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I was talking to someone about tech culture in Germany earlier. How easy is it to get a tech job out there?

j_moulin32 8y ago
Very easy, but Berlin is booming so rents are going up and vacant apartments have lots of competition. Zalando has 245 open tech positions: https://jobs.zalando.com/en/?search=technology https://jobs.zalando.com/en/?search=technology
xodast 8y ago
When I looked into it there were a couple of issues: Visas they will be different for wach person but for most people but if you're not under 30 and not from a western country it is a hassle Jobs : a lot of jobs require German and the ones that don't you'd face more fierce competition which drives down the wages considerably. Wages: on average is lower by 20-30 percent than Toronto, 50-60 percent than sf again taking these numbers out of my ass but you get the gist. Higher end more senior jobs pay even less. Benefits and holidays: significantly better than NA you get like 30 holidays in Bavaria last time I checked Overall if you don't have a big friend group/ family it's worth the move in my opinion the lifestyle is much more sustainable.
- blocked_again 8y ago
  Since you mentioned Toronto, how easy is to get a job in Toronto if you don't have a work Visa or PR, is not from North America and have like 1 year of work experience?
bobthepanda 8y ago
Not local, but I try and keep up from time to time, and I have seen a lot of hand-wringing on the Internet about how low Berlin tech wages are.
- bnferguson 8y ago
  Depends where you're comparing them to in the US but in general most European tech wages are lower than the US. If comparing to SF perhaps even shockingly lower. It can be hard to swallow at first, but when you account for lower rent, much cheaper health insurance, and far more vacation days (~20-24 by law - and no one actually expects you to be available) along with safer cities with generally higher quality of life, in my opinion it ends up being a very, very good trade off. I moved to Amsterdam some years back (and have worked for a Berlin based company) and don't know if I could ever move back to the states.
  - hectormalot 8y ago
    +1 for Amsterdam (the Hague, Rotterdam and Utrecht). Rent is getting more expensive, but quality of life is very good, healthcare is 60€/month, top universities at 2000€/yr and overall good job prospects
    - smueller1234 8y ago
      I'd like to add that I've found the Netherlands to be among the most welcoming countries to expats that I've spent meaningful amounts of time in. I've moved away, but I'll always feel like home there. Also, at least in the cities, everyone will be fluent in English. If you pick city other than Amsterdam, or are willing to have a 45 min+ commute, rents should still be reasonable.
      - Reimersholme 8y ago
        Agreed. Amsterdam is a great city, people are friendly and speak great English. An added bonus if you like travelling is that they also have one of the big airport hubs in Europe (along with Frankfurt and London) which means you can go almost anywhere in the world with at most one layover.
    - systemtest 8y ago
      Where do I get healthcare for so little? I pay €90 per month in insurance and an additional €240 per month through Zvw tax.
- tormeh 8y ago
  It's not that bad. Expect 50k EUR for a junior position.
igeligel_dev 8y ago
Comes down on what you want to get. It is easy to find jobs at startups because there is a shortage of developers here but on the other side it is hard to find entry level jobs overall. But I guess this is true for most of the major cities. Mentioning here that startups are not really obsessed by technology, at least most of them. There is this a weird mindset going around I think that technology is a 2nd class citizen. But it is depending on the startup I guess. To get into one of the bigger companies like Zalando, contentful, N26, GetYourGuide, Klarna, Auto1, GoEuro, DeliveryHero, HelloFresh or SumUp takes more work and experience but it's completely doable. I am now at one of the companies above after 1.5 years of company experience.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
stef25 8y ago
Lots of startups there, if you're the right person you will get hired.

Very easy, but Berlin is booming so rents are going up and vacant apartments have lots of competition. Zalando has 245 open tech positions: https://jobs.zalando.com/en/?search=technology https://jobs.zalando.com/en/?search=technology

xodast 8y ago

When I looked into it there were a couple of issues: Visas they will be different for wach person but for most people but if you're not under 30 and not from a western country it is a hassle Jobs : a lot of jobs require German and the ones that don't you'd face more fierce competition which drives down the wages considerably. Wages: on average is lower by 20-30 percent than Toronto, 50-60 percent than sf again taking these numbers out of my ass but you get the gist. Higher end more senior jobs pay even less. Benefits and holidays: significantly better than NA you get like 30 holidays in Bavaria last time I checked Overall if you don't have a big friend group/ family it's worth the move in my opinion the lifestyle is much more sustainable.

blocked_again 8y ago
Since you mentioned Toronto, how easy is to get a job in Toronto if you don't have a work Visa or PR, is not from North America and have like 1 year of work experience?

bobthepanda 8y ago

Not local, but I try and keep up from time to time, and I have seen a lot of hand-wringing on the Internet about how low Berlin tech wages are.

bnferguson 8y ago
Depends where you're comparing them to in the US but in general most European tech wages are lower than the US. If comparing to SF perhaps even shockingly lower. It can be hard to swallow at first, but when you account for lower rent, much cheaper health insurance, and far more vacation days (~20-24 by law - and no one actually expects you to be available) along with safer cities with generally higher quality of life, in my opinion it ends up being a very, very good trade off. I moved to Amsterdam some years back (and have worked for a Berlin based company) and don't know if I could ever move back to the states.
- hectormalot 8y ago
  +1 for Amsterdam (the Hague, Rotterdam and Utrecht). Rent is getting more expensive, but quality of life is very good, healthcare is 60€/month, top universities at 2000€/yr and overall good job prospects
  - smueller1234 8y ago
    I'd like to add that I've found the Netherlands to be among the most welcoming countries to expats that I've spent meaningful amounts of time in. I've moved away, but I'll always feel like home there. Also, at least in the cities, everyone will be fluent in English. If you pick city other than Amsterdam, or are willing to have a 45 min+ commute, rents should still be reasonable.
    - Reimersholme 8y ago
      Agreed. Amsterdam is a great city, people are friendly and speak great English. An added bonus if you like travelling is that they also have one of the big airport hubs in Europe (along with Frankfurt and London) which means you can go almost anywhere in the world with at most one layover.
  - systemtest 8y ago
    Where do I get healthcare for so little? I pay €90 per month in insurance and an additional €240 per month through Zvw tax.
tormeh 8y ago
It's not that bad. Expect 50k EUR for a junior position.

igeligel_dev 8y ago

Comes down on what you want to get. It is easy to find jobs at startups because there is a shortage of developers here but on the other side it is hard to find entry level jobs overall. But I guess this is true for most of the major cities. Mentioning here that startups are not really obsessed by technology, at least most of them. There is this a weird mindset going around I think that technology is a 2nd class citizen. But it is depending on the startup I guess. To get into one of the bigger companies like Zalando, contentful, N26, GetYourGuide, Klarna, Auto1, GoEuro, DeliveryHero, HelloFresh or SumUp takes more work and experience but it's completely doable. I am now at one of the companies above after 1.5 years of company experience.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

stef25 8y ago

Lots of startups there, if you're the right person you will get hired.