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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

I want to tell people I have a 1st class even though I don’t?

504 replies

plieddried · 01/12/2021 03:56

It bothers me so much to see my actual degree classification. On my cv I don’t even bother to write my degree classification but I still feel embarrassed. I want to start telling people (and myself) that I graduated with a 1st class honours even if it’s not true. It makes me feel happier to tell myself I got a first class. It also makes me feel more confident and secure in my ability to work. It makes me feel accomplished. Wondering if AIBU?

OP posts:
FirewomanSam · 02/12/2021 22:27

@AudacityBaby oh it is very very cringey! It’s always done in a sort of faux-self-deprecating way. Like asking me how my PhD is going then saying something like ‘gosh you are clever, doing a PhD, I only ever did my little undergraduate degree all those although of course it was at Oxford, which isn’t bad I suppose.’ Or when a young relative got a First it was all ‘oh well done you, you did better than me you know, I only got a 2:1 but it was a very high 2:1 actually, and from Oxford, so I’m very proud of that.’

She also regularly starts stories and anecdotes with something like ‘not long after I left Oxford (with my high 2:1, I was quite proud of that actually you know…)’

Confused
Ozanj · 02/12/2021 22:32

This happens with my Indian family a lot - in that people get super competive about degree classifications and you’ll have cousins in Mumbai who got 1sts rinsing cousins in London for getting a 2:1 until they realise, in many causes, they actually had lower percentage scores than the UK lot. Getting a good classification in this country is incredibly difficult and you should applaud yourself for whatever you managed to achieve.

ChequerBoard · 02/12/2021 22:36

@FirewomanSam I think we all know someone like that.

There is a friend of my cousin who is forever known as 'two degrees' because whenever he met someone new, after exchanging names his first question always be 'I've got two degrees, how many degrees have you got?'

I can't even remember his real name, it's always just 'how is two degrees these days?'

Dimondsareforever · 02/12/2021 22:40

I also feel intelligent enough to say to say I have a first class degree. But I don’t have any degree. Does that make me Unreasonable?? Am I allowed to lie as well??

NeedAHoliday2021 · 02/12/2021 22:42

My assistant has a degree and when I recruited her I probably saw the classification but 2 years on I’ve got no idea, nor do I care. She’s good at her job and that’s what matters. Having a first doesn’t prevent someone being a massive twat.

HalloHello · 02/12/2021 22:59

Would you not just say 'I've got a degree in Tapestry' rather than 'I got a 2.2 in Tapestry'

I have don't think anyone gives a flying f**k anyway except you.

courtshoe · 02/12/2021 23:00

As an employer, I probably wouldn't care what degree classification someone had. It's not relevant to my staff snd their role. But I appreciate others might.

I would however take very serious issue with an employee who lied about their achievements. Yo me that's dishonest and shows a lack of integrity.

If you really care do much. Go snd go something about it. Enrol on a masters course or PG diploma or something

ErrolTheDragon · 02/12/2021 23:05

[quote ChequerBoard]@FirewomanSam I think we all know someone like that.

There is a friend of my cousin who is forever known as 'two degrees' because whenever he met someone new, after exchanging names his first question always be 'I've got two degrees, how many degrees have you got?'

I can't even remember his real name, it's always just 'how is two degrees these days?' [/quote]
What does he do if he meets someone with more?

AudacityBaby · 02/12/2021 23:08

Having more than one degree is a bit weird. I have three qualifications but only one is a degree. I wonder who he’s hanging out with that there’s some sort of hierarchy of degree quantity.

I am cringing so much at high 2.1 from Oxford I can’t.

AudacityBaby · 02/12/2021 23:09

Sorry - weird is a bit judgey! Unusual. It’s unusual. Not least because it’d get expensive…

liliainterfrutices · 02/12/2021 23:29

I got a first. I have yet to find anyone else who has ever given a shit about this. It really doesn’t make much difference, OP.

ErrolTheDragon · 02/12/2021 23:36

@AudacityBaby

Sorry - weird is a bit judgey! Unusual. It’s unusual. Not least because it’d get expensive…
It's not that unusual, quite a lot of people do a masters nowadays including ones done some time after the bachelors, PhDs aren't wildly uncommon. What is weird is someone announcing themselves as having two degrees!
Dwebbles21 · 02/12/2021 23:37

I've read the thread and I think this is a class issue. I'm assuming you have always gone to really good schools, maybe private schools so you've always been around this academic environment where if you don't get a 1st you're castigated for it.

