Should one take a 2:1 Bsc or a 2:2 MSci? I know someone doing an MSci in Computer Science—an MSci being an integrated (undergraduate) Master's degree, so equivalent in the UK to an MSc—and as such achieved all the credits required for a BSc but did not graduate last year. All the way through this year, they have had the option to drop out of the MSci course and graduate with their BSc qualification, which they got a 2:1 in.

Note: I am referring to the UK system: in this case, a 2:1 refers to upper second-class honours and 2:2 refers to lower second-class honours.

Now, with less than two weeks to go, they are concerned about their exams and dissertation and so on, and are worried that they will get a 2:2 at the Master's level. As a result, they are considering dropping out last minute and just taking the BSc 2:1.

Now I am advising against this, as for one thing it just makes this whole last year a waste of time and I reckon they're quite solidly in the 2:1 bracket for MSci anyway, but I also think that a 2:2 Master's is still considered better than a 2:1 BSc.

I'm also thinking that within 5 years or so of industry work (this person has already secured a long-term position based on an internship) the degree, and much less the classification, become less significant compared with the person's industry record. In 5 years time, I expect a future employer to be looking at the employment and project record and possibly be interested the degree achieved, but not the degree classification, in which case an MSci is better than a BSc. This is just anecdotal though, I am by no means an expert on how people look at CVs in later stages of employment in industry.

So I already have quite a clear opinion on this, but I'd like to hear what professionals think about it. Thinking objectively, which is likely to be better: a 2:1 BSc in Computer Science, or a 2:2 MSci in Computer Science?
It really does depend on what the short- and long-term career objectives are. If someone really has no desire to continue on to a PhD, then it probably doesn't make too much of a difference—they're being hired based on what they can do with the master's, rather than the grade, and only a handful of employers will care about the difference between a 2:1 and 2:2.

On the other hand, if at some point, someone wants to go back to graduate school for further training, a 2:2 master's may not be the most useful credential to have on one's record.