JoeBloggs80

I just put "BA (Hons)"

Don't think anyone bothers checking anyway to be fair.

Swerv-o

True enough - I've been here 8 years, and never had anybody even ask to look at my certificates.

May be different for professional registrations though...


S

northlondoner

Thanks for this; in that case I will write upper second providing that's what I do get. I also heard that if you write 2:1 or 2:2 this could be confused with a 'GPA score' which is incredibly low.

If I do get a 2:2 which I'm trying to ensure doesn't happen, would it be wrong to put 'second class honours degree' instead of inserting the word 'lower'?

I'm doing economics and also heard similarly that a 3 year Australian degree in economics without honours is a lot less rigorous and mathematical than the honours here in the UK which probably explains why all UK universities require an Australian honours to get into their Economics masters programs.

scrubbedexpat020

Re 2.

Aberystwyth University - Non-EU Qualifications

There is an international comparability system that countries follow. Enic-Naric

Australia, https://internationaleducation.gov.a...cognition.aspx

You have to pay, or you can use the Aberystwyth page for free.

How to write your degree, Degree Classifications - The Student Room - The Student Room

When I applied for my PhD here I had to explain the difference between UK and Aus. UK first is 70+, Aus is 90+, honours is not another year... Just put BA Upper Second-Class Honours, course and university. They will be impressed by Honours. If they want more info, give them your transcript and course syllabus.

spouse of scouse

I've given you my response, and have no interest in arguing the toss. If you want to put Hons after your degree, then do it. You might want to hope that any Australian interviewing you who slogged through an additional year of honours study doesn't ask you what your research project was - because you'll get found out. Not the best impression to give at an interview, I'd have thought.

It is entirely up to you. But next time, try to avoid asking questions when you've already determined an answer to your satisfaction - it just pisses people off who've wasted time trying to help you

northlondoner

Everyone has disagreed with your opinion that people with British degrees should remove the "hons" from their resume and it's clear that the way one achieves honours in Australia (through a research project) is not the same as how one achieves an honours degree in the UK (through a dissertation and a more rigorous albeit shorter length of study compared to an honours in Australia - the BA without honours in Oz is equivalent to an ordinary/pass degree in the UK), and even the conversion tables provided by the above poster have proved you wrong, but thank you for your input.

Cognitive Dissonance is Cognitive Dissonance :P wich is not uncommon, so no need to be "pissed off".

Now if you excuse me, I have exams to study for

Tr1boy

Congrats on your studies. But as someone who has hired ( and fired) a fair amount, nobody will care whether you had Hons, a 2.2 or got your dissertation approved by turning tricks in a hotel.

3 yrs after you start working, the only questions will be " who have you worked for and what have you done ?" Degrees will get you to the door but experience will kick the thing off of its hinges.

scrubbedexpat020

So true.

BTW, I took classes with honours students at the start of my PhD and have told my kids not to bother doing the extra year unless they want to do a PhD, or if they need it to join a top-class company. As far as I could see the main outcome was a 15,000 word dissertation, which isn't worth an extra year unless you really need it. And as for double degrees, don't get me started.

Not that many Aussies do honours (10% max?), and I have found the interest in doing Master's a lot less than UK.

OP- for the first few years it may be worth putting the title of your dissertation on the resume. Mine (when dinosaurs walked the earth) was "The application of microstrip antennas to direct broadcasting by satellite'. I researched, designed , manufactured and tested two types of microstrip antennas. Even now I get the willies thinking about having to hand my dissertation in before my finals. It was so stressful!!!

northlondoner

Thanks for that - I realise that a degree means nothing compared to experience and although currently my immediate objective is to get my foot through the door, I know the hard work of keeping up a good track record in employment (the real world) is what I will be judged on in the near future.

So many people have degrees now too, so they have lost their wow factor but I guess in a competitive job market where everyone has a degree then you also have to have one.

That dissertation title boggles my mind haha yes and the feeling of uncertainty which I'm currently going through with regards to not knowing what mark you will get!

So obviously the long-run emphasis is not so much on the grade you get but the experience you get after uni - but the thing is, in the UK many people who get a 2:2 are automatically filtered out from online job applications, resumes/CVs thrown in the bin etc and they find it hard to get a foot in the door. As i understand, a 2:2 is equivalent to "Credit" from an honours degree in Australia; I have tried searching as to whether the same sort of disregard for employees with such a grade occurs - but thinking about it, since the Oz honours is only open to those who did particularly well on their BA, I doubt the same happens over there.

Tr1boy

I think you'll find Australia puts a higher value on experience than perhaps the UK. I did not mean to sound flippant. My wife studied for her degree in Australia, part time whilst working full time in stressful blue chip environments. She kept getting told by her uni that she was a shoe in for honours but she said to me that she only wanted to be a CPA and once she was, the degree meant little to employers.

Glad to say she is a CPA now ( did most of the modules in the UK actually). My wife is a bit of a contradiction in Oz, because she is originally Asian ( Korean) descent the assumption is that she would be all paperwork and no experience, but she boosted her career massively by working full time and studying part time ( she was a mature student) and she has some very impressive brands on her resume now.

I used to think Australia was fairly unprofessional in its corporate approach compared to Europe, in fact it still is but we have been living in corporate UK for 5 yrs now and I can tell you that IMO working in Australia may not be a day at Disneyland but it's more relaxed than corporate UK and Europe.

Personally I think it is this attitude that is reflected in the Aussie approach to quals v experience ( obviously industry dependent). Anyone that says degree are worthless is wrong in my book but they have a limited worth.

In my ramblings, I actually forgot what I wanted to say regarding filtering. I think you are right, IME the general attitude amongst recruiters here is ' prove to me why I should put you forward' whereas in Oz it is ' tell me what you have done'. Having said that, my 'pond' in Oz is smallish and whilst not a huge fish, I'm not a minnow either, so my perception may be skewed.

I wish you best of luck anyway

OzTennis

Did they not include in your 'more rigorous course' the need to avoid making sweeping generalisations?

northlondoner

My mistake, what I meant to say was that a 3 year British honours degree is more rigorous than a 3 year BA degree (without honours) in Oz.

northlondoner

Actually what I think I meant was that since it takes 4 years to get an honours in Oz, it must be more intense/rigorous receiving an honours in the UK in a shorter amount of time (that is, given that the UK and Oz equate both honours here and there to be of an equal education level).

Geezer123

It's a British Degree.

If it says Honours then yes it's honours.

Geezer123

Funny that in my experience a 4 year Engineering undergrad in Australia is considered a Masters in the UK. lol