3 Years without Honours or 4 Years with a 2nd Lower/3rd Class Honours?

[sparkestarx]

Hi, I am a NUS Business Admin Undergraduate currently in my 3rd year, coming into my 2nd semester. I am specializing in marketing, but I may not necessarily do marketing-related jobs. My current CAP is 3.8/5.0.

I would like to ask whether it is better to go for my honours year (may attain second class lower or even third class honours if my CAP drops) or graduate the next semester? I would like to know more about the market value (both private sector and public sector) of my degree if I graduate with 2nd class lower honours/3rd class honours.

Thank you very much! I greatly appreciate your comments.

For private sector, there's not much difference between no honours and 2nd lower since they only consider 2nd upper as good honours.
For public sector, the difference between no honours and third class hons is only $200 on gross salary.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

For private sector, there's not much difference between no honours and 2nd lower since they only consider 2nd upper as good honours.
For public sector, the difference between no honours and third class hons is only $200 on gross salary.

In the first place, the chances of entering public service with a third class honors is very slim... even if they take you a third class graduate... likelihood that most of the golden opportunities and rank promotions will only be enjoyed by the scholars with first class honors.... You are better off in the private sector...

Originally Posted by sparkestarx

Hi, I am a NUS Business Admin Undergraduate currently in my 3rd year, coming into my 2nd semester. I am specializing in marketing, but I may not necessarily do marketing-related jobs. My current CAP is 3.8/5.0.

I would like to ask whether it is better to go for my honours year (may attain second class lower or even third class honours if my CAP drops) or graduate the next semester? I would like to know more about the market value (both private sector and public sector) of my degree if I graduate with 2nd class lower honours/3rd class honours.

Thank you very much! I greatly appreciate your comments.

If going to end up with second class lower or even third class then better not go for honours year.

At least you can still tell people that you are actually very intelligent but didn't have the time. You can cover up with a PhD later.

Masters by Coursework, maybe.
PhD with a 2nd lower / 3rd class? Very difficult. Unless, you get sponsorship for your PhD or a personal recommendation from some prof in the University you intend to study in.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Masters by Coursework, maybe.
PhD with a 2nd lower / 3rd class? Very difficult. Unless, you get sponsorship for your PhD or a personal recommendation from some prof in the University you intend to study in.

Second lower can do PhD if on self-financed basis.

Here is an extract from NUS website:

The minimum entry requirement for admission as a M.Eng candidate is a good bachelor's degree in relevant discipline. Second-Upper Honours degree of NUS and equivalent is normally required for admission with research scholarship, and Second-Lower Honours of NUS and equivalent for admission on self-financed basis. For Ph.D. admission, the same minimum entry requirement is applied and a Master's degree is an advantage but not mandatory. The maximum period of candidature is 5 years for Ph.D. and 3 years for M.Eng.

http://www.eng.nus.edu.sg/civil/prog...Programme.html

[Anonymous]

In the public sector if you do not have good honours, it will likely affect your CEP. In other words, your progression will likely be only average. Having said that, if you prove yourself to be very good at work and you have your supervisor/management's support, it is possible for your CEP to be upgraded in the first few years. This is not easy of course.

I only encourage those who are truly interested in a course of study to pursue a postgraduate degree. That, or if you intend to acquire specific skillsets for certain jobs. Otherwise you will only be wasting your time doing something you dislike/probably suck at.

I never quite believed that one could 'make up' for average grades at the undergrad level by pursuing postgraduate studies. I think that is rather delusional. Having a Masters or PhD doesn't mean you've suddenly become 'academically smarter'.

Moreover, unless your postgraduate degree is from a coveted program (e.g. Wharton MBA), it is not going to add much to your resume. Lab-work research type of postgraduate degrees (MEng, PhD) are only useful if you intend to pursue that line of research work. Otherwise, no real application in the outside world.

On the other hand, if you consider pursuing theoretical type of PhDs (e.g. PhD in Mathematics, Physics) that require real brainpower, these are usually pretty tough courses. Those who manage to clear through might find opportunities in the areas of quantitative finance (lucrative!), apart from academia. Again for such courses, you need a lot of talent/ brainpower to be accepted in and to do well in the first place, i.e. you most likely need to have a first.

Originally Posted by sparkestarx

Hi, I am a NUS Business Admin Undergraduate currently in my 3rd year, coming into my 2nd semester. I am specializing in marketing, but I may not necessarily do marketing-related jobs. My current CAP is 3.8/5.0.

I would like to ask whether it is better to go for my honours year (may attain second class lower or even third class honours if my CAP drops) or graduate the next semester? I would like to know more about the market value (both private sector and public sector) of my degree if I graduate with 2nd class lower honours/3rd class honours.

Thank you very much! I greatly appreciate your comments.

From my experience, u will most likely end up with a 2nd lower rather than 3rd class. (CAP 3.8 is not that bad) If u think there's a possibility that u would join a ministry/stat board or any other institution which will look at grades for eg. SIA, it's better u do your honours year. Chance of u going into public sector with a 2nd lower is better than no honours. Moreover, public sector salaries are often higher at the beginning, than average private sector jobs. U dun wanna rule yourself out unless u're convinced u will be joining the private sector right from the start.

The other point is that if u come from a well off background (support of parents), u can do a Masters degree subsequently, in which case u dun need to worry about hons/no hons anymore..becos employers will prefer the Masters grad to the average Bachelor grad. So if u hv no honours but did a Master degree and another guy has a 2nd lower honours but no Masters, most companies will take u over the 2nd lower guy (maybe even 2nd upper).

Lastly, many companies will give recruitment talks to honours class. So if u're still around, u have 1 extra year to try and get an internship or job interviews with the investment banks/ MNCs who are targeting the honours grads.

Another reason to remain in school for another year is the looming recession.

In the previous downturn, people who started work a year earlier got lower pay (if they found work) than their juniors who started a year later. Even with increment after working for 1 year, their pay can't even match the starting pay of the juniors!

What is the difference in starting fresh grad pay of public vs private sector?

Secondly, does SIA hire fresh grads? if so, what kind of hons does SIA look for?