Academic Grades as a Predictor of Occupational Success among Engineering Graduates

Abstract
The assumption that there is a direct relationship between academic achievement and occupational success was tested with a sample of bachelor degree-level engineering graduates who had 5 to 10 years of postcollege working experience. Seventeen criteria of occupational success (from both internal and external frames of reference) in engineering were related to four college grade point averages: (a) total college, (b) senior year, (c) core courses, and (d) two design courses. Of the 68 relationships examined, eight were found to be statistically significant, and all were modest in magnitude. The findings suggest that intellectual accomplishment, as reflected by grades, may be a worthy goal to be valued in its own right, but it should not be used seriously as a forecaster of professional success. Implications of the results are discussed for employers, counselors, and educational evaluation.

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