I received my final result from the University of London a few days ago. I am glad that I have been awarded a 2nd Class Honours (lower division) from UOL. To be honest, a 'Desmond' is not the best classification one can get looking at the fact that most of the top players in the legal industry are only looking to hire candidates with a 2nd upper or a 1st class honour degree. Following that, I noticed that numerous students are complaining about the classification they received at the University's forum, students who get a 2nd lower think they should have been awarded a 2nd upper, and students who get a 2nd upper think they deserve a 1st class honour. They might be right to a certain extent that is a whole different world for someone who gets a 1st class honor compare to someone who only gets a 2nd lower or 3rd class honor. Some even think that a 2nd lower is useless because it is difficult, if not impossible, for such a candidate to secure a training contract. I have to admit I once have the same thought as those who utter frustration on the bad results they received from the University, but I started to look for alternatives after realizing there is a big possibility that I might get a 3rd class after the release of my May's exam result. It is then I realized that it is not the end of the world even if we get a 3rd class degree!
For those who get a 1st class or a 2nd upper, congratulations, I hope you strive on your legal journey and our path may come across one day that we can fight along the side of justice, and for those who get a 2nd lower as me, do not give up, there is still much possibilities laying ahead on our future, and for those who get a third class honour, I feel sorry because this would mean that you are not eligible to enroll to the bar exam in Malaysia and also most of the master degree courses, but it is not the end of the world, you can still enroll to the Malaysia bar exam as a matured student after 5 years of relevant working experience.
My message here is if we do not have an impressive education track record to showcase our profile, so be it, I believed that is not the only quality an employer is looking for in a candidate, there are still many other qualities we can show during an interview, for example, your attitude, your analytic skill, you are savvy in technology or you can write with clarity. So my question to you is, are you going to let this to be an excuse to halt your journey or are you going to try harder to improve on your weaknesses?
Comments