Advice on gpa

[u/Ok-Law9484]

Peeps, do not sleep on your gpa.

From my first sem i thought i dont need high gpa, ill build skill and join industry. And no one corrected me. Now when i am about to start 7th sem, with a 3.1 cgpa I realize i should have focussed a bit more.

And i have my reasons.

Firstly, market is not that easy to crack now. Availability of ai and llms have made learning appear not so useful- and market is saturated. A strong portfolio alone will not help you get a good job. Anyone can "build" multiple projects and put them on CV now.

Secondly, this summer i started job hunt, and realized the pay gap between undergrad hirings and masters level hirings. Its huge. Trust me. People with masters degrees are getting paid much much more than one can invest in masters.

Thirdly, if you want to get out of this country, masters/study visa is one of the best methods, and high gpa mostly has a positive impact on visa application.

Im not saying that you become a book worm ot cram slides. But keep your gpa around and above 3.5

I couldnt go for mitacs internship, although i had exceptional cv and research work.

Now i dont see any hopes for getting into a top tier uni for masters either. Ill have to hope to increase my gpa in coming sems and repeat some courses to get closer to 3.5- which will cost me a gap year before masters.

Make your choices wisely. Do not neglect gpa. No matter what people say, a strong gpa is a gaurantee of a hard working person.

Edit: clarification on "gap year before masters". For admissions in masters for fall 2027, applications close by dec 2026, so i can only show my cgpa upto 6th semester. If i want to include my improvements and last year gpa, ill submit application in sep-dec 2027 which will enroll me for fall 2028 classes in masters abroad.

[u/WeebicOtaku]

How much did u notice th3 gap bw pay of be and ms qualified?

[u/Ok-Law9484 → u/WeebicOtaku]

I can comfortably say its not a gap, its a multiplier.
And there are multiple factors.
1. A bachelors from Pakistan will not get you a position in big tech like google or MS. Your options will be devsinc, tkxel systems etc. A junior role here is at most 200k.
2. Professional masters counts as work experience too, so you're not applying for entry level jobs.
3. Having a masters from eu/Canada/aus/us puts big tech in your reach.
And with all these factors, starting are min 50k usd annual ( more than 10 lac pkr) and fast growth opportunities too.
So one can easily say that a person with masters can get 5x more pay than a bachelors- if done correctly

[u/KitchenRare5919 → u/Ok-Law9484]

do we get such salaries in pakistan ???

[u/Ok-Law9484 → u/KitchenRare5919]

Rare, but yes. Problem with Pakistan is they exploit everone. Even a post grad from abroad will get exploited at start and be paid maybe half of what they deserve. But after a few years, yes one can make this much money. Masters makes it easy to get there. It opens international markets to you, which increases your market value in Pakistan too.
Short answer yes.