I got a 3rd in my first degree which I did in the UK. I then did my masters there and came back to work in the family biz, so no problems there. Family biz kind of crashed so I traded for a bit on my own just to get by but I needed a job desperately.

This is when I found out how difficult it is for a 3rd class degree holder to even get an interview, let alone a job!

I finally got a job in a subsdiary of a govt institution and had been there for 3 years when the parent company announced they were recruiting.

Now the salary and perks were much better in the parent company and all the oga's who I worked closely with there said I was a shoe in as ii was considered an insider.

After a good interview and recomendation to proceed to the parent company on my level which at the time was SS03. However when the MD found out I got a 3rd in my first degree I finished 8 years prior, she changed my offer.

In spite of my masters, 7 years work experience (3 of those years within the institution) etc I was offered SS01. That's two grades below what I was on and three grades below what I'm on now!

The long and the short of it is if you got a 3rd, you need to do 2 things:

1- Get any additional qualifications you can

2- Go into business because no matter how many qualification you get there are employers who will not even give you a chance because of your first degree

I've heard all u said.Advice ur kids 2 graduate wit third class since grades doesn't give job in 9ja.Hypocrisy at d highest point!

My problem is just that i don't know the skill to get involved with.
Am in 300level studying accounting and don't even have a good grade.
Plz i don't mind if i can get help here

Develop yourself and don't follow the crowd! I had a 2-2, went back to do a Masters in Electrical Machines - a field considered difficult and unattractive... Now, i am studying for a PhD and am one of the best machine designers in the world!
2-2 can't stop U, 2-1 and 1st class can give U opportunities but can't achieve. Only U can, and your degree is just a qualification. Turn on the future with your skills and knowledge, not with a certificate.

To me it's not really the grade in a certificate dat matters, education has a whole lot more to offer than coming out with a certificate, either good or bad. I graduated from a University here in the South South but didn't come out with the grade I was suppose to, can't blame that on no one but myself, infact I had a spill of an extra year and quite a number of my friends graduated before I did and with better grades. Immediately I graduated, I got a job before all of 'em, a good one at that and in a different field entirely. I studied Agric science but currently I'm working as a Millwright/Mechanical fitter in a construction company here in Delta. A single certificate wasn't demanded from me, not even a school cert knowing fully well that I got no idea about this job. I know most of you would be thinking that it's normal 9ja thing "man know man kinda thing", but you're so wrong, believe it or not. Right now I'm very good at the job, got some certificates on my present job also that could enable me work at anyother Mechanical company. I could decide to further my education right now cos funds aren't low. Like they say, anything that is worth doing, is worth doing well. It's not advisable to graduate with lower grades, it is good to be outstanding in all that you indulge in but if circumstances hinders you from achieving that, pls try and come out with something atleast, it's better than nothing. First class or pass certificate isn't a guarantee that you must succeed or fail. It's really about you, your determination and not to forget; Favour is the highest of all. I so much believe in that

AjanleKoko: Here's to putting a lighter spin on things, relating to this 3rd class matter. Not original though, I found this on Google+:

Interviewer : Tell me about yourself.
Candidate: I ...am Rameshwar Kulkarni. I did my Tele Communication engineering from BabanRao Dhole-Patil Inst it ute of Technology.

Interviewer : BabanRao Dhole-Patil Inst it ute of Technology? I had never heard of this college before!
Candidate : Great! Even I had not heard of it before getting an admission into it ..
What happened is – due to cricket world cup I scored badly! in 12th.I was getting a paid seat in a good college. But my father said (I prefer to call him ‘baap’) – “I can not invest so much of money”.(The baap actually said – “I will never waste so much of money on you”). So I had to join this college. Frankly speaking this name – BabanRao Dhole-Patil, can at the most be related to a Shetakari Mahavidyalaya

Interviewer: ok, ok. It seems you have taken 6 years to complete your engineering.
Candidate : Actually I tried my best to finish it in 4 years. But you know, these cricket matches and football world cup, and tennis tournaments. It is difficult to concentrate. So I flunked in 2nd and 3rd year. So in all I took 4 + 2 = 7 years.

Interviewer: But 4+2 is 6.
Candidate: Oh, is it ? You know I always had KT in maths. But I will try to keep this in mind. 4+2 is 6, good, thanks. These cricket matches really affect exams a lot.. I think they should ban it .

Interviewer : Good to know that you want cricket matches to be banned.
Candidate : No, no… I am talking about Exams!!

