Is a 3rd class degree really the end?

People often ask me, what can they do with a 3rd class? There are no jobs even for people with a 2:1, what do we do in a job market where certificates & grades means everything and still means nothing? My answer is always the same.

Going back to get another 4yrs bachelor's degree doesn't sound so wise. What if you get another 3rd class? or have extra years? Employers in developed job markets care less about grades and more about skills than the ones in less developed job markets. Your grades get you through the door, before any attention is paid to your skillset. 2.1 is the standard for most jobs now. So, if you really care about improving your chances of getting a job in the latter martet, you too should care about grades because it's a highly competitive environment.

The time to start caring is not when you're done with your study, the best time is before you're done with your study. Because you will know. During my undergraduate days, one of the first things we were taught in the first year was how to calculate our CGPA/GPA. I & my bestfriend then were very competitive with our grades, we were almost obsessed with our CGPA, lol. After every semester, we always wanted to know where our CGPA stood. While other may not have been as obssessed as were, or even calculated their CGPAs, they somehow had an idea where they stood at the end of a session. You just know.

What to do then?

First, how professional or applied is your field? A 3rd class Pharmacy graduate is relatively better placed in the Nigerian job market than a 3rd class Sociology graduate. This is so because as a professional, you're trained in the skills required to practice the profession so your grades matter less. Therefore, in order to improve your chances of getting a job with a 3rd class in Zoology or any of these less employable courses in Nigeria, you should join a profession that will give you levarage, take the exams & belong to a professional body. HR, Accounting, Finance, Purchasing & Supply Chain Managment, QHSE, IT, Marketing - Communications & PR, Project Management, and so on. Find the one that suits you best. When you become a professional, the demand in the job market will be for your skills first, not your grade.

What do you think of first when you meet a Chartered Accountant? Definitely not what grade he/she left school with. So don't spend 3yrs after school searching for job without success & suddenly feel you should do something. You should start doing something when you know.

The bottom line is, pick up a skill or profession that will give you leverage in the job market, so much that whoever meets you will care less about what grades you have, by virtue of "what you can do". The sooner you start and do this, the better.