Should I stop caring about my GPA?

davidboy

I am at the end of my junior year and just got my first job in IT. I have a 3.75 gpa and it seems from what ive heard from people in IT, gpa does not matter and an employer will never ask for it once you have experience. I have always aimed for straight As but i am thinking this is the point where i should stop worrying about my grades.

I want a high-enough gpa to get into a good MBA program in case the opportunity presents itself. I believe a 3.0-3.5 should be good enough. If I can maintain a 3.0 average for the rest of my classes, I will maintain a 3.5 cumulative gpa.

This will allow me to free much time from studying to doing other things that I really want to do.

So should I just aim for 3.0 the rest of the way?

ptilsen

No.

That's all I have to say.

Edit: Okay, okay, I'll elaborate. Yes, many employers won't ask for or care about your GPA, but some will. Yes, a 3.0 or higher is good enough. But, a 3.75+ is impressive, and I think ultimately adds "points" in an interview. And yes, it helps get into a Master's or Doctorate program.

My opinion is that if you're going to take the time to do something, do it either as well as you can or poorly as you can get away with -- preferably the former.

Brain_Power

Yes, you should care about your GPA. It is a direct reflection of your work ethic. There is a required slot to fill in your GPA on many job applications, not all, but most want to see it.

blargoe

If there is any chance that you ever, ever want to go to grad school, then you need to continue caring about your GPA.

tpatt100

Brainpower and blargoe brought up excellent points.

Also when I stop caring about something I just don't "kinda" stop caring I tend to go full on "don't care" so I would probably fail out my senior year lol.

techdudehere

I concur, your GPA will matter when applying for Grad school. You're doing well in school. Do you really want to let a job that could be here today, gone tomorrow derail that process when you're one year from the end? Having a high GPA could be the difference between getting a stipend or spending thousands of dollars out of your own pocket for Grad school. I did the same thing, I blew off Grad school to get started working. The problem with that is I never got a second chance to attend grad school without taking out enormous loans.

cloud802

techdudehere wrote: »

I concur, your GPA will matter when applying for Grad school. You're doing well in school. Do you really want to let a job that could be here today, gone tomorrow derail that process when you're one year from the end? Having a high GPA could be the difference between getting a stipend or spending thousands of dollars out of your own pocket for Grad school. I did the same thing, I blew off Grad school to get started working. The problem with that is I never got a second chance to attend grad school without taking out enormous loans.

I did the exact same thing, once I got my degree I went to work and didnt care about grad school until years later.

higherho

Right out of school? Yes, especially if you have no work experience and if you want to go into grad school right away. However, 5 to 10 years down the road your GPA will not matter when applying for a masters. I'm going to be entering a masters program and the GPA requirements got replaced by work experience (of course I still need to take a test to judge my current math skills ,etc). Though do not take this as "i can slack off", I think everyone should try their best and try to get the highest scores on their exams. Its just that I found out that my A's in my cisco courses helped me a lot but if I did not play with the technology for a while, I will forget it.

Of course if you go to grad school right after undergrad then a high GPA can get you more money, etc. However, if you wait and go right into the working field you can get a company to pay it for you (or a large chunk of it). I am going to be getting my Masters or starting it when I hit 30. I want to get my CCNP before that and possibly some other certifications.


I do not list my GPA on my resume now and my education is listed on the bottom. All I get asked in interviews is "do you have a degree and what level of degree and your major".

davidboy

Thanks for the responses. Would a 3.5 GPA be good enough? Like I mentioned, I can get by with a 3.0 from here on out and I will still maintain a 3.5. A 3.0 is pretty easy to earn and it will give me more time to work, exercise, and go out.

I spend so much time studying even for GE courses that has nothing to do with IT. If I spend 30% less time studying, I can still earn a 3.0 the rest of the way and still graduate with a 3.5.

If I do go to grad school, it probably wont be until two years after I get my bachelors degree. Im aiming for experience more than anything out of college.

