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How to find a job as Software Developer in Germany

germantechjobs.de

111–120 of 316 posts

Re: How to find a job as Software Developer in Germany

#111
post #14

> To sum up: if you are single and opt for "live cool and don't care about expenses" style, then an average developer salary will be enough (it might be harder if you have a family to feed). > On the other hand, if you choose to go the student-like route (living in Wohngemeinschaft and not eating out too much), you can easily manage with just 1.200-1.500 EUR per month, and save the majority of your salary. I know it…

I assume engineering positions are on the top bracket of salary distribution. If not even this is enough to pursue home ownership, what kind of people are able to afford a house? Honest question.

Same in France especially Paris. A decent home (say 80 m²) is at least 700k€ at the moment.

Only people who bought a decade ago, work in Finance or as a notaries or sold shares in a successful startup can afford it.

Re: How to find a job as Software Developer in Germany

#112
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 60k is more for senior developers. Junior get less. It's always shocking to me how low European SWE compensation is. Is it similar for other skilled professionals? What do accountants, lawyers, civil engineers, pilots, physical therapists, etc. make? I understand the demand side. I think the European tech industry is much less successful than its American counterpart, and therefore has less money to pay. But I don'…

> Why would anyone with the intelligence and drive needed to become a software engineer pursue that field? Instead of... what? It's not like you can make 2x the salary easily by instead becoming something else. Salaries are pretty flat, if you want to make money you should invest in somethig or have your own company. Also: I'm not sure it's' a good idea to pick jobs based on salaries. It's good to not worry about mon…

This is a great point. I'm American and my girlfriend and I make close to the same amount of money. We have recently decided to live(buy a home etc.) off of just one salary and completely invest the other salary because the penalty for getting sick and losing your job in the USA is so high that we don't feel comfortable spending most of both salaries.

ALSO, this is only possible because we each make 150% of the median household income in our city. Our country is awful for the average person, it really really is.

Oh yeah forgot to mention the combined $90,000 in debt we have in student loans(so we can get these jobs) and car payments(so we can drive and exist in society).

It's just such a stupid way to organize a society...

To drive this point back to the conversation at hand--these American pressures are what drive the mindset that dominates most of any English speaking dev forum.

Re: How to find a job as Software Developer in Germany

#113
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I assume engineering positions are on the top bracket of salary distribution. If not even this is enough to pursue home ownership, what kind of people are able to afford a house? Honest question.

With negative interest rates, debt is incredibly cheap. People are probably able to leverage themselves more than in North America

Is this your experience, or an assumption?

German mortages are known for the requirement to bring plenty money of your own.

Re: How to find a job as Software Developer in Germany

#115
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean you can definitely earn more than 60k in Germany. I don't know about Berlin though. In Stuttgart, Frankfurt or Munich this would be too little to get a senior developer. Most of the other professions pay less. From the list you gave, and the people I know, I would assume the sorting is roughly: * physical therapists (can't go much lower in pay) * pilots (there are just way too many, except for those in old con…

> I mean you can definitely earn more than 60k in Germany. exactly. I made that as a Junior in my first full-time job in Munich in 2000 already. Then moved on to freelancing and for the next decade never invoiced less than EUR 12K/month (average was actually EUR ~16K). I did a lot of hours and paid a lot of tax but it also got me fast cars, holidays in Italy, Austria or Switzerland (just for the weekends) and a nanny…

May I ask what's your specialty and daily rate?

Re: How to find a job as Software Developer in Germany

#116
post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Past performance of an asset is no guarantee for future performance.

Especially when the populational trends imply that demand for housing will go down on the distant future. Future performance is almost guaranteed to decouple from past performance at some point.

Your points are technically correct, the best kind of correct.

I'm not looking at any undetermined future point in time, if I'm ranting about housing prices it might be not unrealistic that I'd like to buy one in the next few years - and I've seen absolutely zero indication that the prices would suddenly drop by 20-40% to the point where I'd call them reasonable, like 15 years ago.

Re: How to find a job as Software Developer in Germany

#117
post #65
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or it might cost a bit less.

Prices have beeen going up steadily for the last 10-15 years. Maybe there was a single dip in 2008-2010.

not everywhere. and there's some evidence that big corps are buying up houses and becoming mega-rentiers. always a chance these companies could collapse and then the market would be flooded with houses as they liquidate.

Re: How to find a job as Software Developer in Germany

#118
post #96

My 2 cents: Just finished my first month in Munich as a Web Dev after moving from Australia. Company is great and colleagues are lovely. German bureaucracy sucks but apart from that it has been an experience of ‘the more things change the more they stay the same’ when it comes to the job and culture. Honestly linkedin has had the best results for jobs, that and using a template for CVS and cover letters. There’s plen…

To add to that: Taxes are not 50%, but there are mandatory social insurances you have to pay: Health insurance (+elderly care insurance), unemployment, pension system. They make up the biggest chunk for low to medium sized incomes.

Your employer also pays into these insurances for you, which does not show up on your job-offer. So effectively you get 20% more than advertised.

Re: How to find a job as Software Developer in Germany

#119
post #14

> To sum up: if you are single and opt for "live cool and don't care about expenses" style, then an average developer salary will be enough (it might be harder if you have a family to feed). > On the other hand, if you choose to go the student-like route (living in Wohngemeinschaft and not eating out too much), you can easily manage with just 1.200-1.500 EUR per month, and save the majority of your salary. I know it…

I assume engineering positions are on the top bracket of salary distribution. If not even this is enough to pursue home ownership, what kind of people are able to afford a house? Honest question.

People who already own another home they are selling.

Re: How to find a job as Software Developer in Germany

#120
post #96

My 2 cents: Just finished my first month in Munich as a Web Dev after moving from Australia. Company is great and colleagues are lovely. German bureaucracy sucks but apart from that it has been an experience of ‘the more things change the more they stay the same’ when it comes to the job and culture. Honestly linkedin has had the best results for jobs, that and using a template for CVS and cover letters. There’s plen…

To add to that: Taxes are not 50%, but there are mandatory social insurances you have to pay: Health insurance (+elderly care insurance), unemployment, pension system. They make up the biggest chunk for low to medium sized incomes. Your employer also pays into these insurances for you, which does not show up on your job-offer. So effectively you get 20% more than advertised.

Yes that is true, I keep seeing the chunks of my pay go and forget that there is a good reason (except for the TV licence!) I’ll edit my post
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