Going to work in Australia or Thailand when you are 25 and have no family is not so difficult. And there are many such stories. But moving when you are under 40, a wife and three children (8 years old, 5 years old and 2 years old) is a task of a different level of complexity. Therefore, I want to share my experience of moving to Germany.
Much has been said about how to look for work abroad, draw up documents and move, I will not repeat myself.
So, in 2015, my family and I live in St. Petersburg in a rented apartment. We thought for a long time how we should move, what to do with the school, places in the kindergarten and a rented apartment. We have made several important decisions:
- We are going for at least 2 years.
- We will all move at once.
- We will not reserve a rented apartment in St. Petersburg (30000 per month + a communal apartment - quite a decent amount).
- We will reserve places in kindergartens and schools for now. For the most emergency.
- We take one large suitcase and one small bag for each family member with us.
For more than ten years of living together, so many necessary and unnecessary things have been accumulated in the apartment and on the balcony that it is beyond words. What they were able to sell in a month was sold, something was taken by friends. 3/4 of everything else had to be thrown away. Now I don’t regret it at all, but then it was insanely sorry to throw it all away (what if it comes in handy?).
We arrived immediately at the three-room apartment that had been prepared for us. Of the furniture, there was only a table, 5 chairs, 5 folding beds, a refrigerator, a stove, a set of dishes and cutlery for 5 people. You can live.
For the first 1,5 - 2 months we lived in such Spartan conditions and were engaged in the design of all kinds of papers, kindergartens, schools, contracts for gas, electricity, the Internet, etc.
School
Practically from the first day of your stay in Germany, your child is obliged to attend school. This is written in the law. But there is a problem: at the time of the move, none of our children knew a single word of German. Before moving, I read that a child without a language can be taken one or even 2 classes lower. Or, in addition to this, send for six months to a special integration class to learn the language. At the time of the move, my son was in the second grade, and we thought that in any case he would not be sent to kindergarten, and lowering by 1 grade is not so scary. But we were accepted into the second grade without any problems. Moreover, the principal of the school said that since the child does not know German at all, then one of the teachers will additionally study with him free of charge!!! Suddenly, isn't it? The child was picked up by the teacher either from the less important lessons (music, physical education, etc.), or on an after-school. Still at home, two hours of German lessons a week with a tutor. A year later, the son became one of the best students in the German class among the Germans, in Germany!
Our elementary school is located in a separate building with its own yard. Children during breaks are simply driven out into the yard for a walk if there is no rain. In the courtyard there is a large playground with a sandbox, slides, swings, carousels, a small playground with football goals, table tennis tables. There is also a bunch of sports equipment like balls, jump ropes, scooters, etc. All this can be used without problems. If it's raining outside, the children play board games in the classroom, paint, craft, read books in a special corner, sitting on a sofa with pillows. And the kids really enjoy going to school. I still can't believe it myself.
On the first day, the son came to school in classic trousers, a shirt and leather moccasins (in the same clothes in which he went to school in St. Petersburg, but in St. Petersburg he also had an additional tie and vest). The principal of the school looked at us dejectedly and said that it was so uncomfortable for the child to sit in the classroom, and even more so to play during breaks, and at least shoes should be brought in another, more comfortable one, for example, rag slippers.
What the Russian school is very memorable for is the incredible number of homework in first and second grade. My wife used to make them with her son for 2-3 hours every evening. The child himself was simply not overpowered. And not because he is stupid, but simply very much and difficult. There is also a special after-school program where the teacher does homework with the children for 50 minutes. Then they go outside for a walk. There is almost no home left. It happens that once a week for half an hour, children do something at home if they did not have time at school. And usually on their own. The main message: if the child did not have time to do everything at home in an hour, then he was asked too much, and the teacher was wrong, so he must be told to ask less next time. From Friday to Monday, no homework is given at all. For holidays too. Children also have the right to rest.
