in the first assignment, and 63 in the next, evening that module grade out at 48. I sent an email to my lecturer as usually you can do a referral if an assignment component is below 40, although i wasn't given the chance this time around for the first assignment. If nothing comes of this, i'll see about appealing, and if nothing comes from that, i'll put my emphasis into gaining experience. "Hack the box" is a good way to demonstrate security knowledge in a practical way, and certifications such as CCNA and Comptia+ are industry standards, so with any luck things will go decently.

Reply 3

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

21

Original post by BobRossThe4th

So, i got 47.9 in total. I needed 48 to get to the threshold for a 2:2. 0.1 off. Now i have had a lot of issues, being a carer for my severely autistic younger brother who is prone to violent meltdowns, having health issues and money issues myself and chronic depression and anxiety. I know i've failed with this. But what prospects can i expect now? I know it's a competitive field. I was thinking CCNA and Comptia Network plus certifications would help, but what else. Is it worth even going into this field anymore. What would i even put on my CV. Got a degree and just not mention what class it is? Maybe even join the army, be a part of the royal signals and get network engineering experience through that? Sorry it's long.

Realistically you're going to be looking at entry level positions in all likelihood. Helpdesk positions and similar might be a good starting point, then developing more work experience and skills and moving up from there. You could also look at development apprenticeships or similar potentially. If you have a portfolio of coding work which is of good quality then that may help demonstrate skills to go into very junior positions in smaller businesses where they may not be filtering applicants on the basis of degree result.

Regarding the above remark I'd note that you can't normally appeal results at degree level on the basis of academic judgement, only on procedural grounds. Also for a result on the grade boundary of a classification like this, it would already have been scrutinised by the exam board and a determination made based on all the information. So unless there was a procedural issue that arose I don't think it's likely your degree outcome will change.

Reply 4

Zarek

21

A degrees a degree. Once you’re on the ladder and have some job experience under your belt it will not matter. So it’s just about applying for positions that aren’t so snooty, selling yourself at interview and working hard to get on

Reply 5

BobRossThe4th

OP

2

Original post by Baleroc

Hi,
Before I begin with any other suggestions, have you tried appealing your grade? Sometimes if you are borderline around a grade, you can appeal if you have extenuating circumstances, and they can boost your grade up if you are very close to the next grade. You would need to speak to your academic advisor or student support services to see what they think, but if you have reasons like you say that affected your studies, perhaps that may work in your favour.

1.

Try to gain any hands-on experience as possible. Try to find internships, even if unpaid, or volunteer for a company to gain practical experience.

2.

I do recommend you state you have a degree, but focus on the skills and knowledge you obtained.

3.

Focus on building a portfolio of building applications. Perhaps apply your knowledge of programming to build a website, make an app for a phone or a desktop.

4.

When you finally get back on your feet and you are in a good place, you might want to consider the Open University. You could start a new degree in computing, transferring some credit from your previous university and transferring into the second year and starting again to try get a better degree grade.

But, as I say, there are a lot of options for you. Either you can focus on building a portfolio of apps to show to employers, try and find unpaid internships in computing roles, or, start a degree at the open university. When you are confident your mental health has improved, and you can get a good grade at it, then you can try your degree again if you wish.
So, while it seems bleak, there are still plenty of options available for you.
Hope that helps

Hi mate, I felt like giving an update about things.

I followed your advice of first putting forward an appeal about my circumstances during one of the modules, and they got in contact with me after a little over a month (there quite busy) and offered me an alternative option before it got put in front of an appeals board, where i can do an IMR. Apparently, this could have been offered to me for an assignment component at the time but wasn't for reasons not specified. It would cap the assignment 1 component's mark at 40 sadly, but with the current mark at 32, this would be an improvement. For reference, my assignment 1 mark is 32, and the assignment 2 mark is 63, which gave me a combined mark of 48 for the module. For this reason, i was unable to be given a referral. As i only need 0.1 to get over the threshold for a 2:2, those additional 8 assignment 1 marks, which equals 4 module marks, takes me up by 0.66 in the degree classification calculations. I'm going to accept it, as regardless of whether it's fully uncapped or not isn't going to make a difference. It's enough to put me in the borderline region for a 2:2 either way. The borderline region requires 3 modules at level 6 above 50, to be declared a 2:2, which i have. So I should be able to secure myself a 2:2.

I am unsure however, about whether to take it to the appeals board or not as i managed to secure about 15 pieces of evidence demonstrating conclusively a significant impact on my performance. There is specialist statements, therapist assessments, social worker statements, and medical evidence for an issue I'm suffering from. Evidence of the severity of my brothers condition is also presented. So it's a solid case. Regardless of whether it's capped or uncapped though, I'll only be able to secure a 2:2 and no further. So i think I'm going to go with it.

