Grade 10 work-experience week has placed her at a bank. She asked for anything outdoors

lilac_chai_921223 Jun 2026

Her IB school runs a work-experience week in July. Students list three preferences and the school matches them with parents' workplaces and partner organisations. She put down a wildlife NGO, an architecture firm and a farm. She has been given a private bank's back office. She is disappointed and slightly insulted. I'm trying to work out whether it's worth asking the school to change it, or whether a week of watching ordinary office work is useful on its own terms. Most of what she imagines about jobs comes from people describing them at their best. What did your children get out of placements like this, if they had them?

4 comments

violet_pigeon_960223 Jun 2026
Our schools here don't have this, so I am reading with interest. My son would also be upset if they sent him to a bank when he wanted to sing. But maybe it is good for children to see what most people do every day.
teal_sandal_272423 Jun 2026
I've coordinated these placements. The students who get the most out of them are rarely the ones who got their first choice. The ones who come back with something are the ones who were given a real task and one person they could ask questions. Before asking for a change, I'd ask the school who her supervisor will be and what she'll be doing each day. If the answer is 'observing', that's worth pushing on. A bank where she sits beside someone and does real work can be more useful than an NGO where she's handed a brochure.
hazel_bottle_156324 Jun 2026
my son's school had a one-day job shadow last year and he got an accounts office. came back saying he never wants a desk job. that's also useful information 🤷
mellow_crayon_847624 Jun 2026
I work with bank people every week for policies. It's not glamorous, but she will learn how people talk to customers, how they handle complaints, how much paper there still is. Maybe tell her to watch the people, not the work.