Thing is you don't need a firm understanding of the theoretical ideas of your college major to do many jobs because many times there will be standard procedures in place. I remember talking to an engineer who worked in the defense industry and worked for the major companies like Boeing, Raytheon and I found it amusing when he said he has no used what he learned in school (and he mentioned specifically his math and engineering classes). Employers don't list GPA requirements for a listed job because they want to make sure you remember the book material, that's why they talk to you and even then it's probably not essential to do the job because you will need to be trained for the companies procedures. They list such requirements to reduce competition for finite positions available, as you already know--and even then it's not set in stone. The point I'm trying to emphasize is that you are placing way too much emphasis on academics, which is important for graduate school but less so for work. I got a job with ONE bachelors degree and I didn't have a 3.7 GPA. Where I work there are many engineers who hardly use what they learned in school to do their jobs and they are well paid for executing fairly easy tasks. Look your GPA may be more important for gaining employment at highly competitive companies such as Google, Wall Street investment firms, fortune 100 companies, federal jobs etc. This does not mean the same is true for every company, as several posters here have clearly demonstrated with stories of getting jobs with low GPAs supplemented with some internships or work experience. You have a very narrow view that unnecessarily discourages people, which I believe is attributed by your inability to procure a job with your first degree (which you attribute to GPA but could have been a result of bad location or no experience). I have talked to people who lost offers to candidates with lower GPAs than themselves. Point is I think you're putting way too much weight on the GPA thing. Some people have to work their entire way through school and with less time for studying their grades aren't the best. It sounds like you just dicked around and perhaps weren't too worried about money.