Slowhand

I'd say stop worrying about your GPA, or at least stop letting your GPA worry you, when it comes to working after college is over. However, if you're looking to get into a good MBA program, or any grad-school for that matter, you should probably think less about what low-ball number is good enough for B-level grades and think more about finishing strong as you get into the home-stretch of your last year. You'd be surprised how good it looks on your academic record when you go to apply to grad-school and they see you didn't succumb to senioritis.

higherho

Slowhand wrote: »

I'd say stop worrying about your GPA, ....snip....

Yea I agree, especially your last sentence. My first year was myself playing catch up in my studies. However, my last year and a half of college was much stronger than my first. My last year and a half was over a 3.4 in GPA standing were my first half was 2.9 to 3.0.

ptilsen

If life balance is your main concern, I would say slow down. If you don't have a compelling reason to take the number of classes you are now, take fewer classes. It's preferable to do better and learn more than get done faster, IMO.

paul78

davidboy wrote: »

Thanks for the responses. Would a 3.5 GPA be good enough?

If you had zero work experience and you listed a 3.5 GPA on your resume, it would likely catch my attention and I would give your resume a closer look. But if you have a few years of work experience after college, your GPA would not matter to me.

That said - you have raised a great question - I tend to agree with a lot of others like Slowhand and ptilsen - it's also about life-balance and don't let your GPA worry you.

I'm speaking only for what I would look for - different organizations have different criteria for hiring recent college grads.

BTW - a 3.75 GPA is admirable. Nice job!

Plantwiz

@paul78, I'm curious why you think you would see a GPA on a resume?

@davidboy, GPA doesn't matter in the workplace, however, if you are looking for scholarships and such, then you will find it is extremely important. A 3.75 is good, but it seems that a lot of folks get this these days, so what else do you bring to the table? That's is what you want to focus on. And a GPA that is lower say a 3.0-3.5 is fine for most, but if you were carrying a 3.75 and now you drop dramatically, it makes you look like you gave up, rather than showed a good work ethic to stay in front.

However, I'm wondering why one is flashing their GPA in front of an employer? I cannot recall a time that GPA ever came up in a job situation. The fact you hold the degree matters, but not as much as 'knowing' how to work and what good work ethic entails. Job skills can be trained, but integrity cannot.
GPA matters for moving into Master and PhD programs, not the workplace.

And, if you are a competitive person, you'll probably want to go back in time and kick the younger version of you for not staying strong and doing your best work. Dropping a little if fine. However, to simply give up and settle for B and C level grades...might be a little much. Likewise, dropping a grade point or few is a piece of cake. Getting back up to a respectable level...nearly impossible.

Unless you have some stress related health issues because of your grades, stay focused on what you are doing your best, but don't start the 'I'm a failure' bit for one bad class.


my 5 cents

Zartanasaurus

I don't think you should stop caring about the quality of your work just because someone isn't going to measure it. If you take pride in your work, your GPA should matter even if it doesn't matter to your employer. If you have a compelling reason to let off the gas some as a trade off, that's fine. But to not care because you think no one else cares isn't a good life trait, IMO.

paul78

Plantwiz wrote: »

@paul78, I'm curious why you think you would see a GPA on a resume?

Very good question. I don't actually interview entry-level folks. But a long, long, long, long time ago, people used to do that. If placing GPA on a resume is no longer a practice for recent college grads - that would make more sense.

Plantwiz

Unless you mean back in 1932 they may have asked (and I'm fairly confident they did not, nor was it put on a resume) I don't know how long, long, long, long ago you are referencing, but that's simply folly in the 70s and 80s and 90s it was not done. Perhaps in certain job areas, but not the norm, nor across the board done and I'm confident during the 70s it was discouraged because even back then the instructors would tell students NOT to put it on the resume.

Nevertheless, always do your best! Right before your best causes health problems of course. Mental and physcial stress can be so damaging, but if grades bother a person, then perhaps they need to speak with their advisors and pick a better career track.

paul78

Plantwiz wrote: »

Unless you mean back in 1932 they may have asked (and I'm fairly confident they did not, nor was it put on a resume) I don't know how long, long, long, long ago you are referencing, but that's simply folly in the 70s and 80s and 90s it was not done.