I've seen it with a lot of my friends at Uni who went to private school. It creates additional pressure on students and I think when students come to Uni, it makes them 'crack' in some ways.

Whereas, where I come from, we don't talk about the degree classifications. If I explained to my friends and family about degree classifications, they wouldn't have a clue.

AudacityBaby · 02/12/2021 23:52

@ErrolTheDragon Ahhh for some reason I was assuming he meant he had two undergrad degrees!

Atemyhat · 02/12/2021 23:55

Oh dear. OP, basing self esteem on academic grades is such an easy trap to fall into, but it’s so so damaging and pointless.

You have to remember that grades do not hold any intrinsic value. Now read that again.

I failed an A Level because I messed up in selecting questions during the exam. Does that mean I am stupid? No. It was a mistake. I re-took it and got a different grade. Grades change.

I did my Masters full time over a year and got a Merit. A lady on the course did it part-time over two years (she didn’t have a job alongside) and got a distinction. Do I think she is cleverer than me? No, she had double the time for everything than I did. Grades are crude. They don’t mean much. They don’t measure intellect, only performance.

Basing you self esteem on something as unsubstantial as this is a recipe for disaster. There are loads of mediocre lucky people out there with firsts, and lots of talented but unlucky people out there with 3rds.

KeyboardWorriers · 02/12/2021 23:57

Who are these people who are constantly bringing up degree classifications? A couple of my fresh from university trainees do, but I think in normal people this wears off pretty swiftly.
I can only think that they haven't accomplished much since university, and that is why they are still so hung up on it?

Youngatheart00 · 02/12/2021 23:58

I don’t mean to sound cruel but…from your posts you are hardly coming across as intelligent.

CPL593H · 03/12/2021 00:07

Interesting re how things have changed. A handful of people in my year (decades ago) got Firsts and it really was obvious why, they were very bright and/or hardworking (it was usually both) There were more 2:1s but the majority of us got 2:2s, the odd Third and Ordinary. This seemed the pattern across all departments and surrounding year groups from what I could see.

I can't fathom why anyone would tell THEMSELVES that they had actually got a First when they hadn't. As far as telling others, just don't, it would be a disaster professionally if the truth came out and perhaps you need to examine why you're so very bothered about this. I guarantee no one else is.

TedMullins · 03/12/2021 00:45

First of all stop hanging around with wankers who talk about their degree classification. Who does that?! I don’t have a degree but I work in an industry where most people do, and it isn’t a regular topic of conversation. Does anyone care what grades you got in school or what your degree was once you’re an adult with an actual job? Not in my experience.

HeddaGarbled · 03/12/2021 00:56

Did you get a Dezzy? I’d probably keep that on the DL, too

Oy, Desmond and proud!

whatisthisinhere · 03/12/2021 01:31

Oh no, don't do it OP. A 1st won't change who you are, or any of your qualities, skills, etc. Do a postgrad if you wish, but only if it helps your career. I did mine over a decade ago, it's meaningless now, mostly.
Are you unhappy with your life? Perhaps a change in direction is what you need

Original poster
plieddried · 03/12/2021 01:55

@Youngatheart00

I don’t mean to sound cruel but…from your posts you are hardly coming across as intelligent.
Well, mumsnet is just something I do in my spare time. It’s not the place I go to show how clever I am
OP posts:
Original poster
plieddried · 03/12/2021 01:58

@courtshoe

As an employer, I probably wouldn't care what degree classification someone had. It's not relevant to my staff snd their role. But I appreciate others might.

I would however take very serious issue with an employee who lied about their achievements. Yo me that's dishonest and shows a lack of integrity.

If you really care do much. Go snd go something about it. Enrol on a masters course or PG diploma or something

To be fair, I wouldn’t tell employers or write it on my CV. I was talking about social situations. I’m surprised this never comes up with people you all know Hmm
OP posts:
Original poster
plieddried · 03/12/2021 02:03

@KeyboardWorriers

Who are these people who are constantly bringing up degree classifications? A couple of my fresh from university trainees do, but I think in normal people this wears off pretty swiftly. I can only think that they haven't accomplished much since university, and that is why they are still so hung up on it?
I feel like we live in completely different worlds. I know many people, even people years older than me, people in their fifties who still talk about their degree classification. Confused

To be fair, I guess it depends on the people in your immediate environment

OP posts:
Original poster
plieddried · 03/12/2021 02:05

The comments in this thread have made me feel like I’m so odd.

OP posts: