My observation...

Have seen many having same certs, but because of fate/luck/choice, certain jobs give much higher pay while others drag behind.

Choosing the right company or job makes the difference. Sounds obvious but many don't realise after graduation. Most tend to apply the standard ho-hum companies and lag behind. For finance or accounting degree, standard is to apply with banks and audit firms.

Job has to be special skill, which less people know. Accounting and consumer/retail banking... most people know, starting pay sucks and have to suffer a long time till some decent salary comes along.

From the Salary thread (http://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopic=118423&st=0), can see those earning high are the specialised skills position or big multinational company.

Also, sometimes twist of fate presents big reward eg. company go listing, profit sharing, frequent travels, etc..

So, even with cert, in the end, choosing the wrong company or position, will make it useless.

Also the job position must be one which allows one to shine (lots of exposure and communication with higher level peers) and unlike a typical desk job, unnoticeable to superiors.

Coming back to certs, example of jobs not requiring certs is sales or account manager.... just lots of PR and leg work.... street smarts. Someone with cert and not, have equal leverage.

Not thinking straight now (sleepy), but, even car salesman at Toyota, Honda and Proton do damn well with no cert to show for it. All they do is wait for new car launches and their commission and side income come pouring into their pockets!

One example of luck or correct choice of company .... same degree, same graduation year, different company, similar executive position.

Employee A gets 12 months bonus, while employee B gets 2 months bonus.

Or employee A gets share options in share bull run period, while B gets nothing.

Or employee A joins multinational company, travels the world getting allowances/per diems, chance to relocate overseas. B works in Malaysia throughout.

Grades (like certs) are just for that entry point. Thereafter, they are on their own.

Even so, if good grades are not used wisely to capitalise on that entry point, it's a waste eg. join a non-MNC

Know double-degree holders faring worse than single degree holders.

darrencw, for a sec there, I thought you meant literally 'lobang'