I've had my IMC for just over a year. Would I use it to fly IFR with a 1000ft ceiling with no forecast improvement? No!
I got my PPL in Holland, where at the time one needed 10 hours instrument training. After that and the 15 hours IMC course, I'm quite confident that I can keep control when everything is going well. But I'm under no illusions that I don't have a lot of skill in reserve if anything starts going wrong. Could I plan a diversion and fly an NDB approach in IMC after a vacuum pump failure, in a plane with no autopilot? I wouldn't like to have to try.
I've found the IMC rating great for giving me the confidence to fly in marginal VFR conditions. It's also nice to fly above a (thin) layer of cloud, and reassuring to know that I can fly an instrument approach if I have to (although I'd normally try to avoid it). But I don't think it really prepares a low-time pilot to fly safely in poor weather.
There also seem to be a lot of variations in how the IMC rating is taught. In Holland, only instructors with full IRs could teach the instrument flying part of the course. As far as I am aware, there isn't any such requirement for an IMC instructor, and the standards that different instructors require seems to vary quite a bit.
Wouldn't it be great to have an accessable instrument rating? Maybe one day.....