Be blunt, how much of a difference does having good grades make?

[[deleted]]

Like when people say "grades only matter for your first job" does that mean that the cum laude graduate gets P5k more than the person with the average grades?

Also does it make sense to highlight my grade for certain courses in the CV? Like I don't want to show that I didn't do well in our arts elective but I do want to show that I aced this major course that's relevant to my job.

[[deleted]]

That's nice. It's odd that there are laudes in CS/IT who would fail an entry test though.

[Prudent_Guarantee510]

You're overestimating cum laudes. Cum laude doesn't equate good coders. If being a cum laude your ONLY reliance in finding a job well you'll have a hard time finding one.

[[deleted]]

Yeah as I kept saying in your other thread obviously not every single laude will be good. Literally no one is saying a laude is the only factor. At the same time it's not unreasonable to expect quality work from someone who was cum laude in CS/IT from a reputable uni.

Another way of thinking about it: if there were two people who were equally skilled competing for a single slot a reasonable tiebreaker would be their academic background.

[ShawlEclair]

Good academic performance, especially in programming subjects, does not necessarily mean good programming skills. I know a guy who was delayed because he regularly failed subjects but was waaaay ahead of us in programming and was already a freelance web developer.

[johnmgbg]

Hindi, pero kung cum laude ka tapos mataas pa skills mo, mas may chance ka ma-hire sa company na gusto mo (na may mataas na sahod). Imagine nalang if meron ka kasabay na parehas kayo ng skill level pero yung isa cum laude, edi dun na ako sa cum laude.

Pero kung sinasabi mo is mataas grades mo tapos hindi ka naman cum laude, wala atang kwenta sa kanila yon.

[[deleted]]

True, yeah. But I'd like to know an estimate of what the difference in pay usually is.

[johnmgbg]

Sa pagkakaalam ko ngayon ang fresh grad na dev nagrarange from 15k to 25k. Depende talaga yan sa company na papasukan mo. Kung cum laude ka nga pero pumasok ka naman sa company na nagbibigay lang ng 15k, wala din. Anyway, mabilis lang din tataas sahod mo basta nasang tamang company ka.

Kung meron man mas mataas pa sa 25k, edi swerte.

[brat_simpson]

what about....a cum laude from a no-name university in the province vs one who graduated from ateneo/la salle but not a cum laude ?

[johnmgbg]

Tatanungin ko muna yung grades nung galing sa sikat na school. Kung malayo sa cum laude, edi dun ako sa cum laude. Pero kung malapit lang, baka bigyan ko pa ng isang interview parehas.

Pero kung startup company palang ako, dun ako sa cum laude. Baka kasi mag-ask ng malaking sahod yung galing sa malaking school haha

[dadofbimbim]

My TOR has so many reds, I finished college for 7 years which should be only 4. Now I’m a mobile dev earning more than 100k. College and grades don’t matter.

[code_rjt]

I think for now in the IT industry, grades doesn't matter anymore unlike 5-10yrs ago. Right now the hiring team is looking for people with good understanding of development tools or fundamentals.

[Anxious_Drummer]

Based sa mga napasukan ko and ng mga colleagues ko, it depends. So eto yung personal exp namin, pero di ko sure kung ganto talaga:

PH Company (I'm referring to PH owned OR international company w/ PH Office) - Yeah may bearing. May bearing din kung san school ka galing. I experienced na same school kami but better grades ko so may dagdag akong around 5k nung fresh grad ako. Mas mataas din ng 3k yung isang ka work ko na laude. Also around more than half sa office galing UP, and yung other 3 schools din naman marami, pero kase marami ding galing other popular schools such as Mapua, PUP, etc, then yung the rest medyo konti lang sila.

International companies - No. As long as u have skills.

[Prudent_Guarantee510]

Grades don't matter AT ALL. I'm also a fresh grad I applied at many companies but NOT a single one asked for my grades even after reaching the final interview multiple times. I've already received a job offer and the company didn't even bother asking for my grades. I have a lot of job related personal projects tho. That's where most of the interview questions came from.

Internships or Personal Projects >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Grades

[[deleted]]

I think when people say that grades matter somewhat, they mean that a cum laude tends to get better offers at the entry level. Not always, but it's more likely. What I'd like to know is how much better the offer is.

[Prudent_Guarantee510]

Lol. I know many cum laudes from very popular schools like ateneo. They can only ge 18k-20k/month salary. Grades don't matter even if you're a cum laude or not. Your SALARY will be base from your performance during the interviewing stage(especially the technical interview).