But i would like to sincerely thank you. Following your advice has near enough saved me. I'd give you a hug if i could. Your the first and only person who advised me to appeal, which i wouldn't have done otherwise. And it's that which opened the IMR opportunity. so again, thank you.

Reply 6

Baleroc

13

Original post by BobRossThe4th

Hi mate, I felt like giving an update about things.
I followed your advice of first putting forward an appeal about my circumstances during one of the modules, and they got in contact with me after a little over a month (there quite busy) and offered me an alternative option before it got put in front of an appeals board, where i can do an IMR. Apparently, this could have been offered to me for an assignment component at the time but wasn't for reasons not specified. It would cap the assignment 1 component's mark at 40 sadly, but with the current mark at 32, this would be an improvement. For reference, my assignment 1 mark is 32, and the assignment 2 mark is 63, which gave me a combined mark of 48 for the module. For this reason, i was unable to be given a referral. As i only need 0.1 to get over the threshold for a 2:2, those additional 8 assignment 1 marks, which equals 4 module marks, takes me up by 0.66 in the degree classification calculations. I'm going to accept it, as regardless of whether it's fully uncapped or not isn't going to make a difference. It's enough to put me in the borderline region for a 2:2 either way. The borderline region requires 3 modules at level 6 above 50, to be declared a 2:2, which i have. So I should be able to secure myself a 2:2.
I am unsure however, about whether to take it to the appeals board or not as i managed to secure about 15 pieces of evidence demonstrating conclusively a significant impact on my performance. There is specialist statements, therapist assessments, social worker statements, and medical evidence for an issue I'm suffering from. Evidence of the severity of my brothers condition is also presented. So it's a solid case. Regardless of whether it's capped or uncapped though, I'll only be able to secure a 2:2 and no further. So i think I'm going to go with it.
But i would like to sincerely thank you. Following your advice has near enough saved me. I'd give you a hug if i could. Your the first and only person who advised me to appeal, which i wouldn't have done otherwise. And it's that which opened the IMR opportunity. so again, thank you.

Hi,

First, apologies for the delayed response, I don't always login to TSR that often. I am glad to hear that my advice on appealing was useful, thank you keeping me updated on that.

Ultimately, all you want is a 2:2. If your IMR ensures you get the 2:2 that you wanted, then it makes sense to accept the IMR.

Accepting the IMR would avoid the stress of the appeal process. My only advice is to make sure that accepting the IMR would definitely put you within the 2:2 grade range. Perhaps if you can verify that from your university tutors if possible, and maybe discuss it with someone else to be sure.

But if you are happy that you will achieve the grade you want, with the least amount of stress, then it seems an IMR makes sense.

I would only appeal in this scenario if the IMR doesn't give you a 2:2 grade. Then it would make sense to appeal it. Appealing can add some stress and work to do, so that's why I only recommend appealing if the IMR wouldn't give you a 2:2.

I am glad that it worked out for you in the end. 🙂

(edited 10 months ago)

Reply 7

hotpud

18

Original post by BobRossThe4th

So, i got 47.9 in total. I needed 48 to get to the threshold for a 2:2. 0.1 off. Now i have had a lot of issues, being a carer for my severely autistic younger brother who is prone to violent meltdowns, having health issues and money issues myself and chronic depression and anxiety. I know i've failed with this. But what prospects can i expect now? I know it's a competitive field. I was thinking CCNA and Comptia Network plus certifications would help, but what else. Is it worth even going into this field anymore. What would i even put on my CV. Got a degree and just not mention what class it is? Maybe even join the army, be a part of the royal signals and get network engineering experience through that? Sorry it's long.

You have lots of prospects, but you need to stop rolling out the excuses. I am sorry for what you have had to deal with, but other people do well under similarly difficult circumstances and whereas in education there are lots of ways in which you can be accommodated, employers tend to be a bit less flexible because the bottom line is profit and financial viability not the needs of their employees over and above what is required by law.

Employers are primarily only interested in skills and knowledge. If you want a job in software, you need to show off your ability to code. So, if you could write say a binary search algorithm, or MP3 decoder without too much effort, that is the kind of level you need to get to. Then create a website using a variety of different techniques and showcase your skills and code. You might also try answering some questions on Stack Overflow and building a profile. We recruited a guy off stack overflow once simply because of the quality of his answers.

Good luck!

What prospects do i have with a third class degree in computer science (truthfully)

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