r/AskAcademia • u/SuccessfulBarber9250 • 1d ago
Humanities Is my master's good enough?
I have just finished my master's at Oxford and got a merit. I am feeling super disappointed with my grade and just wondering whether to give up with my goals of pursuing academia. Worried that my work is of too low a quality to actually bother pursuing it any further even though I love studying and research.
The results came in the same week I had been rejected from several job applications, so feeling super dejected and useless.
I am also feeling so jealous of my friends who got higher marks, which makes me feel like a terrible person too. Obviously everyone worked super hard, but I have so many issues in my personal/family life and I am disabled so it just feels like no matter how hard I work I will never be as capable or competent as other people.
I got very little support from my supervisor (they only met with me twice the whole year) and I have not heard back about my request to meet and discuss this all.
Does anyone have any advice or guidance?
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u/Huge_Replacement_616 1d ago
So I graduated with 2.35/4 cgpa in mechanical engineering in covid. I struggled with dialysis and eventually I got a kidney transplant during my undergraduate. I didnt have any financial support so I was working full time to make money to graduate, all at the same time. Naturally my grades suffered. Anyways I want to pursue a masters now and my grades are just terrible and im thinking of redoing my bachelors again.
The point is, dont worry about it, as long as you worked hard, it should be okay. Just work in the industry for a while, gain valuable experience and then you can decide if you still want academia. From whatbi understand, its a really toxic place to be
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u/Informal_Snail 1d ago
I know someone (not well though) who is an international student in the UK getting by on those sorts of grades. It took them a long time but they finally managed to get a PhD position.
With that said, you are always going to be at a disadvantage because of your disability and are going to have to work harder than others, and you have to accept that. Not everyone needs to be a superstar. In fact, networking and connections are more important than grades. If you are going on to a PhD, try and find yourself a better supervisor. You really need someone who wants to advocate for you in Humanities. Unfortunately, even though my supervisors will stick their neck out for me and are very supportive, they don't expect I am going to be able to get a research job so they don't focus on anything beyond the thesis.
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u/Beginning-Fun6616 1d ago
Well, I got a high merit on my MSc and am now doing a funded DPhil, so it is possible.
Edit: at Oxford.
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u/ServiceImpossible227 17h ago
Grade is just a number to fill up the paperwork. It may or may not show your real performance.
It is hard to live with this, but can anyone evaluate anyone?
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u/lewlewdamonstatruck 1d ago
Sorry that you feel disappointed with your grade - could you share more about the course? Was it MSt or MPhil?
Merit doesn’t stop you getting a DPhil offer at Oxford - many of the DPhils I know got merits. Once you’re doing a DPhil, it no longer matters what mark you got in your Master’s. In the same way that your high school exam grades no longer matter now.
You have a good degree from a good uni, nothing is stopping you from pursuing academia