I am pursuing a dual degree (Int. BS+MS) in Mathematics and Statistics. It is a pure sciences college but I study applied mathematics separately.

I plan to repeat my 3rd year, since I am not clear on the concepts I studied, and 4th year is based on those concepts. Also, 4th year would be a lot rigorous compared to third year and going in now won't be easy.

I want to know that if I repeat 3rd year then will it affect my career ahead (i.e. getting selected for internships and jobs). I plan to work as a Data Scientist or a software engineer.

closed as off-topic by gnat, Philip Kendall, Dukeling, bruglesco, Twyxz Jun 10 at 8:35



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    Have you spoken to one of your lecturers (or possibly a career adviser) at your university? They should be much better equipped to address the specifics of your situation, and should be able to tell you how easy the 4th year would be given how you did in the 3rd. The answer here would heavily depend on what you'll actually manage to achieve in either case, which is something we have no way to know. Although any degree should be set up in such a way that passing one year means you understand the content well enough to pass the next. – Dukeling Jun 9 at 11:59
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    Can't you study the concepts you're struggling with in your free time? I'd much rather do that than repeat an entire year, since that year will probably be filled with a lot of things I already understand and I wouldn't expect vastly different results on my second attempt at trying the same thing again (there should be some reason you didn't get it the first time around - that will probably be there the second time as well). But that's just me. – Dukeling Jun 9 at 12:10
  • Hi Juno, welcome to the site. I've edited your post to try and make your (in my opinion very valid and answerable) question clearer. Please feel free to revert my edit if you feel I've changed the nature of what you're asking. – Player One Jun 9 at 23:01
  • Affect your career? Not so much. They might ask about it when you go for your first job, but if you have good reasons, it shouldn't be a huge issue. More importantly, what do you expect repeating the year to do? Are you going to approach your study differently? Just repeating the same year won't magically figure things out for you. And if it's just more self study you need, why repeat the whole year? If you really just need time, is taking a year out an option instead? – Carlovski Jun 11 at 14:27

You may find it a little more difficult getting your first job (and I stress the may), but after that it won't matter at all.

Due to personal circumstances it took me six years to get my three year degree (which included repeating some courses), and I shared your worry that I might have torpedoed my career before it started.

It turns out that no one cares about your academic transcript, especially once you've got some industry experience. My CV contains the name of my degree and major, the institution I earned it at, and the year I graduated. That's all that employers want to know about in the long term.

  • And after your first job, no one asks for those, beyond which year you graduated. Experience is more important for employers, unless you apply for public offices where they generally require formal education even in IT. – Juha Untinen Jun 10 at 5:06

Only you can decide. If it was me - it is just another year and hopefully, you will be a bit further ahead in the game.

Just focus for a year. Keep your head down and learn from your mistakes.