Interviewer: Ok, What is your biggest achievement in life?
Candidate : Obviously, completing my Engineering. My mom never thought I would complete it . In fact, when I flunked in 3rd year, she was looking for a job for me in BEST (Bus
corporation in Maharashtra ) through some relative.

Interviewer : Do you have any plans of higher study?
Candidate: he he he.. Are you kidding? Completing ‘lower’ education it self was so much of pain!!

Interviewer : Let’s talk about technical stuff. On which platforms have you worked?
Candidate : Well, I work at SEEPZ, so you can say Andheri is my current platforms. Earlier I was at Vashi center. So Vashi was my platform then. As you can see I have experience of different platforms! (Vashi and Andheri are the places in Mumbai)

Interviewer : And which languages have you used?
Candidate : Marathi, Hindi, English. By the way, I can keep quiet in German, French, Russian and many other languages.

Interviewer: Why VC is better than VB?
Candidate : It is a common sense – C comes after B. So VC is a higher version than VB. I heard very soon they are coming up w it h a new language VD!

Interviewer: Do you know anything about Assembly Language?
Candidate: Well, I have not heard of it . But I guess, this is the language our ministers and MPs use in assembly.

Interviewer : What is your general project experience?
Candidate : My general experience about projects is – most of the times they are in pipeline!

Interviewer: Can you tell me about your current job?
Candidate: Sure, Currently I am working for Bata Info Tech ltd. Since joining BIL, I am on Bench. Before joining BIL, I used to think that Bench was another software like Windows.

Interviewer : Do you have any project management experience?
Candidate: No, but I guess it shouldn’t be difficult. I know Word and Excel. I can talk a lot. I know how to dial for International phone call and use speaker facility. And very important – I know few words like – ‘Showstoppers ‘ , ‘hot fixes’, ‘SEI-CMM’, ‘quality’, ‘version control’, ‘deadlines’ , ‘Customer Satisfaction’ etc. Also I can blame others for my mistakes!

Interviewer: What are your expectations from our company?
Candidate : Not much.
1. I should at least get 40,000 in hand..
2. I would like to work on a live EJB project. But it should not have deadlines. I personally feel that pressure affects natural talent.
3. I believe in flex-timings.
4. Dress Code is against basic freedom, so I would like to wear t-shirt and jeans.
5. We must have sat-sun off. I will suggest Wednesday off also, so as to avoid breakdown due to overwork.
6. I would like to go abroad 3 times a year on short term preferably 1-2 months) assignments. Personally I prefer US, Australia and Europe. But considering the fact that there are Olympics coming up in China in the current year, I don’t mind going there in that period. As you can see I am modest and don’t have many expectations. So can I assume my selection?

Interviewer : he he he ha ha ha. Thanks for your interest in our
organization. In fact I was never entertained so much before. Welcome to INFOSYS.

The fellow was appointed in a newly created section ‘Stress Management’ in the HRD of Infosys.

So academic excellence isn't the only thing needed to succeed in life. Its the unique quality of a person which leads to success. Work on your own field,as opposed to following somebody else's path.

Whaooooo; thanks for the share.
Reading this post remind me of 3 idiot.

Hello dear, you are on point...nothing can mess a person's education like finance (lack of,)...Just keep on keeping on, do not dwell on the problems, but move above it and progress... it shall be well

2sexy:
shey na people wey dey cram to pass? Abeg, leave that matter. My roommate always dwell on past question because most lecturers often repeat what they had set before. Well his grades are better than mine.

This not to say that I can' t do better than he. I had a serious emotional struggle at the start of my HND program due to the lose of my mother and as a result, I was alway thinking of where to get money from and this affected my grades. But this same me did superbly well at OND... I guess this explain why most people grad with poor grades.

Akindavi: My problem is just that i don't know the skill to get involved with.
Am in 300level studying accounting and don't even have a good grade.
Plz i don't mind if i can get help here

Hello, the question is: what are you good at? What do you like doing? What do you want to do?

At 300L, you might think that you have wasted too much time, but believe me you are better off changing course now, I mean right now; instead of continuing along an alley, you don't like...

You need to fisrt answer the 3 questions above, then we can progress...

3rd Class is only on Paper and not a true reflection of who you are, what you are and what you will be. Lots of people limit themselves with their qualifications.

I graduated in 2005 instead of 2006 cos of my extra semester i had in the university, so I made up my mind not to allow my grade to deter me from reaching the height i want to attain. i used that semester to discover myself and what i wanted to do after school.

