AIBU to still regret getting a 2:1 instead of a first?

[onedayillmoveon]

It’s been 10 years since I graduated from university and I still can’t shake off the regret that I got a 2:1 and not a first. I know that a 2:1 is perfectly fine for the vast majority of jobs and nothing to be ashamed of, my more and more people have gotten firsts for the past 20 years or so. When I graduated in 2016, about 33% of humanities graduates from my uni got firsts. I just felt so stupid, incapable, inadequate….. I know people say that grades and numbers can’t define us, but I sort of did let it.

I still can’t shake off this horrible regret that I didn’t get one. I got a high first in my second year and was so pleased, I genuinely loved my subject and had applied myself. In my final year (which largely determines degree class where I went), I became quite depressed and stressed. I could never focus and never really adequately prepared for my exams. I just can’t stop wishing that I had pulled myself together in some way.

Some of you, if you read this far, might think, “well if you have a decent job, nobody gives a damn what degree you got”, and yes, fair. Yet there are certain supposedly ‘elite’ jobs where a first is strongly preferred, and I think not getting one ruined my chances of those.

Anyway, if anyone else has ever felt the same way, or knows someone who does, and wants to share ideas or experiences, maybe that will be helpful.

@onedayillmoveon You are being unreasonable.

You are also incorrect in saying that a 2:1 is adequate for "the vast majority of jobs." A 2:1 is sufficient for ALL jobs.

I got a first. I don't care though, because it doesn't change the fact that it's impossible for the majority of people to progress in their careers. A 2:1 would not have made any difference.

Yes and you are an academic/ lecturer. Back in the 90’s that was the primary purpose of getting an 1st, academics and that was all. Then the most common grade was a 2:2 not a 2:1. I never needed a talk myself into being happy about my 2:1, I was happy with it, that was the general consensus back then, but then hardly anyone got a 1st. But judging by this thread most people nowadays get a 1st so they seem to have lost their shine much like most degrees.

I got a 2:2 25 years ago and have worked my way up to a great but challenging job earning 120K. Sometimes I am annoyed with my younger self that I wasn’t more focused, but somehow my mindset suits the world of work far more than academia.

I can confirm at the time of my graduation (1989) this was the prevailing view - the suspicion was you were wouldn't be well-rounded enough to be a good fit in most big corporate environments. They thought you would be too academic and not practical enough. They thought they'd be better off with someone who had a 2:1 and spent a lot of time playing rugby. Being a nerd was not something you were proud of back then. It meant you were beta.

In some ways recruitment is a bit fairer now and tries to avoid the kind of prejudices that were rife back then. But it has its own flaws (don't get me started!)

It would have made absolutely no difference to your life.

I got a double first and ultimately went into a business sector for which you don’t even need a degree.

From your posts I’d suggest it’s lack of confidence that’s held you back. You absolutely do not need a 1st for law. But you do need ebullient self-belief.

This

Really depends on the sector. 30 years ago that was not true of law or medicine or civil service fast stream.

Yes but their ego didn't allow them to give up. I'm not going to say I'm a big fan of an over inflated ego - if I spotted it I wouldn't have recruited them because it's a personality flaw that creates big problems.

Mindsets can change. I am staying with teaching for a while because I do need to earn money and give it a decent shot.

I’m not trying to ‘prove’ anything to anyone else.

No. A 2.1 is fine and it's not like you got a 2.2. my manager got a 2.2 from Cambridge and she's one of the best. She's so good at what she does.

After the first few years it doesn't matter

...um a Masters is higher than a first, in terms of academic attainment you have done better than others who "only" got a first. And you didn't get a "first" in your Masters. Masters degrees have a different classification system to Batchelor's degrees, I would expect you to know that if you have done one........

My BIL is a KC and he got a 2:1. My niece also got a 2:1 and is a partner in a city firm. I really dont think a first is essential to be a barrister or a career lawyer, at least it didn't used to be.

Which institutions have an official policy of only taking people with firsts? MI5? I really find it difficult to believe there are many others.

If you have a distinction in your master's you've got that. That's better because it's a higher level of study and you smashed that. Why would you still regret a 2.1 at UG when PG was a distinction?

