Ordinary degree

[yrellim]

My son has just completed university and been awarded an ordinary BSC in computer games development. no special reason why -the usually immature for his age and wasted opportunity. I am proud that he went at 19 and stuck it out because it was hard for him but he didn't help himself.

He has spoke to another university about repeating the third year but of course will need to find £9k plus maintenance. Has any oneelses little darling being in this situation and did they repeat, find a job ect.

Thank you.

All advise/opinions welcome.

What do you mean by 'ordinary' degree? No honours or classification (e.g. 2:2) or just no honours but with a classification?

The degree he has done is very specific, though the skills like programming will be transferable that industry is a hard one to get a job in - theres a lot of moving around and updating qualifications, and the fact it's so specialist might be looked down on by some employers.

Does what he has now allow him to qualify for BCS registration? (British computer society) as that would help him with jobs.

Honestly I don't really see the point in paying to redo a third year. What does he expect to happen? In terms of employment I don't know if it will make him more attractive to employers as the impression may be given that he didn't graduate in the first place. Perhaps he should look at doing other IT qualifications in the area he wants to work in - 9k, plus maintenence when he already has a degree sounds in my opinion a waste of money and a year.

I'm sorry if this sounds harsh, im just offering my opinion after working in the industry (albeit awhile ago).

Thanks, he has no classification just a pass. He no longer wants to work in IT so wanted the degree for the value not the skills.

So he wants to redo 3rd year if an IT related degree to get his marks up?

He wants to redo degree to compete at honours as he did not complete last 45 credits, was disallowed due to a regulation so, yes wants to complete to get a classified degree and increase job prospects.

I'm confused.

You said he doesn't want to work in IT so where's the point in redoing a third year in IT, elsewhere (and why hasn't he approached the institution he studied at originally to redo the year, or did he and they refused)? You don't know he will be able to get the grades to get classified and, accepted to do honours at the other institution at the moment. The regulation preventing him would (very likely) be regarding his grades being low. That regulation exists in most places to enable students who are struggling to get the best possible classification in a degree e.g. If allowed to do the extra credits when already struggling theres a strong chance of failure altogether and no degree at all. He would need to do a massive amount of work e.g. No socialising, to get classified a third and get honours. Most IT honours work is project/programming related and you say he doesn't want to go into IT - so how would he manage that?

The degree he has won't open doors into other professions in my personal experience, nor will another related IT degree. I continued with my IT related degree and then found I couldn't get work in another discipline I wanted to work in because no one wanted to employ an IT graduate in anything other than IT - they assumed I would leave. I ended up needing to do another course and even then I had difficulty getting work as employers assumed I would leave - that was in my feedback many times.

He has his degree, which is great. Why doesn't he think about the area he wants to work in and use that as a basis for the next step? A good website to look at for graduates is prospects link here and good information about careers and potential courses.

I hope I don't sound harsh, I don't mean to. I don't think this is a good idea for him for many reasons (including employability and financial - explaining to future employers why he resat a third year to possibly get honours and a third and I assume you know he will not qualify for any funding from anywhere to do this as he has a degree already?).

Of course it's up to him - but needs to think very carefully before doing this.

(Sorry that was longer than I intended - I hit post not preview! I hope you can see what I'm saying!)

I'd maybe get him to look at redoing his third year with the Open University - it will cost about half in fees as another uni would, and he could do it part time over two years while working if he wanted.

Though if he is sure he doesn't want to work in IT, there might not be all that much point in him getting an IT degree?

You can four years of tuition fees through student finance.

I suspect many graduate entry careers require at least a 2:2,and more likely a 2:1. So I guess your lad would fall outside this. I don't know anything about IT specifically, but it sounds as if he's not interested in this career anyway!

I guess the overall question is: if he resits the 3rd year, whether by attendance at uni, or distance learning, is it likely that his grade would IMPROVE enough to gain a reasonable classification?

I suspect he needs to find the answer to these questions, in detail.

It would depend on a variety of things;

Was he awarded a pass degree, as he would have failed an honours degree? Normally a university would award a classification if at all possible (this may have changed in the last 15 years tho?!)

Essentially is it a question of motivation or ability?

If he did repeat - how would the 3rd year university treat his previous credits? Essentially, what average would he need to achieve during the third year to get the classification he needs? Some universities have 30:70, 50:50 between yr 2 and 3, and some don't count year 2 at all. Depending on his motivation /ability he would need to aim at an institution which gives him the best chance of passing well.

I remember a flatmate who was deperate to do a Msc which required a 2:1... Her year 2 marks were pretty low... (I think low 40s) ....she calculated it... The way our uni counted the modules, a 30:70 split, she would have to scored in the high 60s wirh some 70+ modules just to get a 2:1...she decided on this basis to change her goals, as there was no way she felt she could improve this much on the harder 3rd year modules. In the end she achieved a low 2:2.

I think given the cost implications of repeating,( could he get a fee waiver - were there any issues which prevented him from doing well?? ).... He needs to be very clear what he's aiming for and the likelihood of achieving this.

If the answer that his likely outcomes would be a 3rd class degree, he would need to discover how this would be viewed in his potential career path(s) . In my subject, anything lower than a 2:2 (and often a 2:1) would likely preclude from further study, and would not be acceptable for graduate schemes requiring a good academic degree. Sadly, there is just too much competition.

I think it is very easy to get into the mindset of a 'degree or nothing', he needs to be very clear, and honest with himself over the likely outcomes!

Are there other routes to what he wants to do?

Would guess that the OU would most likely be a (slightly) cheaper option. Usually the course materials are very good too... So, depending on how they count his credits, may make the best chance of passing well!

What area does he want to work in? Could he get a job (possibly lower down the ranks) in that area and study alongside? If it's graduate schemes/ post graduate he's looking for he'll have to rethink for now.