Just before my youth service, i went to take an IT certification course, when lots of people toke the course cos it was selling (hot cake) then, but i took it cos i had a passion for it and cos i completely wanted to switch profession.

I went for service and took a lecturing job with an IT startup company on the course i did so as to build my skill on it.
I told God and myself that i will never stay out of Job for a day. just before i finished service, i had 4 job offers including my place of PPA. I chose one and still built my skills by mastering and writing more IT certifications. I also later went for a PGD in Comp Sci.
When i go for interviews, i have never been turned down cos of my grade, cos they are impressed at the accomplishment so far

I give all the credit to God who has led me thus far.

I feel satisfied now and thank God for making me discover myself thru my 3rd class. I find fulfillment where i am and when i look back i say its all by the grace of God

Like i always say, whether you came out with 1st class, 2nd class, 3rd class or whatever, people shd still look for how to add value (package) to themselves, something that distinguishes them from others, that way they get a higher chnace of been employed.

Woooow! This thread still exists and it is doing really great. Good to see the impact it has made.

Its been a while guys, hope y'all doing good.

Cheers.

My Brother, University year is a phase in the life of any individual and like most aspects of human life, it has its own score card. No need justifying below average performance just because u have been able to get ahead. As we have a lot of young minds here and they can get the wrong message.
Yes most graduates are better than the grades they made in school; Yes sometimes some other factors may have come in play but we should not for any reason down play the need to pursue excellence in whatever endeavour we get into. Be it academic or not.
Mind you going to school is not entirely about getting a job and also getting a job is not the standard for career or life success either. Unlike what the society here is making most people to believe.
So that u got a job ahead of your colleague with a better degree means nothing.
For the OP my advice to you is to access where you are coming from and reposition yourself by acquiring relevant skills and knowlege that will get u what and where you want to be in life.


[Squote author=tope56]I had 3rd class grade and in all the interview l,ve attended, they have never ask of my grade or my score in school, all what they want to see is your confidence and your ability to perform your job functions very well. In my present job, l did interview with people that have 2.1 and first class and by the grace of God l was given the job with salary that is above industry average with no professional certificate.
Advice: Do not underestimate or over estimate your self you are who you think you are not what people think you are and don't listen to what people say about especially from negative thinking people. All my close friends almost have 3rd class except for one that had 2.1 and all of them have gotten well paying job except for one that have 2.1.[/quote]

Tanx all for d numerous contribution.. It will help in a big way...

Good success story. Did you get the FBN just because of the added masters. Also I think FBN has second class as a criteria for most of their graduate recruitment these days. Or did this happen a long time ago

AceMiss: I finished with a 3rd class,did my masters and am currently working with FBN. Like Spicy said it's all by God's grace and a determination to make something out of life. Am still far from where I wanna be but am super motivated to keep pushing. For all the 3rd "classers" out there,stay determined. There's very little a determined person can't achieve.

Absolutely is ur mind set. And what i knw success in life dose not depends on certificates. Is GOD!

2sexy:
shey na people wey dey cram to pass? Abeg, leave that matter. My roommate always dwell on past question because most lecturers often repeat what they had set before. Well his grades are better than mine.

This not to say that I can' t do better than he. I had a serious emotional struggle at the start of my HND program due to the lose of my mother and as a result, I was alway thinking of where to get money from and this affected my grades. But this same me did superbly well at OND... I guess this explain why most people grad with poor grades.

is it easy to cram and pass?

chukkynwob: I believe my 2.1 is a curse on me.

How?

tope56: I had 3rd class grade and in all the interview l,ve attended, they have never ask of my grade or my score in school, all what they want to see is your confidence and your ability to perform your job functions very well. In my present job, l did interview with people that have 2.1 and first class and by the grace of God l was given the job with salary that is above industry average with no professional certificate.
Advice: Do not underestimate or over estimate your self you are who you think you are not what people think you are and don't listen to what people say about especially from negative thinking people. All my close friends almost have 3rd class except for one that had 2.1 and all of them have gotten well paying job except for one that have 2.1.

Come on pal, this is an executive lying that can never sink in a novice brain, not even by hitting it with very strong mallet. please, go and tell this to MARINE, you sound like someone who is trying to paper his wall.

But I have always been a realist. Motivational speakers will say innumerable things which will later prove to be chimerical and illusory.

