What can I do with a very low GPA?

[DragonPetter]

My experience with previous HR and managers in my old job was that they tended to be star struck pretty easily. If my old boss got a resume on his desk with a second degree listed, he would have been really excited (which is humorous in retrospect), and the HR lady would not have any technical knowledge to make him skeptical. You might get away with not even including your GPA on your resume. The problem is that most employers value experience more than degree/GPA, and so finding your first job is often the most challenging one.

OP, you need to realize that there are lots of other people just like you, or even in worse situations. There are lots of mediocre students who got a job and stuck with it. Just like you are not the cream of the crop of your class, there are plenty of companies who are not the cream of the crop in their industry. Don't expect to get hired at a majorly successful and renowned technical company, although you should still apply to those places too. The mechanical engineering department at my old job had a boss who didn't even have a bachelors degree, and many managers are so out of touch with technical aspects that they care more about how you carry a conversation at lunch. You need to evaluate your skills and personality, and determine if you are competent at anything relevant in the jobs you are looking at. Competency is visible to anyone you work with, and you don't want to be the incompetent guy anywhere you end up at. At my previous job, I came across several incompetent workers who managed to be hired and keep their job.

On the other hand, you have not helped yourself much at all to counter the poor GPA. A 2-year technology degree would be really useful. One path you could take is electronics tech school and find an entry level job, and then go into a 2 year grad school program for medical physics to become a radiation physicist, where you can have a job as a consultant with medical equipment/software or work for a company that calibrates and repairs the machines. Those jobs actually pay a lot, and someone who had mediocre performance in a physics program probably could pull it off without much trouble.

The other thing that could be your big break is if you could find an internship. I'm surprised you didn't look for one last year when you knew your grades were shaky. You won't be paid well, but it gives you a great chance to prove yourself to your employer (and maybe boost your low confidence) and also you will have real work experience to put on your CV.

This may sound depressing, but within reason, take what you can get. You will get something, it just might not be your dream job, but it will be a stepping stone to something better.

 

[pumpkin0017]

A second undergraduate degree is going to make your CV worse unless it's something *wildly* different than physics.

Can I ask, why is it unattractive to have more education? I'm still an undergrad with no professional experience, so please forgive the ignorance. My friends and I consider multiple degrees to be a boon for job searching. Should we be avoiding this?

If my old boss got a resume on his desk with a second degree listed, he would have been really excited (which is humorous in retrospect), and the HR lady would not have any technical knowledge to make him skeptical.

That's encouraging. And I think I understand that it is assumed that people with multiple degrees may have been failing in one or the other. Is it always assumed to be the case in situations where the hiring staff actually know what's up?

What I mean to ask: if you have good performance in both degrees, is it still not a good idea to double up?

 

[Locrian]

What I mean to ask: if you have good performance in both degrees, is it still not a good idea to double up?

Maybe, but probably not. Personally, I would describe it something like this:

The value of adding a second degree in a similar field is very small.

Employers frown upon perma-students; a candidate’s additional time spent in college is not looked upon positively.

If you can get both degrees without adding any additional time in college, then it’s a win. However, there are other activities that could add a lot more value than the second degree (internships, real job experience).

Going back to school after graduation for another BS is pretty much guaranteed to be a losing proposition.

These thoughts are just on getting that first job though. I can imagine scenarios where going back to school was a long term win, even if it was a short term loss. Everyone will assume that their return to school is one of these exceptions, but most aren’t.

 

[Choppy]

To weigh in on the last couple of posts with respect to multiple undergraduate degrees.

First you have to be a little careful about what you're calling two (or more) degrees. There is a difference between a double major and completing two distinct degrees in my opinion. I realize that some universities actually give you two pieces of paper for double majoring, but when someone tells me he or she has earned two degrees, I expect that person has completed eight years of academic study. If that is not true, I feel as if the candidate is misrepresenting him or herself.

Where you have two similar degrees, it can create the impression (at least to me) that you've entered into a holding pattern... and that you're not expanding your horizons, rather, you're just trying to rack up a high score based on skills you already have. I try not to be so biassed and read so much into things, honestly. But that's what will go through my mind when I scan through one of umpteen resumes. One exception to this would be a physics major who went back for engineering - simply to get the professional credential.

 

[TMFKAN64]

Can I ask, why is it unattractive to have more education? I'm still an undergrad with no professional experience, so please forgive the ignorance.

It's the type of education... moving *up* (by getting a master's degree or a Ph.D.) is a positive thing. Getting more than one bachelor's degree just looks like a lack of focus... it seems as if you are just casting around wildly looking for something that interests you while avoiding work.

It's not fatal by any means though.

EDIT: And let me add that I agree with Choppy, a double major is different than two separate degrees. I think the "lack of focus" criticism could still be valid if the fields were wildly different, but no one would blink at a physics and math double major, for example.