Kindergarten
In different places, the situation with kindergartens is different, somewhere people wait 2-3 years in line to get there, especially in large cities (just like in St. Petersburg). But few people know that if your child does not go to kindergarten, but sits at home with his mother, then the mother can receive compensation of 150 euros per month (Betreuungsgeld) for this. In general, kindergartens are paid, about 100-300 euros per month (depending on the federal state, city and the kindergarten itself), with the exception of children visiting the kindergarten a year before school - in this case, the kindergarten is free (children must socially adapt to school). Since 2018, kindergartens have become free in some German states. We were advised to apply to a Catholic kindergarten, because. it was close to our house and was much better than other kindergartens in the area. But we are Orthodox!? It turned out that Evangelicals, Protestants, and Muslims are reluctantly admitted to Catholic kindergartens and schools, while the Orthodox are willingly accepted, considering us brothers in faith. All you need is a baptismal certificate. In general, Catholic kindergartens are considered among the best. They get good funding, but they also cost more. My younger children don't speak German either. The educators told us the following about this: do not even try to teach your child to speak German, you will teach him to speak incorrectly. We will do it ourselves much better than you, and it's easier than retraining him later, and you teach Russian at home. Moreover, they themselves bought a Russian-German phrase book in order to find a common language with the child at the beginning. I cannot imagine such a situation with a foreign child who does not speak Russian in a kindergarten in St. Petersburg or Voronezh. By the way, in a group of 20 children, 2 educators and one assistant educator work simultaneously.
The main differences from our kindergartens:
- Children bring their own breakfast. Usually these are sandwiches, fruits and vegetables. You can't bring sweets with you.
- The kindergarten is only open until 16:00 pm. Until then, the child must be picked up. If not picked up - overtime payment for the teacher and a warning. After three warnings, the kindergarten can terminate the contract with you.
- There are no lessons. Children are not taught to read, write, count, etc. They play with children, sculpt, build, draw - they are engaged in creativity. Classes appear only for those children who should go to school next year (but even there the child will not be taught to read and solve examples, mainly these are classes for general development).
- Groups are specially made for different ages. Together in the group there are children 3-6 years old. The older ones help the younger ones, and the younger ones follow the older ones. And this is not from a lack of groups or educators. We have 3 such groups in the kindergarten. Separately, only the nursery group, which is for children from one to three years old.
- The child chooses what and when to do. Only meals and joint activities are tied to time.
- Children can walk when they want. From each group there is a separate exit to the fenced yard of the kindergarten, where one of the teachers is constantly located. The child can dress himself and go for a walk and walk at least all the time. We have a special board in the group, divided into sectors: toilet, creativity, building corner, sports corner, puppets, yard, etc. When a child goes to the yard, he takes a magnet with his photo and moves it to the "Yard" sector. In the summer, parents bring sunscreen, and caregivers anoint their children with it so that they do not get burned. Sometimes they inflate large pools where children can swim (for this, during the summer heat, we bring swimwear). In the yard there are slides, swings, a sandbox, scooters, bicycles, etc.This is what our group looks like.
- Educators periodically take the children with them for a walk outside the kindergarten. For example, the teacher may take the children to the store to buy fresh buns for dinner. Can you imagine a teacher with 15 children in a five or a magnet? So I couldn't! Now this is reality.
- Trips to different places are often organized for children. For example, in a pastry shop where they knead the dough, sculpt figures and bake cookies with a pastry chef. Each child then takes a large box of these cookies home with them. Or to the city fair, where they ride carousels and eat ice cream. Or a fire department tour. Moreover, a transfer is not ordered for this, children travel by public transport. The kindergarten itself pays for such events.
Benefits
It may seem strange, but every family that officially resides in Germany has the right to receive child benefits. For each child, until they reach the age of 18, the state pays 196 euros per month (even to foreigners who come here to work). For three, we get, as it is not difficult to calculate, 588 euros net into our account every month. Moreover, if a child at the age of 18 went to study at a university, then the allowance is paid until he reaches 25 years of age. Suddenly! Before moving I did not know about it! But this is a very good increase in HP.