But the vast majority of employers don't care. I'm glad you are proud of how hard you worked and feel you were "a natural" at your subject.

I got a 2.1 because I prioritised enjoying myself over studying. I then got a PhD because I needed one for my chosen career path. I took that more seriously. Now I'm in my 30s and nobody cares what grade I got because we're fully grown adults with lives and other things to talk about.

I got a 2.1 in 2003 and it always peeved me. I had external pressures and health issues too which had affected my study, and it just didn't reflect my capabilities. It's had no real relevance for my career, as I mostly work for myself.

This year I am starting a second undegrad in my 40s and part of it is about proving to myself I can do well academically (plus the fact that it was the last year I could get a student loan for a STEM subject). I

Why would anyone feel inadequate when they got a distinction in the master's.

I think that you need to understand yourself better and love yourself more.

Getting a first is, for most people, hard. It requires intelligence but also hard work, commitment, dedication, sheer grunt, strength of character, resilience, willingness to sacrifice stuff, ambition, conditions in which hard work is possible - so a decent home, resources, ability to use a computer, understanding how to manage your time, quality of teaching and other professional support... it's not just a test of cleverness.

I mean this kindly and not in any way in a judgemental way, but the fact that you are still stressing about this 10 years later suggests that perhaps you are missing some of those other characteristics. If you had got one of these high-flying jobs that people with a 1st supposedly get, perhaps you wouldn't have been able to cope with the pressure, the hours, the macho work environment, the relentless politics of senior roles, the endless targets etc

I got a 2.2. I wish I'd got a 1st, but I recognise that I am lacking in drive, ambition and the ability to work hard on my own. I think I'm clever enough, I just don't have the other things needed

Life hasn't been too bad

But being good at exams and playing the game needs to progress onto being good at interviews and playing that game and what often amazed me with grads is that they didn't think they needed to work out how to do the next bit.
And then when you succeed at getting the job you then have to figure out how to do your job properly and play that game for the next promotion - which people often forget too and they sit around moaning about face fitting and favourites - work is about people and relationships too - don't forget that!

A distinction is the equivalent of a 1st, is there a reason you’re being arsey?

I wouldn't regret it at all.XX
I have got a first class degree. I wasn't the best student. I just worked hard and read the marking criteria. People just hate you for having one. I don't mention it. Employers don't care at all.
The world of work can be quite wild...nothing like further education at all.

Be proud. You are alive. You did well. You contribute to society. You can love and be loved.....
XX

To answer your question, YABU.

That you quit the “glitzy” job when you already had your foot in the door because others had firsts is bizarre. How did you even know? No one cares when you are in the job, its performance that counts.

I honestly don’t know what’s going to make things feel better for you if a first in a Masters didn’t. You’re trying to legitimise your feelings by creating a fantasy narrative about the real world importance of first class degrees. It’s also a fantasy that you would enjoy or thrive in one of these “first-only” careers. It’s no surprise you went to Cambridge. It takes a certain type of person to think a 2:1 from there is a failure. You clearly have low self-esteem for some reason and I hope you can work on that. You clearly are a smart lady, who has lots of strengths. Maybe some therapy might help you see that. This degree fixation is just a symptom of a bigger issue.

He sounds like a twat, quite frankly.

You’re right, they don’t but there are some who will care about a third or even 2.2. I did say in a later comment that once you have a masters or PhD, nobody cares about any of it. Having said that, you can’t usually do either with a Desmond so securing at least a 2.1 is important.

Or he was fed up of the OP badgering him to remark essays and exams

I got a 2:2 , 20 years ago. I had a shite 2nd year, got pregnant had a termination at 19, couldn’t focus on work and scraped that year. Unfortunately my uni didn’t allow a higher weighted 3rd year option , which was offered at other unis at the time. I still remember my grade was 57.9% and i was gutted!
I got turned down for a masters course in 2007.Apart from that nobody has ever asked. I’ve worked up in my career and I got to do an mphil at work many years later as had the experience.
In 10 years time probably no one around you will talk about it anymore.
I always remember a friend was gutted he got a 3rd in maths then went on to be a v respected maths teacher.