=

When it comes to limitation the lucid truth is that it is counselled that one be working with the air that there is no limitation as this will make one exert oneself hence achieving ones maximum potentials.
=
But in reality, THERE ARE LIMITATIONS nay natural limitations. For example, if you are impotent, deaf or dumb, or have any form of impairment, you cannot be say a priest. You have been limited by nature.

Again, if you are below a certain height, you cannot be a member of say, the armed forces. These are some of the ginormous examples if natural limitations.

=

AT ANY RATE, it is politic to accentuate ones 'selling points' and achieve succcess there.Cheers.

P.Stacks:



That's the problem with my dear Country Nigeria.. Too much Emphasis are placed on Certificates and no emphasis on what's in the persons head, no emphasis on what's the person's passion, no emphasis on what is the person's talent and natural skills..

Too much emphasis on Degree we have female students sleep with lecturers just to earn grades and make a 2-1.. Is this true reflection of a true 2-1. We have male Students write a whole Expo manuscript and take into the exam hall just to make grades and that's why we have unemployable graduates everywhere in the society, we have educated illitrates, in our society, we have half baked graduates, we have people who in the first place had no reason to be in the university or polytechniques but rather vocationaly sound, but since the society values Degree irrespective of how u get, we are faced with the problems at hand.

We must de-emphasis degree and promote specific skills and talent hunts rather than the degree madness.

Crass frustration properly vented

^^^^ LOL! Dude's angry and needs a justification for his poor grades.

Wise_old_man:

Ur post is soo biased!

Im guessing u wouldnt advise ur kids to make a 3rd class just so they can become dangote cement dealers...like 2:1's dont deal cement too. I wonder how an average joe like me would raise capital to distribute dangote's cement

No one is sure of anything, my dear anything can happen, it depends on Gods grace and hardwork..but the truth is its easier 4 u to starr when u hv higher grade in Nigeria, this is 2013!!!

Fyi: Dont listen to people rubbishing hard consistent effort...work hard in school!!!

Also Bill gate, Steve jobs, zukerberg etc were straight A students b4 droping out...

Im not necessary a straight A student, im only talking just so kids out the wont fall for the Elumelu 2:2 swt stories that hurt some of us!

Those guys are just mere exceptions. And exceptions are just there to prove the rules. Let them keep giving themselves forlon hope.

Is it possible to do a Masters directly with a Third Class degree? Because I keep hearing people talking of Masters after Third Class

@johnsonjosbles:
To simplify the story. Almost all the sucesful people in the world today did not make 2.1 do U̶̲̥̅̊ no having 2.2 or 3rd class ȋ̝̊̅§ an aded advantage to fast track Ʊr sucess, ask me ♓☺w. Ĩ̷̊ scored 2.2 in ♍γ̲̣̣̥ 1st degree, Ĩ̷̊ discouvered on time dat most employers demanded @least 2.1. All interview Ĩ̷̊ attended was a waste of time and resources. Ĩ̷̊ stop applying and Ĩ̷̊ recognised the only skill Ĩ̷̊ have left ȋ̝̊̅§ driving, Ĩ̷̊ started as a cab driver in abuja, along the line Ĩ̷̊ picked a rich busness man from airport oneday who tru conversasion discorverd the potential in me and offerd me a job in a multinational company of wc Ĩ̷̊ am paid nothing less than €950000 per anual. Ĩ̷̊ was provid employment for other because now Ĩ̷̊ have 8cabs working for me on daily basis. I'm. Currently doing ♍γ̲̣̣̥ masters. If U̶̲̥̅̊ read tru ♍γ̲̣̣̥ story U̶̲̥̅̊ 'l, agree wit me dat self discorvery can lead U̶̲̥̅̊ to glory not Ʊr grade

I view tjis as utter baloney. You said self discovery? What did you discover? You picked arich man that offered you a job which because of your abysmal grade wouldn't have been offered to you and you have the temerity to be talking about self discovery. Your case is analogous to your father's lecturer friend offering you admission to study medicine which you wouldn't have ordinarily merited. So you have nothing to bask or revel in.

