Do grades matter much in the job market? How much do they matter?For instance, is a master's degree barely passed of much less worth to employers than a master's degree with straight A's?What about something there in between, like mostly B's or C's, some D's and E's and rare A's?I'm just wondering how much hassle I should go through (e.g. go to re-exams for courses I got D or E in) to get good grades. Is it worth it?I'm asking because I don't really want to end up with a worthless degree. Would an only E's master's degree be shunned by most employers these days?

I find it hard to imagine that there is a school which actually gives you a Masters degree if you have mostly Es. At most schools, you cannot get a Masters if your GPA is below 3.

at most schools, you just need to show up to get a B average in graduate courses. they hardest part is getting admitted and paying the tuition. then if you just show up and go thru the paces, they'll give you a B to get you out of there as quickly as possible.

QuoteOriginally posted by: KackToodlesat most schools, you just need to show up to get a B average in graduate courses. they hardest part is getting admitted and paying the tuition. then if you just show up and go thru the paces, they'll give you a B to get you out of there as quickly as possible. Oh Kack! I was always made to believe that a PhD in Computer Science at MIT is the passport for a lucrative job in Finance. Hmm, so it seems hedge funds do recruit people from "Podunk state varsity" with D grade...

QuoteOriginally posted by: Finance1987Oh Kack! I was always made to believe that a PhD in Computer Science at MIT is the passport for a lucrative job in Finance. Hmm, so it seems hedge funds do recruit people from "Podunk state varsity" with D grade... let me tell you a bit of wisdom. most people working in fortune 500, including people making high six figures, are podunk grads. You know why? phd in CS from MIT are too arogant to make good employees; in any case, they are too busy trying to chase after the internet startup or switching over to wall street.

QuoteOriginally posted by: KackToodlesQuote let me tell you a bit of wisdom. most people working in fortune 500, including people making high six figures, are podunk grads. You know why? phd in CS from MIT are too arogant to make good employees; in any case, they are too busy trying to chase after the internet startup or switching over to wall street. Oh! But some hedge funds, and investment banks (notably Shaw) recruit only from MIT, etc. I really can't comprehend the fact how a "Podunk varsity grad" with D grade will be able to land a job at an elite hedge fund and make a 6 figure salary..it sounds really astonishing! But I will acquiesce with you regarding your point pertaining to MIT grads...(to an extent)

QuoteOriginally posted by: sburaDo grades matter much in the job market? How much do they matter?For any job that requires a masters degree they pretty much don't. Grades in most graduate programs are semi-bogus anyway.

QuoteOriginally posted by: sburaDo grades matter much in the job market? How much do they matter?For instance, is a master's degree barely passed of much less worth to employers than a master's degree with straight A's?What about something there in between, like mostly B's or C's, some D's and E's and rare A's?I'm just wondering how much hassle I should go through (e.g. go to re-exams for courses I got D or E in) to get good grades. Is it worth it?I'm asking because I don't really want to end up with a worthless degree. Would an only E's master's degree be shunned by most employers these days?If your GPA were around 3.0 with some bunch of Cs then it would not make much difference. If they ask verbal, give some number ( no one verifies) but in writing you might want to be careful. although again, no one really checks your transcripts. Only copy of your degree. Having said this, I am surprised too that some school would let you graduate if you actually have so many Es on your transcript. Better to not even show that you have Masters.

Anything below a B- is considered a fail for graduate students in our department. The 1st year grad courses generally had a failure rate of ~30%. Our dept. doesn't report anything other than P/F to outsiders.

QuoteOriginally posted by: MatthewMAnything below a B- is considered a fail for graduate students in our department. The 1st year grad courses generally had a failure rate of ~30%. Our dept. doesn't report anything other than P/F to outsiders.FYI: You are not an exception, my friend.There are many schools that have P/F or High Pass (A), Pass (B) and Low Pass (which is actually C). And in such schools no prof. gives a low pass unless he intends to fail you - so your < B- mapping does not translate to other places which do have a letter grade and that too carefully chosen.

I was just providing a point of reference. Nobody really talks about grades, so it seems very odd to me when I fill out application forms at banks and they ask for GPA. Even funnier to me is when they ask for pre-university education. That was 10 years ago! I barely remember my undergrad GPA...