<p>Research obviously…but do your course grades matter at all when you are in a PhD program. Do they matter in finding academic jobs or regular industry jobs(I’m an engineer) once you’ve completed your PhD program.</p>
<p>Where I go to school, course grades count towards passing your prelims. Besides that, I’m not sure how they matter.</p>
<p>No, they don’t matter at all. While you’re in a PhD program, they matter for internal things (like you said) and for lots of fellowships/grants. Once you have your PhD, no one will ask you for your grades ever again. (I’m sure there are exceptions, but this is word-for-word what faculty in neuroscience have said.)</p>
<p>What matters is what you accomplished in during your graduate career. Did you publish? Did you present at conferences relevant to your future career choices? Did you network and demonstrate that you were the lead researcher on your project instead of just a technician-like graduate student being directed by the head of the research group?</p>
<p>Grades matter a small bit for subsequent post-doctoral fellowships. And rarely, some employers do inquire to graduate GPA if you are seeking non-academic employment immediately after receiving your graduate degree.</p>
<p>Do you your PhD grades matter if you want an academic position?</p>
<p>Does being awarded fellowships and other awards mater if you want an academic position?</p>
<p>Your PhD grades do not matter after getting your PhD. Postdoc positions won’t care about your grades, just your research, funding, and maybe very slightly things like teaching. If you’re applying for a faculty job, they will care more about your ‘total package’ (teaching and service will matter more). Even then, at research-heavy schools, at least in the sciences, it is your research that is the only essential quality: if your research/productivity is not good enough, you will not get the job. Those other qualities may help you against other qualified applicants, but nothing will overcome sub-par research.</p>
<p>Yes, fellowships and other awards matter if you want an academic position. You want to show that you have been an exceptional researcher since you started (when judged against your peers, obviously).</p>
<p>You really should not be worrying about grades in a PhD program. Those grades are almost entirely for internal purposes, to ensure you’re making adequate progress, etc., not as any kind of measure that will follow you after your PhD.</p>