 

[JakeBrodskyPE]

Lots of great advice here. Look, I'm going to summarize the situation by asking you what they call a person who graduates last in their class from Medical School: They call him or her "Doctor".

The point is that as far as most HR staff are concerned, YOU PASSED. This is much better than not passing. Years ago, I knew a lady who claimed to have graduated from an ivy league school, but later it was discovered that she didn't. She was fired shortly thereafter.

Whatever the situation, DO NOT LIE about your academic past. It is too easy to check.

That said, most companies couldn't care less what grades you got. Most employers know that there is very little correlation between grades in school and performance on the job. However, as others have pointed out, if you barely squeaked by, was it because you didn't like the subject? You didn't like the instructors? Perhaps, it wasn't what you thought it would be.

Those are honest problems that everyone has sooner or later. So you should ask yourself what you'd rather be doing. If you don't know, beware of those who think they have all the answers for you --because their answers are not necessarily good for you.

Good Luck...

 

[twofish-quant]

First of all, nowhere do you have to list the fact that you pursued a second undergraduate degree on your resume (and employers in Canada will not ask how many degrees you have). So pursuing a 2nd undergraduate degree will not have a negative impact on employment.

In the case of the OP, this is going to be very difficult to do since there is going to be a gap in the resume. If he does the second degree while being gainfully employed, that's not going to be a negative, but if he stays a full time student, this is going to be very bad.

 

[twofish-quant]

Can I ask, why is it unattractive to have more education?

education != school

It's not unattractive to have more education. It's extremely unattractive if it looks like you can't function outside of a school environment.

My friends and I consider multiple degrees to be a boon for job searching. Should we be avoiding this?

Multiple bachelors degrees in the similar fields, yes.

That's encouraging. And I think I understand that it is assumed that people with multiple degrees may have been failing in one or the other. Is it always assumed to be the case in situations where the hiring staff actually know what's up?

People will assume the worst.

What I mean to ask: if you have good performance in both degrees, is it still not a good idea to double up?

For the jobs, I've seen, it's a horrible idea. Now, it's a great thing to get more skills, so if you take courses outside of a degree program, that's considered a great thing. Also what I've said doesn't apply if you do something very different, or if you get something for certification purposes.

 

[twofish-quant]

The point is that as far as most HR staff are concerned, YOU PASSED. This is much better than not passing.

Yes. I knew people from the "square root club" at MIT. Those were MIT students whose sqrt(GPA) > GPA. Their motto was "my degree looks like your degree" and they didn't have too much trouble getting jobs. I knew someone who was a member of that club, and he does not remember second semester sophomore year. He just remembers that it was extremely fun.

Part of it is that passing looks good. If you have to go through several rounds of academic probation, go through multiple classes, and end up just barely passing by, you didn't give up. That looks better than someone that has a 4.0 that will panic the millisecond they have a 3.9.

 

[JakeBrodskyPE]

Part of it is that passing looks good. If you have to go through several rounds of academic probation, go through multiple classes, and end up just barely passing by, you didn't give up. That looks better than someone that has a 4.0 that will panic the millisecond they have a 3.9.

In fact, perfectionism is often a predictor of poor performance. The goal is to get things done without spending too much effort concerning yourself with the minutia of getting the process exactly right.

Going further, it seems there is a mind-set that if you go to school and learn all kinds of stuff that somehow you will magically be transported into the work force and hit the ground running. This is nonsense.

It has been a while since we've seen any interns on our staff, but I can tell you in no uncertain terms, it takes an experienced professional at least a year to get settled into a job at our company where they can work without close supervision. I think it would take a minimum of three years to take a fresh graduate out of college to get them to a point where they are actually productive and can independently make useful contributions.

 

[Aero51]

Before making any decisions ask yourself why do you have a low GPA. Here's a list that may help you:

Do you find the work that you are doing interesting or satisfying?
How many obligations (personal/extracurricular) outside of school do you have?
Where does school fit on your list of priorities (on a typical day would you play 3hrs of XBox before doing hw)?
Do you understand what you are learning/have learned?

Think of other questions to ask yourself, these are just for guidance. The answers to these questions are important because they may reflect who you are as a student and who you may become as a professional.

For instance:
If you are a slacker as a student, you'll probably be a slacker in the professional world until you almost get fired. If you are slacking off because you don't find your work interesting, don't expect your job to be much better.

Perhaps you are going through some family/girlfriend problems. If your head was continuously clouded you will not perform as best you can no matter where you go. If this is the case I strongly recommend you find a way to alleviate your problems constructively.

There is also the possibility that the subject you are learning just isn't right for you. Everybody has different skills, maybe physics isn't yours. Take some time to learn about yourself; its not worth being unhappy the rest of your life.

If none of these are the case and you truly want to pursue a career in your field. DONT GIVE UP! I have a good friend who was in a similar situation and is currently looking for a job in the manufacturing side of the aero industry. I have full faith he'll get what he wants.

Hope this helped. PM me if you have any questions.