Traveled to Germany, LOVED it, now want to work/live there. Tips PLZ =/. Seems impossible!

Hey everyone, long time follower on the forums. Honestly all you FW'ers some of the people on the Internet =P.

Ok so I studied in Hamburg this summer as part of my masters degree and fell in love with the German culture and country. I took extra time to visit Berlin and Munich, so I'm not just limiting my search to any one area in Germany. I'll be finished with my program in December and want to live/work in Germany as soon as I can after (for at least a couple years).

My background is in HR and Accounting, I'm an English speaking native, with very very little German skills (but have already started Pimsuler and Rosetta Stone!).

Being a FW follower myself, I'm already thinking of creative and interesting ways to find a position. Recruiters, job boards, posting in newspapers, contacting, and heck even enlisting in the military has crossed my mind if they could guarantee I'd be stationed there.

Any thoughts? Has anyone else done this kind of thing before in Europe as an American? Expatriation is the way to go I've heard, but earning that position takes time I dont really want to wait. This next year of my life is going to be a milestone!

Select a city and move there. You can teach English and network as much as possible. You would probably make the most money by being sent to Germany by a US company, however that may be difficult. Since you were studying in Germany, you know some of the instructors who live there. Can they recommend places to look for work? Maybe they know of companies that are trying to enter the American market and want an American to help them. Are there any listings on Craigslist?

For German skills, don't trust those programs. They might get you some basics, but the grammar is too complex to be understood via a speaking-only program. You need to do a language intensive.

Look up the Goethe Institute in Germany. They have them in most major cities. There are other options, depending on city - I recommend the Carl Duisberg Center in Cologne. These are intensive language programs that last anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. You take language courses (evening or morning) for 3-4 hours per day. Generally speaking, your instructors do not speak English - this may be different at the more basic levels, I was in intermediate classes - and your fellow students are most likely not American. Since English is not necessarily a reference language for all the students, it forces you to use German as your basic medium of communication. Then, of course, once you leave class you're still in a German-speaking environment.

You can probably achieve passably levels of fluency after a few months of this. They are really great programs.

Mods keep deleted this post claiming I'm a new member...

The easiest way is to get a civilian job with the U.S. military.

Check here for the U.S. Army in Europe. Click on the link there which takes you here and you can search for 'Germany' under where. Currently shows me 82 jobs from Bartender to Microbiologist in a hospital. Not all will support relocation, but look under the details for 'Relocation/Permanent Change of Station (PCS) expenses are authorized.' You can also check if they pay any housing benefit, which can be considerable.

Also go here for civilian jobs with the U.S. Air Force. Select 'Germany' from the dropdown. And check here and again put 'Germany' as above.

Jobs like this are possible, but you'll need to take care of your own relocation to Germany and you won't get any housing assistance with that job, which many civilian employees get (which is the one thing making it worthwhile financially).

This also applies for jobs with the state department, etc, but you need to find those are you own.

The second way (which is how I'm working in Europe, but not in Germany) is to get a job with a U.S. employer who will send you to work overseas. That is quite difficult with a HR/Accounting background, but try to get a job with either a German company with American presense (BMW, Seimens, etc), but that works much better for technical backgrounds. Or try a U.S. company who has a lot of business in Germany (not sure who that would be) and make clear that you want to work in Germany. Certainly fluent German will be the only way you'll be allowed in private business, as everyone in Germany speaks German. It's not like getting a job in the Netherlands or Luxembourg.

Third is to get a teacher's certificate and get a job either in an international school (most major cities will have a US-education [so they prefer U.S. teachers] one) or directly from the U.S. Military European School system.

Finally, I know of one person (mind you she had an Aerospace Engineering degree) who got a job with the European Space Agency, so open your options to NGOs, European government bodies, etc. You never know what the option will be that can bring you where you want to go!

Tough in this economic situation...

Are you good at making beer!

Your crush on Germany will be over sooner than you know.

Something about Germany says "stay away" to me.

Marry a German.

I assume that works the same way it does in the USA...

cows123 said:   Something about Germany says "stay away" to me.

They only look after there "Own" if you catch my drift..

learn turkish

freemochao said:   Be a Foreign Service Officer with the DoS!

Problem is you have limited control over where you go. And very likely will do at least one or two tours in developing countries processing visas and the like before you even get a chance to get to Germany. Also once you get there your tour will likely be limted to 2-3 years. An FSO is a great way to see the world but no so much if you just want to live in one country.

secstate said:   OP I believe you can work in Germany if you are a citizen of any EU country and perhaps some non-EU countries. Some European countries have opportunites for folks who descend from citizens of that country to gain citizenship. I believe Ireland has this, the UK does (I can get UK citizenship because my mom was a UK citizen) and I believe some Eastern European countries have similar programs. I'd poll you ancestors and see if any of them are from a country in Europe that might provide this.

Just to clarify, that tends to only hold true for direct descendants - ie in your case, because your mother is/was a UK citizen. The same wouldn't hold true if say your grandmother was a UK citizen. I remember a case a few years back while we were in Switzerland where a woman (UK citizenship) was pregnant to her boyfriend who was Swiss. The baby was born in Switzerland. The parents of the child weren't married - and then the added twist was that while mother had UK Citizenship, she had never actually lived in the UK (her parents were British, but she was born and had grown up in the Netherlands). In this case, the UK refused citizenship, the Netherlands refused citizenship, and Switzerland refused citizenship to the child. I never heard the outcome of this situation (though there is some sort of UN passport that can be obtained in these cases but it has 0 perks) but the point is...having descendants isn't a sure thing for getting citizenship or for getting the right/ability to work in EU countries. Also in a lot of cases of direct descendants, they'll allow you dual citizenship up till the age of 18, then they require that you choose.

JHO5 said:   

Just to clarify, that tends to only hold true for direct descendants - ie in your case, because your mother is/was a UK citizen. The same wouldn't hold true if say your grandmother was a UK citizen.

You are correct for the UK it is only son and daughters of UK citizens who are citizens not by descent. That said some countries have broader qualifications. Ireland allows citizenship based on grandparents and in rare cases great grandparents. I also believe one or more east European countries allow citizenship based on grand parents. There was a thread on Fatwallet a few years ago that mentioned it as I recall. It is admittedly a long shot for OP but it doesn't hurt to investigate if he has any grandparents from Europe (I am assuming he would have mentioned parents).

Federal position will not be easy if you're coming in without experience and have no preference points - that is, are former military, existing federal, or a spouse of one. Else, regardless of your talent you will come in dead last on the ranking scale. May want to think about earning preference points first.