Woman
Usually, when moving abroad, wives do not work. There are many reasons for this: ignorance of the language, irrelevant education and specialty, unwillingness to work for significantly less money than her husband, etc. In Germany, the employment service can pay for language courses for a spouse who is not working due to lack of knowledge of the language. As a result, my wife learned German to the level C1 during these three years and entered the local university this year with a degree in applied programming. Fortunately, education is almost free. By the way, she is 35. Before that, in St. Petersburg, she received a higher education in the field of PR and worked in her specialty.
Career
It so happened that our first city, where we arrived, turned out to be quite small - with a population of about 150000 people. I thought it wasn't scary. Until we get used to it, we will get involved, we will gain experience, and then we will rush to Stuttgart or Munich. After a year of living in Germany, I thought about my future career. The current conditions were not bad, but you always want better. I began to study the job market in my city and other cities and realized several things that were initially not obvious to me.
- System administration and support (my specialty at the time of the move) pays less than development. There are much fewer vacancies and career and salary growth prospects are also few.
- German. 99% of all vacancies require knowledge of the German language at a good level. Those. vacancies where it is enough to know only English is 50 times less than those where knowledge of German is required. In small towns, there are almost no vacancies with only knowledge of English.
- Rent. The cost of rent in big cities is much higher. For example, a 3-room apartment of 80 sq. m. in (population 1,4 million people) will cost 1400 - 2500 per month, and in (population 200 thousand people) only 500 - 800 euros per month. But there is a moment: it is very difficult to rent an apartment for 1400 in Munich. I know a family that lived 3 months in a hotel before renting at least some apartment. The fewer rooms, the higher the demand.
- Wage spread between large and small cities is only about 20%. For example, Portal gehalt.de for a job gives a fork of 4.052 € - 5.062 €, and 3.265 € - 4.079 €.
- The labor market. As Dmitry wrote in the article , in big cities the "employer's market" reigns. But this is in big cities. In small towns, the "worker's market" reigns. I have been tracking vacancies in my city for two years. And I can say that IT vacancies have also been hanging for years, but not at all because companies are trying to skim off the cream. No. We just need normal people who are ready to learn and work. Firms are ready to grow and develop, but this requires qualified employees, and there are not enough of them. And companies are ready to hire and train employees. And pay good money. In our company, out of 20 developers, 10 were fully trained from scratch by the company itself in the system of secondary specialized education (). The vacancy of a Java developer in our company (and in many others) has been constantly hanging for more than two years.
Then I realized that it makes no sense for us to move to a big city at all, and I didn’t want to by that time either. A small cozy city with a developed infrastructure. Very clean, green and safe. Schools and kindergartens are excellent. Everything is nearby. Yes, they pay more in Munich, but this difference is often completely eaten up by higher rents. In addition, there is a problem with kindergartens. Long distances to kindergarten, school and work, as in any major city. Higher cost of living.
So we decided to stay in the city where we originally arrived. And in order to have a higher income, I decided to change my specialty, already being here in Germany. The choice fell on Java development, as it turned out to be the most demanded and highly paid area, even for beginners. Started with Java online courses. Then self-preparation for the certification of Oracle Certified Professional, Java SE 8 Programmer. Passing exams, obtaining a certificate.
In parallel, I studied German for 2 years. At almost 40 years old, it is difficult to start learning a new language. Really difficult, plus I've always been sure that I have no talent for languages. In Russian and literature, I always had triples at school. But the presence of motivation and regular classes gave their result. As a result, I passed the German proficiency test at C1 level. In August of this year, I found a new job as a Java developer in German.
Job search in Germany
You need to understand that looking for a job in Germany, when you are already here, is significantly different from that when you are in Russia. Especially when it comes to small towns. All further remarks about the job search are only my personal opinion and experience.
Foreigners. Most companies, in principle, do not consider candidates from other countries even without knowledge of German. Many simply do not even know how to register foreigners and what to do with them in general. I think that most employers in Russia also, in principle, do not know how to register foreigners. And why? What could be the motive? Only if the desired conditions do not find a candidate on the spot.
Places to look for vacancies have already been discussed many times.
