Work after IB - does it impress employers?

[spx2000]

There are people, including me, who do not want to study after the IB programme and prefer to start working immediately. I am about to have my final exams soon and I would love to read about various experiences of people with the same unusual attitude.

In short - does the IB certificate impress potential employers? Do you have any experiences in this field?

Or anyone who started working right after getting the IB diploma?

[Sandwich]

I know a couple of people who've gone straight into work for a few years to earn some money before going on to University later -- obviously they've not gone into career jobs, so I don't know how relevant their experiences would be, they're all working as waitresses/shop assistants/tour guides/au peres etc., so no permanent positions, but I'll tell you anyway! xP

The only major barrier they encountered was that nobody outside of other IB people and University admissions departments really knows what the IB is, or what a good score is considered to be, or what the hardest subjects are and so on. It wasn't too big a deal for them because they all went into relatively unskilled labour, but if you were aiming for a competitive job on the back of your IB grades, you should probably just check with them that they know what the IB is equivalent to in normal terms and that you're happy they have an understanding of what your IB grade means! In my experience nobody has the first clue about it unless they're in a specific position where they really have to.

In the UK it's commonly mistaken for much less academic courses, in fact, and you can effectively penalise yourself by doing the IB instead of A Levels (that's the normal course here) because they think you've done some kind of vocational college course for two years! Soooo I don't know where you from, but it really is worth making sure whoever you talk to understands the grades and that the IB is considered a serious qualification. Unless of course they're irrelevant to what you want to do - or you live in a country where the IB is sufficiently normal that you don't anticipate this problem P: