DS got a third after struggling at uni, how limiting is it?

[Misthios]

DS started uni in 2021 and for the first year his studies were entirely online. DS has significant challenges with neurodiversity - properly diagnosed dyspraxia and ADD, almost certainly autism too. His mental health was very poor and I was very pleased he was living here at home as he simply would not have coped otherwise. He finally crashed and burned after his third year (4 year degrees in Scotland) and was placed in academic suspension for a year. We had the most awful year with him trying to get him formally assessed and medicated for his ADD, he started on anti depressants, found a tutor to help in the subject he struggled with, and finally got through and into his final year.

This year has also been a struggle, the support from uni is just not there, funding in Scottish unis is a massive issue and he was not having check ins with tutors or disability support or anything. It was all very hard for him but long story short he has had his degree results today and got a third.

He is very upset. We have told him how proud we are of him for sticking at it and going back to finish his degree and the class of thart degree doesn't matter. He does not want a high flying job. He just wants to work in a lab. I am just worried that with the very competitive jobs market that he is going to struggle to get anything and will end up thinking that uni was a waste of time.

And I thought the pre-school years were the hard ones.

I think you are being harsh. I also don't think it's true. I work in a professional field which requires a dgree and have never been asked what class of degree I have. I also think a lot of graduates get jobs that don't require a degree. HOWEVER, I do appreciate that the current job market is terrible.

I went into academia and no one ever asked me to show my certificates for any of my degrees.

Hmm, would be interesting to know why - most likely because other local schools have been making their lab techs redundant to save costs.

Do look at private schools too - work out where they advertise and, if possible, set up an alert.

He could also offer to volunteer at a school. His old school might be happy to give him some work experience.

@Misthios the degree classification is only important for entry level graduate jobs. Once he has his foot on the ladder nobody will even ask about his degree classification - they'll only be interested in his work experience.

Thank you all. Graduation today. He is not targetting specific graduate schemes as he realises he's at a disadvantage there, but more jobs which just state the applicant needs a HNC/HND/degree.

I hope you have a lovely day celebrating.

Have a lovely day celebrating his graduation 🧑‍🎓. He has done well and is graduating - not everyone is able to do that. He is very wise to look at the areas of employment that he is best qualified for. You must be very proud of him.

I think the more experience he can get the better even if these are internships.
if completing a formal application form for a grad scheme in a big corporation they’ll want him to write his grade. But if he is applying for smaller companies he can just list bsc hons and the dates and they may not even ask for the grade or certificate, the further he gets in his career the less interesting it would be.
he should aim to get any job at all
now

Ps I think he should get a job at lab assistant. For his first job, if they ask why he got a third I thkmk
he should say he found some of it hard and probably should have done a diffenet degree but didn’t want to give up. Do NOT blame the uni not meeting his reasonable adjustments etc or that will make an employer worry that he won’t be able to do a normal job without lots of work on their part.

I have a first degree, two masters, pgdips and a load of other guff and got firsts in all but none of the grades are on my cv or ever talked about. I recruit healthcare professionals too - the grades never come up.

I think he sounds marvellous and resilient. He should be immensely proud of himself. I work in the ND field - I think finding the type of job he will thrive in is the key, his degree grade won’t stop that. Sounds like he’s recognised he needs a heavily structured routine driven environment that isn’t terribly social. He just needs to fit his search around that and create a killer statement and leave the grade off. And get volunteer and work experience under his belt.

I think he’ll do great.

That is very kind of you @seanconneryseyebrow . I am indeed very proud of him. It has not been easy and he has kept going.

I had a very informative chat with someone I know who is a postdoc in a uni in a related field, she was talking about potential opportunities for shadowing which is positive. Also one of his friends who finished last year in his course did her MSc this year and was graduating today too, she has been accepted onto a PhD and has also said he is welcome to come in and observe/help.

@Misthios one of my sons did pharmacy but struggled (due inpart to anxiety which he suffers from) and only got a pass in pharmaceutical science despite working hard. He got a job in a hospital as a pharmacy assistant which is band 2 and has worked his way up with various courses, all funded by the nhs hospital, and is now a band 5 pharmacy technician. He's doing another course at the moment (checking) which could lead to a band 6. He's never been out of work. There are a lot of opportunities within hospitals if that appeals to him, lab assistants too, with opportunities to advance.

Agree with you, silly post.

So he'll happily chat if it's someone he knows, just not someone he doesn't. Hats off to him for sticking to the rules.

@Nomura I think it’s about being accosted at an occasion. He’d probably say look at the web site to anyone! They do careers evenings in schools and if someone knows him they can certainly look at the website! They know where to look! He would not give full details to anyone because it’s favouritism and he’s not recruiting them either. Others do that.