Job Discussion Forums

kungfupanda · Joined: 04 Aug 2009 Posts: 24

Hello, well as you can see by my topic I am a bit concerned about my grades. Basically I had around a 3.4 - 3.5 gpa going into senior year and then I wasn't motivated so much and got quite a few C's and even D's. But I ended up finishing with a 3.22

I was thinking about teaching English in Japan because I graduate soon and I've been wanting to go back ever since I studied abroad. I was just curious to see whether grades are important or that they just want to see you graduated. I'm hoping for the latter.

Mr_Monkey · Joined: 11 Mar 2009 Posts: 661 Location: Kyuuuuuushuuuuuuu

I don't remember any employer ever asking to see my grades for my degree. What was important was that I had a degree and valid visa.

Deep Thirteen · Joined: 23 May 2009 Posts: 39 Location: East Sea Japan

As long as you have a B.A. degree, that is all employers want on paper. If you do some searching on here, you'll find it said in many ways from many people.

ssjup81 · Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 7:57 pm Post subject:

My GPA is actually pretty cruddy. I got a bunch of Cs and C-s and Bs and B-s. I think I only made one A the entire time and one D. I'm glad they don't go by GPA or else I'd be screwed. ><

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Don't worry about GPA. Most employers don't even know what it means. The Japanese educational system doesn't use it.

Whatever you may have been told about putting GPA (and perhaps other things) on a resume don't apply here.

Apsara · Joined: 20 Sep 2005 Posts: 2142 Location: Tokyo, Japan

We don't even have a GPA system in NZ, and most people outside the US haven't the faintest idea what it is. All my employers have only ever been interested in the fact that I had a degree, not what my average mark was for the subjects I studied.

GambateBingBangBOOM · Joined: 04 Nov 2003 Posts: 2021 Location: Japan

GPA is a tricky issue. Grading is done differently in different countries. I know British people who show up to Canada in high school and were placed two full years ahead of Canadians the same age as them based on their education system. I know Canadians who've gone to the US and been given 10% on all their grades as a result of the relative difficulty of the education systems (so all 70% were changed to 80%).

GPA basically doesn't matter except for entry into another academic program, and if you're entering from a different system, then the numbers may not actually translate very well.

Amarok · Posted: Fri Aug 07, 2009 3:18 am Post subject:

They don't care at all. I worked my butt off in college and graduated with a 4.0, and now I wish I'd taken it easier since it doesn't really matter.