[catalyst]

Everyone saying GPA doesn't matter is pretty out of it, atleast in the finance field. Your goal coming out of school is to land interviews. Many employers (atleast most ones you would actually want to work at) screen resumes for GPA. If your GPA doesn't exceed the cutoff, into the trash pile. This is not true in all cases, and good internship experience can offset a bad GPA.

That said, after your first job, work experience is much more important. However, there is still a cumulative effect. If your first job sucks, because your GPA sucked, well, your next job may only be one pip higher (whereas your first job out of school would have skipped this tier if you had a good GPA). Is this a golden rule? No, but you get the point: a good GPA gives you an excellent chance to accelerate your career.

Once you land an interview, GPA doesn't mean much.