Here is a list of the most relevant places to look for work
Separately, I want to note the website of the state employment service: . Surprisingly, there are really a lot of good vacancies. I even think that it the most complete selection of current vacancies throughout Germany. In addition, the site contains a lot of useful first-hand information. About the recognition of diplomas, work permits, benefits, paperwork, etc.
The recruitment process in Germany
It's really process. If in St. Petersburg I could come for an interview, and after 2 days already go to work, then it doesn’t work like that here (especially in small towns). Next, I will tell you about my case.
In January 2018, I decided on the company in which I wanted to get a job and began to purposefully study the technology stack with which they worked. In early April, I went to a local university for a job fair for beginners, where most of the IT employers were represented. You don’t feel very comfortable as a novice developer at 40 when there are only twenty-year-old guys around you. There I met the HR manager of the very company I wanted to join. I briefly spoke about myself, about my experience and plans. The HR manager praised my German and we agreed that I would send them my resume. I've posted. They called me one week later and said they wanted to invite me for the first interview as soon as possible ... in three weeks! Three weeks Carl!?!?
Invitation to first interview I was duplicated by a letter in which it was also written that four people from the employer’s side would be present at the interview: the general director, the HR director, the IT director and the system architect. For me it was a real surprise. Usually you are first interviewed by HR, then by a specialist in the department where you are taken, then by the boss, and only then by the director. But knowledgeable people told me that this is normal for small towns. If at the first interview there is such a composition, then the company, in principle, is ready to take you, if everything that is written in the resume is true.
The first interview went pretty well, in my opinion. But the employer took a week "to think." A week later, they really called me and made me happy that I passed the first interview successfully, and they are ready to invite me to the second technical interview in another 2 weeks. 2 more weeks!!!
Second, technical interview, was just a check of my compliance with what is written on my resume. After the second interview - another week of waiting and bingo - they liked me, and they are ready to discuss the terms of cooperation. I was scheduled to meet to discuss the details of the work in another week. At the third meeting, I was already asked about the desired salary and the date when I can go to work. I replied that I would be able to leave in 45 days - August 1st. And that's okay too. Nobody expects you to come out tomorrow.
In total, from the moment of sending the resume to the official offer at the initiative of the employer, 9 weeks have passed!!! I don’t understand what the person who wrote the article was counting on when he thought that in 2 weeks he would find a job on the spot.
Another non-obvious moment. In St. Petersburg, usually, if you are unemployed and ready to start a new job even tomorrow, this is a big plus for the employer, because everyone needed yesterday. In any case, I did not encounter the fact that it was perceived negatively. When I recruited my own staff, I also perceived it as normal. In Germany, the opposite is true. If you are unemployed, then this is really a very negative factor that greatly affects the likelihood that you will not be hired. Germans are always interested in gaps in your resume. A break in work for more than one month between previous jobs is already causing concern and questions. Again, I repeat, we are talking about small towns and the experience of working in Germany itself. Perhaps things are different in Berlin.
Salary
If you are looking for a job while in Germany, then almost nowhere in the vacancies you will see salaries. After Russia, it looks very uncomfortable. You can spend 2 months on interviews and correspondence to understand that the salary level in the company does not meet your expectations at all. How to be? To do this, you can pay attention to work in government institutions. Work there is paid in accordance with the tariff scale . Abbreviated TV L. I'm not saying that you need to go to work in government agencies. But this tariff scale is a good benchmark for wages. And here is the grid itself for 2018:
| Category | TV-L 11 | TV-L 12 | TV-L 13 | TV-L 14 | TV-L 15 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (Beginner) | 3.202 € | 3.309 € | 3.672 € | 3.982 € | 4.398 € |
| 2 (After 1 year of operation) | 3.522 € | 3.653 € | 4.075 € | 4.417 € | 4.877€ |
| 3 (After 3 years of operation) | 3.777 € | 4.162 € | 4.293 € | 4.672 € | 5.057 € |
| 4 (After 6 years of operation) | 4.162 € | 4.609 € | 4.715 € | 5.057 € | 5.696 € |
| 5 (After 10 years of operation) | 4.721 € | 5.187 € | 5.299 € | 5.647 € | 6.181 € |
| 6 (After 15 years of operation) | 4.792 € | 5.265 € | 5.378 € | 5.731 € | 6.274 € |
Moreover, previous work experience can also be taken into account. The tariff category TV-L 11 includes ordinary developers and system administrators. Leading system administrator, senior developer (senior) - TV-L 12. If you have an academic degree, or you are the head of a department, then you can safely apply for TV-L 13, and if 5 people with TV-L 13 work under your leadership, then your tariff is TV-L 15. Ie. a novice system administrator or programmer receives 3200 € at the entrance, even in the state. structures. Commercial structures usually pay 10-20-30% more depending on the requirements for candidates, competition, etc.
