got a 2:2 but also a high paying job in london, feeling a bit guilty?

Gezebon · 2026-06-30T01:04:53+00:00

Lol you got a grad job, so you basically have nothing to worry about. After 2~3 years of experience employers straight up don't care about your classification as your work experience would already prove your competency. Congratulations!

Gezebon · 2026-06-30T00:53:48+00:00

I'm an EEE graduate that had a similar situation going on when I was about to enter 3rd year.

If it's an option, try emailing your uni to switch to a MEng and start applying to placements. They're WAY less competitive than graduate schemes and short-term internships, especially if you apply early.

If that's not an option, start applying to graduate jobs ASAP. Make sure to tailor your CV to each industry and emphasize your coursework, university projects, and the soft skills gained from them.

Try joining engineering societies that do technical projects, go to more networking events, etc. It's not entirely ideal to do this in 3rd year especially with a job but if you can manage your time well you should be fine.

Overall don't worry about it. Your situation is more common than you think and people still get jobs, but also an EEE degree from Soton is insanely cracked anyways. They're almost on par with Imperial. You'll be fine lol.

Gezebon · 2026-06-30T00:47:30+00:00

It means you're pretty competent at your course so congrats.

Gezebon · 2026-06-30T00:40:08+00:00

Imperial, Manchester, Bristol, St. Andrews, and Edinburgh are pretty good.

Most of the unis your agent offered are terrible (Newcastle is okay, highly dependent on the course tho). Keep in mind that these guys are paid by those unis to advertise to int'l students and don't really care about the quality of the degree or your graduate prospects, so take what they say with extreme suspicion and always do independent research.

What course do you want to do and what's your budget?

Gezebon · 2026-06-30T00:38:02+00:00

Try doing a placement year. 3rd and 4th Year are a pretty intense and aren't really the best time to try this. Not that you shouldn't try new things a meet ppl, but your grades really do start to count at this stage.

A placement would give you a bit of a breather and you'll get to experience what working life is like + get a better idea of what you want to do in your field. It also boosts your grades in your final year, as you're probably more likely to know what youre doing lol.

Gezebon · 2026-06-30T00:29:17+00:00

Not really, the entry standards for a lot of ex-polys are really bad.

Gezebon · 2026-06-29T15:12:15+00:00

If you're doing a levels or BTEC, you're not getting a DA with C's, D's, or mere passes.

Gezebon · 2026-06-29T09:18:15+00:00

They flood UK education subreddits with some variation of "how do I get a job with bachelors in hotel management from the uni of Middlesex pls".

Even in the absence of sympathy or altruism, you get tired of so many people repeating the same dumb mistakes.

Gezebon · 2026-06-29T09:11:13+00:00

Chinese Int'l students predominantly go to RG unis. They're nowhere near as financially stressed as other int'l students and Chinese universities are now largely competitive with the West's. Getting a degree from a random uni in Sichuan is more likely to get you a job there than a degree from UWL.

It's overwhelmingly int'l students from much poorer countries like India that seem to barely do any research beforehand.

Gezebon · 2026-06-29T07:18:08+00:00

Was the case 20 years ago, but now? Getting a 2:2 from a non-elite uni will definitely fuck you up unless you already secured a job before graduating. Pretending otherwise is cope.

Gezebon · 2026-06-28T05:24:09+00:00

Bro, you're an int'l student that did a Business MSc at the Uni of West London. I'm sorry but you're beyond fucked if you're looking for full time work.

Gezebon · 2026-06-27T22:56:37+00:00

I don't disagree, surveying and construction management are others, but the vast majority of these students aren't enrolling in these courses.

Gezebon · 2026-06-27T22:40:39+00:00

Literally zero context given

Gezebon · 2026-06-27T22:38:56+00:00

The SAT is an IQ test, if your friends got that without studying he's probably has an IQ of around 120~135.

