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What kind of jobs do they have in Germany?

Can a self educated programmer get hired in Berlin, Germany?

  • I visited Berlin a couple of years ago and really enjoyed the city and the culture there. Now I am considering moving there to work and live for a few years. My question is similar to this one: However, my situation is, at least from my perspective, quite different. I am a self-taught computer programmer and mathematics enthusiast with some college education. Instead of initially going to school full-time, I learned the basics of software development, got a job where I learned through doing and later moved on to becoming a freelance contract programmer. I have been working consistently for the past seven years on rather high profile projects and now have a solid portfolio. In the states this kind of track is not un-common. Self starters are typically well-regarded and personally, I've had no problem whatsoever finding work even in the current economic climate. What I am unsure of, is whether or not credibility built purely on experience and a strong track record is regarded the same way in the German culture. Are German employers more likely to require a degree or other accreditation? I should also add, that I am looking either for full-time employment or to pick up work as a contractor.

  • Answer:

    For a normal german surrounding in corporate etc, this would probably not work so much. For going to berlin? Brace yourself. If you can spell the words programmer or better "fav prgramming language" they will rip your shirt of, put you in chains and in the dungeon of their startup and never let you out of sight again. Not quite but kinda that is the situation in startups. The facebook group Joel mentioned is https://www.facebook.com/groups/395011077224173/ I would prefer if you do not a test in the water posting just to gauge interest. ;) Look through it for the dev jobs to get an idea of how much how many are looking for. Alternatively you can check the two major boards http://berlinstartupjobs.com http://marsjobs.net As a programmer - if you are at least good to some degree - you can ping the recruiters who will contact you anyhow as soon as they get a feeling of "can write something". Once you have done that, do think about your path - it might easier to backpack on a startup job and have them help you get your visa and lodging here (don't underestimate that) and once you are settled here, you can still move around. Which is why I would not recommend the recruiter route as such contracts usually go with some timeframe of working there. Freelancer visa should be possible but that might be harder to achieve without external help. The second group for asking that kind of questions for working in a Berlin startup is https://www.facebook.com/groups/159595270791268/ (Sadly facebook search is non existant but if you look around you get a feel for it).

Nicole Simon at Quora Visit the source

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Best bet is to show up, attend a bunch of tech meetups, including things like "hack and tell" where you present something you've built, meet people, impress them, and get them to give you a job offer. There are enough startups, etc. out there looking for people that this shouldn't be too difficult. Alternatively, scour the "Berlin Startup Jobs" group on Facebook. You can also follow the more traditional route of posting a resume on Monster dot com but as a non-traditional self starter you will probably have better success with the above. Keep in mind that you are also eligible for a freelancer visa which is not difficult to get, so if you have enough cash to float you for awhile you can get around, network, and then get a single job or multiple contracts as you prefer. Anyways, in general German employers are more credential driven but I don't that is at all a barrier in the startup scene.

Joel Dietz

Theoretically you should have no problem in Berlin, which is a huge hub for technology. Practically, you can go on a 90-day tourist visa, but getting something more than that may be tricky. One approach would be to go for a few months, make connections at coworking spaces and events, and hope to come away with an employer willing to sponsor a longer work-based stay. http://startupberlin.org/toolbox/co-working-spaces/

Kurt Kohlstedt

Once you have a solid track record, employers/customers (with a small number of exceptions) care more about your skills than pieces of paper. A degree is but one part that supports your actually having the skills. For contracting (and to some extent also for permanent positions), a good start would be to register your resume at http://www.gulp.de. You can get direct project requests there, and most of the bigger agencies will find you there, and put you into their own databases, so when you are next available, they will contact you directly. I also get a fair amount of requests via LinkedIn and Xing. Berlin specifically has fairly low living costs and corresponding wages/rates. In some places such as Frankfurt you will get a vastly higher number of project requests, depending on your background. It may be useful to spend a few years outside Berlin if you want to build credibility within Germany. Speaking the language is not usually an issue, but of course it helps if you do make the effort to learn it (although you should be prepared to have few opportunities to practice it, because everyone will just talk to you in English when they realize that German is not your native language).

Nicolai Czempin

Too Good To Go Sucht App-, PHP- und Java-EnwicklerUnsere dänischen Kollegen brauchen Verstärkung! Du kannst aus Berlin arbeiten brauchst aber gute englisch Kentnisse. Schicke eine kurze Bewerbung mit deinen Qualifikationen an Too Good To Go.

Mai Goth Olesen

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