A BROTHER OF MINE ADVISED THAT I TAKE THE GMAT EXAM (GRADUATE MANAGEMENT ADMISSION TEST), EMPHASIZING THAT A HIGH SCORE ABOVE 300 MARKS WILL HELP COVER UP FOR MY 3rd CLASS GRADE I GOT FROM THE UNIVERSITY AND WITH THAT SCORE, UNIVERSITIES AT THE UNITED STATES WILL CONSIDER AND AWARD ME WITH A SCHOLARSHIP TO STUDY FOR A MASTERS AT THE STATES. Right now i am preparing like craze but i don't know if top flight universities will consider me, because i am yet to hear of testimonies

[quo :ote author=toprealman]
1st class in masters? (....coughs gently....)[/quote]. Ĩ̷̊ tot I'm the only one that noticed, Ĩ̷̊ don't thing †ђξ guy get. 1st degree sef, if not he or she must have learnt that nothing like 1st class in masters. Take slap 4 lieing

[quo :ote author=toprealman]
1st class in masters? (....coughs gently....)[/quote]. Ĩ̷̊ tot I'm the only one that noticed, Ĩ̷̊ don't think †ђξ guy get. 1st degree sef, if not he or she must have learnt that nothing like 1st class in masters. Take slap 4 lieing

zibi2: What are we talking about here if you don't go to school the call you an illiterate you go to school and graduate with a 3rd class or 2.2 is a big deal problem.Please nairaland the are a lot of 3rd class 2.2 graduate and even primary/secondary school graduate including drop out that are successful millionaires and billionaires.All of you should go and eat food.Just believe in your self dreams don't give up be determine and be hard working expect when the grace of God comes in.Who are you with your first class or 2.1 compared to dangote/bill gate.I said go and eat food,I don't have time to list all the millionaires and billionaires.Note Poverty can destroy a man's holiness and you can offend more people with your poverty than with your prosperity.Be succesful.

Smh 4 u.....read d topic very well be4 commenting, d r askin 4 dos wit success story 2 comment n not dos dat didn't see d 4 walls of education

Word of Advice: You CAN HARDLY get any university in the United states that will offer you Scholarship with a 3rd Class undergraduate degree. Usually what people refer to as Scholarship in the United states is Graduate/Teaching assistanships that offer full Tuition waiver and Monthly stipend.Award of these assistanships for graduate studies basically depends on three factors: 1. GRE(Science degrees)/GMAT(Management degrees)scores 2. UNDERGRADUATE Transcript 3. Recommendation Letters. Having mentioned these,the quality of a "3rd Class" Transcript will Severely hurt your chances and that stands for reason because the work a graduate/research assistant is "very academic". There are some schools that offer Fellowships(Full scholarships without any form of Commitment)...but ur transcript must be OUTSTANDING to get sumtin like that(Anything below a first class from Nigeria will hardly count)........On the other hand, if u have MONEY( I mean like millions of Naira), u can earn ur graduate degree in the schools there without having to bother too much about ur transcript. In summary, pls do more research about ur plans. I wish you the very best..... unto

Afritop: A BROTHER OF MINE ADVISED THAT I TAKE THE GMAT EXAM (GRADUATE MANAGEMENT ADMISSION TEST), EMPHASIZING THAT A HIGH SCORE ABOVE 300 MARKS WILL HELP COVER UP FOR MY 3rd CLASS GRADE I GOT FROM THE UNIVERSITY AND WITH THAT SCORE, UNIVERSITIES AT THE UNITED STATES WILL CONSIDER AND AWARD ME WITH A SCHOLARSHIP TO STUDY FOR A MASTERS AT THE STATES. Right now i am preparing like craze but i don't know if top flight universities will consider me, because i am yet to hear of testimonies

Saecula: I view tjis as utter baloney. You said self discovery? What did you discover? You picked arich man that offered you a job which because of your abysmal grade wouldn't have been offered to you and you have the temerity to be talking about self discovery. Your case is analogous to your father's lecturer friend offering you admission to study medicine which you wouldn't have ordinarily merited. So you have nothing to bask or revel in.

. Mad fellow can never undstand a sensitive points among wise. People but only looking for whom to critisise.

jimcaddy: Is it possible to do a Masters directly with a Third Class degree? Because I keep hearing people talking of Masters after Third Class

nope, you have to do postgraduate diploma first (pgd)

Thats usually if you want to run your masters program in Nigeria.With a 3rd class, u can still get admission for masters without pgd in a number of U.K/U.S/Canada Schools(especially in U.K schools). Tho they are usually quite expensive.....

Fadelex:
nope, you have to do postgraduate diploma first (pgd)

spicy v: Woooow! This thread still exists and it is doing really great. Good to see the impact it has made.

Its been a while guys, hope y'all doing good.

Cheers.

Hi spicy v , I have been trying to reach you. I want to discuss something important on career with you. Kindly avail me with an email addy or a contact to get across to you. Thx. Diva