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Does having a job count for CAS hours? And is it a good idea to work during the school year?


PeriPeri

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Hello everyone!

I have been offered a part-time position at a library, with about 8-10 hours a week. I would absolutely love to work there and it is a good way to earn some money on the side. Also, I think it would be good experience for me as I have not had a paid job before.

The problem is that I am very involved with other extra-curricular activities and as I am in my first year of the IB Diploma Program , I want to be able to focus on my studies and get high marks. Since I can't do it all, either the job goes or some extra-curricular activities.

Therefore, I am thinking of declining the job offer unless it can count for CAS hours or if it is beneficial for me in terms of my resume and applying for university....

So would working count for CAS hours? And is it a good idea to work during the school year?

Any kind of opinion on this would be greatly appreciated!!! xx

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Your CAS hours have to be voluntary, which rules out paid work, I am afraid. Also, I would decline the job offer. If you are going to focus on your studies, there will be times when you won't have any time for much else than school work. I don't think any employer would be very enthusiastic about that.

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It's not allowed. Working in a library for free would count as Service but obviously you can't earn on it. Though if you had a good supervisor... ;) I think having a job in IB is quite challenging but you could try for a month or two maybe, as in the beginning there is not so much school work I suppose. But later you will be grateful for any moment you don't have to be involved in any extra activities and write your essay or sth instead ;d

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Hello everyone!

I have been offered a part-time position at a library, with about 8-10 hours a week. I would absolutely love to work there and it is a good way to earn some money on the side. Also, I think it would be good experience for me as I have not had a paid job before.

The problem is that I am very involved with other extra-curricular activities and as I am in my first year of the IB Diploma Program , I want to be able to focus on my studies and get high marks. Since I can't do it all, either the job goes or some extra-curricular activities.

Therefore, I am thinking of declining the job offer unless it can count for CAS hours or if it is beneficial for me in terms of my resume and applying for university....

So would working count for CAS hours? And is it a good idea to work during the school year?

Any kind of opinion on this would be greatly appreciated!!! xx

No it does not count.

CAS program has a range of many activities. (Not including the project) All of these require planning and evaluation.

  • Creativity : Personal challenge/goal in which you take part in a new creative activity. Ex: A new dance course, playing the flute for the first time, painting etc...
  • Activity : An athletic and physical activity. Basically its sports. Ex: Going further in training a sport like volleyball, trying out a new sport etc..
  • Service :You should have learned something from doing this activity. Responsibility. As taken from the guide, it is : "A learning benefit that enriches the student personally is in no way inconsistent with the requirement that service be unpaid and voluntary." (Ex: Serving an organization or community like VOLUNTEERING at the Library or a Hospital).

Soooo, unfortunately, being PAYED, does not count. However, you can volunteer at the library for free and count it for Service hours.

If you need more information regarding CAS, check the IB CAS guide here: http://www.svusd.org...SCurriculum.pdf

As for the job part, you CAN have a job while still doing the IB program. It is possible to do both and still succeed. However, your time would be cut in half. You just need to manage your time wisely to get school work done and manage a job at the same. Prioritize!

Hope this helps! :)

Edited by funny10sport
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I agree. That doesn't count as CAS since you're being paid however if they removed the pay and you just volunteered to work and help around, that would be CAS. You can definitely work as long as you can manage your school work plus that work but i doubt the library job would be a huge load.

Hope i helped ^_^

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Everyone has answered the CAS part of the question so I'm just going to comment on the part time job part. In my year I would say about 80% of my cohort would of had part time jobs and everyone was fine. As long as you plan to know that you are not going to have that time available in your week, you really wont notice it taking up that much of your time. However, its really good to talk to your employer about your situation and just see if they are willing to give you a few less hours around exams etc. and just be flexible with you situation. Most employers will be fine about it and having money from a non-stressful part-time job can be so much more fun than being broke.

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  • 2 weeks later...

As the people above have said, you cannot receive money for something and have it count towards class (you could however tutor someone for free and that would count as good CAS). As for the part time job, my school strongly advises against having a part-time job during IB, they say no IB student with a part time job will be able to excel in their subjects. Of course there are exceptions to this ''rule'' but I believe that my school is telling the truth for the most part unless you have a photographic memory/already know all the material before you even start IB. Too many students burn out during the school year and become depressed because they get so lonely from studying all day and all night. Adding work to IB sounds disastrous to me. I know I wouldn't be able to handle it.

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  • 3 months later...
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  • 4 weeks later...

I have a part time job and in the full IB program, I work from 15-22 hours a week. I'm not going to lie and say it's easy but at the same time it is doable. It has taught me to manage my time better and the importance of good communication with bosses and teachers. I also play field hockey so I am used to not having much free time, and I only worked one shift a week during the season. My school hasn't openly discouraged it but only about 4 of the 32 kids in IB have part time jobs at my school.

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  • 4 months later...

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