Quant Versus Code Monkey

Quant or code monkey? this question has been on my mind since second year into college. Most quant positions require graduate degrees but I'm not so confident on landing an offer in a reputable program judging from my mediocre academic performance. But I don't want to waste my college degree all together and transfer to another field means a steep learning curve and few more years of self-education.

I've been spending more time pondering on this question than actually doing something constructive to my career and I don't want to spend more time making decisions and splitting up my time between several prospective career options. My question to you experienced professionals in this field are: what are some possible designations I can get a job in without a really stunning graduate transcript? and more generally, will I be better off doing something else than to jam my head into the already super competitive quantitative finance field?