How important is a college GPA ?
 

in consideration of a first job and there on.

and what else could this college gpa be used for?

I have recently been told that it will follow you wherever you go. But after you get on in life it will be one of many considerations, rather than the main one.

It's about as important as that Permanent Record stuff they talked about in grade school.

some companies care about your GPA for your first entry level job, accountants, legal, and other professional types.

Ultimately later on it will be unimportant.

hmm thats a good question... I was wondering that myself... I would think it has to have some effect on maybe your very first job right out of college... or if you have a good GPA you could probably flaunt it on job applications for your career lol

Right out of college it is very important, because since you don't have experience, potential employers use it to determine if you are worth hiring.

After you get a few jobs and work on a few projects, it becomes less important.

Experience > High GPA > Low GPA

If you want to get more education later on, it can be important.

I was thinking about graduate school, but then remembered my college GPA and thought again. :)

In my case its extremely important.....Im going to have to compete with my fellow students for a transfer into an engineering school.

Strangely, the only time I was asked about my GPA was on the job interview for the job I'm currently in - "Sr. Systems Administrator" - a job where the qualifications and previous work was much more important. I got the impression it was asked as a routine.

It's important for some high-tech jobs and higher educations positions. But most people never ask. Simply putting your graduation from X college on the resume suffices 99% of the time. But if you want graduate school, it's important. Keep it high even if you don't plan to continue your education--because you might change your mind a few years down the road. Who can say what new vistas might open up for you.

A GBA is really important in college. I mean I have one & I wouldnt have anything to do on the bus otherwise. I had the original Gameboy but Im tired of tetris at this stage. OOh yeah, Is yours a GBA Sp or just the Gameboy Advance?

It's on my resume, but it's my own calculated number for GPA in my major. That is I deleted all the other BS courses that I had to take to get my engineering degree and only counted the relavant courses. That said, it's never come up in discussion at an interview.

LOL

Depends on your field...after the first job, I've seen no importance

The important thing, <b>The_Dude</b>, is to get them to stop laughing after they see "U.T." at the top of the resume :D

hahaha, nice one H-A-T-E-R.
i think u got 'em confused with "A&M"

I'm hoping that seeing those 2 great letters would get me a job.

college not for this guy
 

I found myself not caring about my GPA in highschool, but I made it through that. GPA is nothing more than a way too evaluate and possibly make comparisons to anothers work. If your work passes the course, who cares about it.

I don't think it means that much if the person hiring is smart enough not to look at it. Your average GPA doesn't matter too much, though if I was hiring I would based on grades of *computer classes* if hiring in the field of CS, because some of the classes that a CS major has to take are pretty shitty :)

Some employers love the GPA because it quantifies your intelligence, drive to succeed, ability to prioritize, etc in their minds. Of course it has nothing to do with how you will actually perform in the real world. If you are looking to get into certain industries, pharmaceuticals, engineering, some areas of the government, etc it will be very important. It also depends on the job market, GPA questions tend to come up more often when it's an employer's market.

Experience and successes will overcome GPA in a heartbeat. As far as grad school, GPA is only one factor. If you score well on standardized tests, the GPA almost becomes secondary.

Important if you go on to grad school or into fbi or something large and institutional. If you become a carpenter like me then not too important.

Your GPA really will be important (as many have said) for things like Graduate School and/or entry into Government Service (unless you've got friends or family pulling strings for you).

In the "real world", however, it's not all that much of a factor in obtaining employment. You can have a lousy GPA, have completed an internship elsewhere, and still be very well qualified for a position.

I've hired almost 1,000 people in my years in business; during that time, I never inquired about a candidate's GPA....and this was for a Fortune 100 firm! Being a satisfactory job fit is much more important to an employer, as people well-suited to a position are more likely to remain with the company hiring them for longer periods of time.

Longer employment period = return on initial employment investment for employer.

So don't sweat it too much if your GPA isn't up there. Make sure you've got something other than classroom experience to put on your resume, and employers will be jumping at the chance to put you on their payroll.

mmm my sentamints exactly. another thing... if your getting financial aid via fafsa stuff or even some scholarships will require you to keep a minimum gpa...

and ive always heard that in the long run its not too important and that experience is more important

I'm glad you don't mean my Volunteers; I was afraid you was insultin' the Big Orange, and there woulda been hell to pay, he he he.

I've never been asked my GPA. And now, 8 years after graduation, I don't even remember it.

Now, if you go to grad school, it's VERY important. But I didn't. And I seem to remember it had something to do with my GPA... Hmmm...

If you want to go to Law School it is all basically your GPA and your LSAT score, if those dont stack up to other applicants they dont even consider you for admission.

It's only important when you think it isn't.

As stated earlier, it's real important for your 1st job, but only up to a certain point. You need to keep it above the cut-off point for "good" in your field, but don't waste your time trying to make it really really high, unless you're trying to go to med school, or you'll not have the time to do the things that you'll actually talk about in the interview that having the 3.00+ GPA got you!

I'm sure a higher gpa will help you in the long run (3.0 and higher). Can get you in the door at certain places. It will also help you get grants and scholarhsips if you need some monetary help... I need to keep a 3.0 to keep my scholarships.

I am a firm believer that it will matter with my first job out of college, but thereafter they are gonna look at what I did for my previous employer and that GPA will just be a number.

Real world application is far more important than book work.

I've never been asked about my GPA, though it was nice to put 'Magna Cum Laude' on my resume, not that anybody cared.