Lol - you got me - - but I'm not that old. I was referring to the late 80's, early 90's. I was just going by my experience and seeing GPA's on resumes back then when I used to interview recent college grads. It was for software developers in financial services so I would agree that it may be industry specific.

I don't know what today's practice may be but I did google a few US Universities and some (Boston University, Duke) did advocate adding the GPA to the resume.

If someone had work experience though, I would think that would be more important than the GPA.

higherho

My college, and a few others I've had friends at told their students to put their resume on their resume as long as it was a 3.0 or higher.

Slowhand

Talking about the idea of putting your GPA on your resume reminded me of a quote from a former math teacher of mine:

"Attendance for this class is optional, so is the homework; they're purely for your own benefit and you're only responsible for tests. What are you going to do, go into a job interview and tell them 'I showed up every day for math class'? They're not going to give a crap about your GPA, let alone how often you showed up. All they'll care about is you're not too stupid to do the work!"

He was a surly German man that was none too happy about teaching a summer course. It was an. . . 'interesting' class.

Zartanasaurus

paul78 wrote: »

Very good question. I don't actually interview entry-level folks. But a long, long, long, long time ago, people used to do that. If placing GPA on a resume is no longer a practice for recent college grads - that would make more sense.

People who graduate with honors will put their designation as part of the resume.

ptilsen

Zartanasaurus wrote: »

People who graduate with honors will put their designation as part of the resume.

Agreed. Honors in particular are resume-worthy.

Both in high school and college (fake college, mind you) we were taught to put our GPAs on our resume if the GPA is good (3.0 or higher), and I still see them all the time. Ultimately, the GPA is not a major factor, and I've not heard of many employers asking a college grad about their GPA. Current college (and even high school) students will likely need to provide their GPA, but graduates are not in my experienced asked. I still think it adds some value, and a 3.5 or high is resume-worthy, as are any honors. It's unlikely to make the difference between you and another candidate, but it doesn't really hurt much, either -- unless you've devoted an entire line to it and could have used the space better.

Really, it's like the A+. Later in your career, it does not matter at all if you have it, but most people would still list it. It's another credential, and unless a resume is tight for space it has a place there.

powerfool

I would shoot for a minimum of a 3.5 GPA if you want your pick of MBA programs.

As for coasting, that isn't a good idea... they will not only look at your GPA, but they will look at your overall pattern in school... if it is downward, that won't look favorably for you.

Plus, your courses will become more demanding as you get your capstone courses. You will likely have combinations of papers and presentations every week with those courses. As an IS major, I had both a capstone IS course and a capstone business course. They were some of the best courses I had, but they were demanding.

hackman2007

Plantwiz wrote: »

Unless you mean back in 1932 they may have asked (and I'm fairly confident they did not, nor was it put on a resume) I don't know how long, long, long, long ago you are referencing, but that's simply folly in the 70s and 80s and 90s it was not done. Perhaps in certain job areas, but not the norm, nor across the board done and I'm confident during the 70s it was discouraged because even back then the instructors would tell students NOT to put it on the resume.

Nevertheless, always do your best! Right before your best causes health problems of course. Mental and physcial stress can be so damaging, but if grades bother a person, then perhaps they need to speak with their advisors and pick a better career track.

Granted I am entry-level, but every full-time job I have applied for asked for my GPA. Every single one of them! In fact, I was asked by multiple people what my GPA was in some interviews. The company I work for now for example wants people to have a 3.0 GPA or higher (and most of the time much higher). GPA is more important than you think, especially for entry-level.

However, now that I have more experience, I am going to take the GPA off since it is not important anymore.

Heero

For jobs during college and right out of college, it does matter in a lot of cases. I can tell you that I got a really nice internship basically handed to me by having a good GPA. After you have been graduated for a few years, new jobs won't ask for it and you won't really want to give it cause it won't mean much.

griffinalice29

David, unfortunately a 3.0 is no longer status quo when applying for grad school. 3.5 looks a lot better, if you want to get into semantics. I had a 3.3 and couldn't get into the executive education program I was hoping for.

Devilry

I think you should always just do your absolute best.