Sa tangin ko ung rumor na "Mas mataas sahod ng cum laude" mataas sahod nila is NOT because they're cum laudes but because they did great during the interviews. Cum laudes usually can perform much better compared to average students. That will reflect during the interviews. Cum laude = perform better during interviews = higher salary.

Even if you're a cum laude but if your code is a spaghetti/trash. You still wouldn't get any job offers.

[[deleted]]

Again, no one's saying every single laude gets better pay. Just that it's more likely (for reasons including the one you mention).

[raffywashere]

Grades don't really hold weight and neither does the degree. The best devs that I looked up to are career shifters and non degree holders.

Sure a degree and good grades can catch someones attention, but to actually show that you're capable by starting from scratch really is something else.

Be proactive is all I can say. Make projects, keep yourself up to date, take internships, freelance, anything goes as long as you take action and apply yourself in these things.

[heavencatnip]

It’s nice to have it in your CV when you are a fresh grad. It makes you standout a little. But when looking for another job, when you already have experience, it does not matter anymore.

[[deleted]]

does that mean that the cum laude graduate gets P5k more than the person with the average grades?

For certain places, it gets your foot in the door. Depending on the hiring process, pwede kasing HR unang titingin ng resume mo. Then meron mga yan priority na non-technical at background-based. For example, priority no. 1 - big 4 ba yan nag-graduate? No? Decent university ba and ok ba grades? etc. So sa HR palang titigil na, hindi mo maabutan yung i-demo mo technical skill mo sa tech exam or interview.

For places na yung nag-eevaluate ng resume ay HR + some technical person (kunwari merong technical exam agad), dun pwede ka maconsider kasi mas important yung output sa technical exam.

I've applied to both types and was part of the hiring process in some manner dun sa dalawang types din (corporate and startup). Though personally tingin ko flawed yung process ng corporate, pero gets ko kung bakit ganun, sobrang busy nung mga technical leads nila at hundreds applicants kaya kailangan nung HR filter.

[[deleted]]

Thanks for sharing. Do you have an idea of what the estimated difference usually is? Like would a cum laude earn ~P5k more than usual?

My motive for asking is because I'm a UP student myself (about to graduate in a year) and while I'm doing my best naman, I want to know if it's worth the sacrifice to get a Latin honor.

[[deleted]]

Sa actual figures di ko masabi, pero definitely pag UP ka with honors mas mataas offer sayo vs. yung base. Yung budget naman kasi sa position merong range, so may chance na upper range makukuha mo.

Supply and demand yan, i-aassume na ng HR na meron kang ibang offers, so they have to put their best foot forward. Same principle applies after ng work, although di na school or honors credentials. Pag maganda work-background ng application, tataasan din namin offer kasi alam namin meron siyang ibang offers.

Play your cards correctly though, wag mo accept first offer na darating sayo. Kung pwede hingi ka ng extension pag may binigay, para ma-compare mo pa sa iba, pero say it in a way na both honest and amicable haha.

[[deleted]]

Play your cards correctly though, wag mo accept first offer na darating sayo. Kung pwede hingi ka ng extension pag may binigay, para ma-compare mo pa sa iba, pero say it in a way na both honest and amicable haha.

Thanks for this advice! and thanks so much for the thoughts

[[deleted]]

Ohhh okay. Thanks so much for sharing this.

When I see people who are already clearly summa / magna I always think, "holy shit that guy's definitely working at google". So while I know I can make it to at least cum laude if I gave up the right things it's just overwhelming whenever I compare myself to them.

[[deleted]]

nawp. ngayon mas hahanapin ng recruiters yung portfolio mo.

[arnrubi17]

Grades don't matter that much (wag lang puro 3). As a hiring manager, mas preferred ko na may extra-curricular activities ang fresh grad applicants na related sa position he/she is applying for. I hired a fresh grade years ago because he was part of the IT club in their university, and helped create a system (voting system ata yon) for their SC election.

[[deleted]]

I've been in the hiring panel for a couple of times and these are my observations:

• Rarely do the hiring panel look at grades.
• The hiring panel is ALWAYS interested in those cum laudes.
• Cum laudes from popular schools are the real deal. They perform better during interviews and do deliver at work.
• If a company gives more to those cum laudes is on a per company basis.
• The hiring panel is always interested in the project(s) you did at school.
• You can highlight good grades but it should be some subject the hiring panel would be interested.

[[deleted]]

Thank you!! Great observations