UPD: as rightly pointed out , not a novice sysadmin gets so much, but a sysadmin with experience.
The tariff scale is indexed every year. So, for example, since 2010, salaries in this grid have grown by ~, and inflation in the same period was ~. In addition, there is often a Christmas bonus in the form of 80% of the monthly salary. Even in state-owned companies. I agree, not as tasty as in the USA.
Working conditions
It is clear that conditions vary greatly from firm to firm. But I want to tell you what they are, based again on my personal example.
Time I am not standardized. This means that I can start work both at 06:00 and at 10:00. I don't have to inform anyone about this. I have to work 40 hours a week. You can work 5 hours on one day, and 11 10 on the other. Everything is simply entered into the time tracking system indicating the project, application number and time spent. Lunch time is not included in working hours. But you can't have lunch. I feel very comfortable. So for three days I come to work by 07:00, and my wife takes the children to kindergarten and school, but I pick them up (she has classes in the evening). And 2 more days on the contrary: I take the children and come to work at 08:30, and she picks me up. If you work less than 4 hours a day, you need to notify your supervisor.
Processing is compensated either with money or time off, at the choice of the employer. More than 80 hours of processing are possible only with the written consent of the head, otherwise they will not be paid. Those. processing is more of an initiative of an employee than a manager. In any case, we have.
Hospital. You can be sick for three days without a doctor's note. You just call the secretary in the morning and that's it. There is no need to work remotely. Treat yourself calmly. Starting from the fourth day you will need sick leave. Everything is paid in full.
Remote work not practiced, everything is only in the office. This is due, firstly, to a trade secret, and secondly, to the GDPR, because you have to work with personal and commercial data of different companies.
Vacation 28 business days. It's the workers. If the vacation falls on holidays or weekends, then the vacation is extended by their number.
Probation - 6 months. If the candidate is not suitable for any reason, he must be notified 4 weeks in advance. Those. You can't be fired one day without a day's work. More precisely, they can, but with payment for an additional month. Likewise, a candidate cannot leave without a month's work.
Meals at work. Everyone brings food with them or goes to a cafe or restaurant for lunch. Coffee, notorious cookies, juices, mineral water and fruits without restrictions.
This is what our fridge looks like
To the right of the refrigerator are three more drawers. You can drink beer during working hours. All beer is alcoholic. We don't keep anything else. And no, this is not a joke. Those. if I take a bottle of beer at lunchtime and drink it, this is normal, but unusual. Once a month, after the department meeting at 12:00, the entire department goes to the balcony to taste different beers.
Bonuses Additional corporate pension provision. Sport. Corporate doctor (Something like a family doctor, but for employees).
It turned out a lot. But there is more information. If the material is interesting, I can write more. Vote for interesting topics.
UPD: My in a telegram about life and work in Germany. Short and to the point.
Only registered users can participate in the survey. , you are welcome.
I have more to tell
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Taxes. How much do we pay and for what?
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medicine. For adults and children
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Pensions. Yes, foreign citizens can also receive a pension earned in Germany
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Citizenship. Obtaining citizenship for an IT specialist in Germany is easier than in many other Schengen countries
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Flat rent
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Utility payments and communications. On the example of my family
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Standard of living. So how much is left on hand after paying taxes and all mandatory payments?
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Домашние животные
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Jobs
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Source: habr.com