After The Release of the A-Level Results last month, I wonder…Do Students Who Get Good Grades Do Better In Life?
I was surprised because according to my research, an A-Level score of between 75 to 90 is already considered a good one.
But to my chagrin, my son told me that the good faculties in respectable Universities demand at least 81-90 points for entry, hence her trepidation at scoring below 80.
Apparently, a good grade may be good enough – but a GREAT grade is needed to enter a popular course at a prestigious University.
Which brings me back to this question – Do Good Grades Ensure A Great Career?
Many years back, I attended a class reunion dinner with friends I hadn’t met in over 3 decades.
Interestingly, the top scorers of the day, the ones the teachers praised to no end for their spectacular results and hard work ended up with fairly decent jobs.
One was a Pastor, another three were schoolteachers, and one was a social worker.
These are meaningful jobs and they were happy in those roles.
But to my amazement, of the ‘back of the class rascals’, the ones our teachers labelled the ‘ne’er do well’ bunch, who were regularly hauled up to the Principal’s office for severe disciplinary issues – one ended being a successful Entrepreneur, another an Investment Banker and the third, a Criminal Lawyer (as in, focused on criminal suits, not a criminal himself).
So, once again, do good grades matter to one’s future career?
And unsurprisingly, the answer is, YES.
Empirical studies as well as common logic actually shows this correlation.
In addition to a good attitude, street smarts and a healthy EQ (Emotional Quotient), exam grades do matter a lot and as a Headhunter/Career Strategist, let me tell you why.
Many feel it is an indication of effort and discipline and intellect.
I think good academic performance is an indicator of the amount of discipline and hard work that a person has put into his chosen field. There is no way someone with straight A’s got his results ‘by accident’, but rather, through sheer determination and sacrifice.
It also suggests to me that they have well developed soft-skills like time-management, organisation and listening ability. These are highly valued by employers in a constantly changing work environment.
And for technical fields like Medicine, Law or Engineering, it displays strong subject matter mastery which is a solid foundation for further development, rather than someone who merely scraped through his exams.
It helps you stand out from the crowd.
In a noisy and crowded job market, hailing from a good university does help you stand out from the crowd.
All else being equal, if a hiring manager had to choose between two equally qualified and likeable candidates, the one with the first-class honours might get an edge over the other who graduated with Merit at the same university.
And definitely, the candidate from an Ivy League School applying for a job would definitely get the attention of the Company versus another from a relatively unknown college.
But does this mean someone is doomed to failure because of bad grades? The answer is NO!
I literally bombed my PSLE (Primary School Leaving Exams) and didn’t perform as well as I should have for my O levels, yet I don’t feel I have been shortchanged in my career.
In fact, during my University days, I decided not to focus too much on my grades but instead, to build what I call “Adjacent Skills and Knowledge” to what I was studying for my Business Degree.
I ran my business selling Real Human Skeletons to medical students (yes, they were real bones! Perhaps I’ll tell you more in the next article?) to pick up Sales and Marketing skills.
I studied extra modules like Astronomy and Pharmacology that were not reflected in my graduation transcript, whilst still keeping my grades up.
And when I graduated, the biggest Oil & Gas Company in the world (at that time) invited me to join their Management Programme.
So, it’s not ONLY about having good grades.
It’s about the spirit, the drive, and sometimes, the chutzpah that distinguishes one candidate from another.
But certainly, having good grades help a lot as well… what do you think?