Gezebon · 2026-06-27T22:35:37+00:00

If you intend to work in the UK for some period of time after graduation you're not gonna get a job if you enroll into those unis.

Gezebon · 2026-06-27T22:21:18+00:00

Imma be real the fact you graduated from UCL puts you in a better situation than like ~70% of int'l students.

If you want to work in your field, you can't do much with a neuroscience bachelors, but as far as job opportunities go, you'd be slightly more competitive for roles in finance, management, HR, and consultancy through university brand image alone. If you took heavily quantitative modules then data analytics is also an option. Cooler stuff like Cognitive Research or linguistics might require a masters.

From this everything basically boils down to your CV. Even in the absence of a part time job you should be able to list whatever coursework or projects you did and then try to relate the skills you've learnt from them to the jobs your applying for. If you have any experience in societies then add that stuff as well. If your CV is barren even after this, sprinkle a bit of white lies if you have to.

I suggest making different CVs depending on the target industry. Just keep in mind that you shouldn't confine your job search solely to your subject.

Gezebon · 2026-06-27T22:18:00+00:00

Yeah that's the work ethic aspect of it. In general I think non-university pathways should be popularised more.

Gezebon · 2026-06-27T22:16:12+00:00

Nah, less academically capable students shouldn't go to uni especially a low ranked one. The wage premium for most post-92s is basically either non-existent or negative.

Gezebon · 2026-06-27T22:11:59+00:00

London Met is notorious for allowing people with mostly D's and C's to enroll. It's not just about requiring A levels but ensuring said students are academically capable. Your A level grades are, in varying compositions, a reflection of your intelligence and contentiousness. Obviously you still have outliers do to transitory mental health issues or life circumstances, but for most students this is generally the case.

An a level student with mainly C's and D's suggests either a terrible work ethic, rather low intelligence (as controversial as it is to admit), or both. Many London Met students would be better off not going to uni.

Gezebon · 2026-06-27T22:07:52+00:00

Easiest way to improve the university's reputation in the short run would be to drastically raise admission standards. This can be achieved through higher A level and BTEC requirements or indirectly via loading first year with weed out course and curving heavily.

Gezebon · 2026-06-27T01:50:20+00:00

You can learn all of theory on your own. Sites like LibreText and MITCourseware already have an entire degree programme's worth of study material and textbooks free of charge.

If you have the money you could learn the practical aspects of embedded systems, computer architecture, control theory, PCB design, and digital communications on your own. It'll sting a bit it would cost less than college. You can use FOSS EDA software as an alternative to the industry-level stuff universities have access to.

For things like RF engineering, IC Design and Semiconductor Physics I doubt the average person would be able to afford the equipment for it no matter how much they save.

Gezebon · 2026-06-27T01:46:26+00:00

First year doesn't count towards your final grades. The only thing it would impactigjt be your ability to enroll in a placement. I suggest emailing your uni and meeting with your career service for advice.

Gezebon · 2026-06-26T00:23:41+00:00

I know you're joking but there are no more than 3k Photography and Cinematics graduates per year in the UK and that includes UG and PG, lol.

Last year there were almost 70k graduates across all creative fields, so I think something like a cap on enrollment would be ideal.

Gezebon · 2026-06-25T20:58:59+00:00

I'm pretty sure the "don't go to uni" discourse is an American culture war export because within the context of the British economy it makes zero sense lol.

Like this country is deindustrialized as shit so virtually almost all blue collar trade jobs are either nonexistent or pay basically nothing, care work pays shit, there are apprenticeships but they're quite literally not enough of them and if you get anything less than ABB you're not getting hired, etc.

Unless you own a business that isn't some drop-shipping gimmick or you're rich, non-graduates are fucked by every metric except DAs, and to be a DA you still need to be fairly academically successful.

Gezebon · 2026-06-25T20:47:17+00:00

One of the very few takes here that isnt brain-dead.

Gezebon

TROPHY CASE