How is a 3.5/4.0 gpa for stem graduate students looking for jobs?

27 comments

1. GPA is irrelevant for almost all jobs

   They literally just want to know if you have a degree

2. I had a 2.2 GPA with a physics degree and got a position as an engineering consultant writing modeling software, web apps, and data processing suites.

   GPA is largely irrelevant, projects are considerably more important.

   That being said, everyone that I consult and whose problems I fix makes considerably more than me, but they also have Master’s degrees and decades of experience in the industry.

3. People will look at the school more. What college?

4. I would hire you for sure 🙂

5. GPA will be far less relevant than previous experience and visa status. It also depends heavily on what sort of position you are applying for and in what sector.

6. Most employers won’t care about your GPA. They want to see your degree though.

7. I must inform you that a 3.5 GPA is not low. Also, the vast majority of employers do not care about your GPA, though some may ask. Many young people put their GPA on their resume, but there is no real reason to do this.

   “STEM” is a very wide field and it’s impossible to guess whether you would be one of the tiny number of people for whom GPA turns out to matter.

8. GPA isn’t overly relevant. I’d be fishing for some internships to get practical experience to go with the degree.

9. My GPA has never come up when being interviewed or hired for any position in my life. I have an associates in Computer Networking and Technologies and a bachelors in Business Administration.

10. Few companies care about your gpa. Many students don’t put it on their resume.

11. Higher GPA students in the stem fields have jobs looking for them.

12. I honestly doubt it has any bearing whatsoever.

    Of course, if it were in the 2’s I would say it probably isn’t helping but 3.5 is perfectly fine. I had a 3.8 or 3.9 (can’t remember) and I really don’t think it was ever bought up or helped me at all. I only ever discussed my previous work or projects when getting a job. When I got my first job, I would have gotten it either way… so I’d say you’re good lol

13. GPA mostly matters for new graduates without prior work experience. 3.5 should be fine.

14. Cybersecurity is in high demand. You’ll be fine. If you’re an international student on an F1 student visa, you may qualify for an OPT position.

15. If your GPA is high (i.e., you graduated with honors) put it on your resume. If it’s not, don’t put it on your resume. 90% of the time employers won’t ask what your GPA was. If you graduated, that means you passed the classes.

16. I’ve hired a lot of people. I’ve never asked for their GPA nor do I care. It’s never come up, ever. If someone was real proud of that or forced it into the conversation I’d ask them why it was so important to them and what it should tell me about them.

17. Very, very, very few jobs care about GPA in the real world.

18. Apply to every job that your school has on its job board

    Someone will hire you

19. I had a 3.3 and only one potential job ever cared.

20. You’ll be fine. Most jobs don’t care about GPA, and 3.5 is pretty damn good for a graduate degree in a STEM field. When it comes to STEM degrees, employers care that your university is reputable and accredited, and (even more importantly) whether you have the skills to do the job. For example, a quality internship would be way more important than your GPA (assuming you had good enough grades to graduate).

21. From my own experience, employers care about things in the following order:

    1. Is your degree from an accredited university
    2. Do you meet the minimum qualifications they’re looking for
    3. Did you handle yourself well in the interview
    4. Is your GPA acceptable

    A good friend of mine graduated with a 2.3 GPA yet got multiple offers from companies because while he wasn’t the best student, he was an absolute rock star when it came to interviews and other soft skills. He’s now a manager for a design team at an engineering firm.

    The only companies I’ve seen put a high threshold on GPA were the huge companies that everyone and their mom wanted to work for, and even then that was pretty rare.

22. Can you pass a background check?

    If you can and you have graduated and can do the job, or apply your degree to learning the job, you’ll be hired.

23. You’re freaking fine

24. Most companies don’t care, but a 3.5 GPA is considered pretty good for STEM. The average in my graduating class for my major (molecular biology) was a bit below that.

25. Your experience/the courses you took that relate to the job/how you handle the interview all matter more than GPA.

    I would much rather work with somebody who tested their boundaries and sometimes stumbled, than somebody who stayed in their comfort zone just to keep a 4.0. Some of the classes I learned the most from were those that gave me Cs, not the ones that were straight As.

26. If you’re applying for grad school, is it a 3.5 or a 4.0?? Because that’s a pretty big difference and will affect your chances of being accepted into a post-grad program.

    If you’re looking for a job, your GPA doesn’t matter.

27. I’m in stem and had over a 3.5 gpa and it took a lot of applying to land my current job. I don’t think they really looked at my gpa but rather looked at my experience.

    Just apply a lot. If you’re in Maryland I’m sure there’s a lot of jobs and internships available to you over there. You’re a graduate student so that helps too. I only did my undergrad and there were so many jobs that were only looking for people out of grad school. Join LinkedIn, ZipRecruiter, Indeed, etc, look out for job/intership openings, figure out what companies you’d want to work for, and just start applying. The more you send out, the more they’ll respond.