How to find a job as Software Developer in Germany

#1

Post by Varqu » Thu, Apr 22, 2021, 1:33 PM UTC

How to find a job as Software Developer in Germany
germantechjobs.de

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

#2

Post by gigatexal » Thu, Apr 22, 2021, 1:38 PM UTC

What I did:

Check who’s hiring in X on HN.

Apply.

Realize the company is located in Hamburg, Germany.

Get hired.

Move.

Enjoy life in a stable, wealthy, European country.

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

#3

Post by no_one_ever » Thu, Apr 22, 2021, 1:43 PM UTC

gigatexal wrote: post #2

What I did: Check who’s hiring in X on HN. Apply. Realize the company is located in Hamburg, Germany. Get hired. Move. Enjoy life in a stable, wealthy, European country.

Did you move from US? What is the process like?

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

#4

Post by thanato0s » Thu, Apr 22, 2021, 1:48 PM UTC

Leaving in Germany for 6 years. Moved from France. What I'll say only concern Berlin.

The interview process in startup can be more draining than that. Currently, it's more like 4 / 5 steps with (sometimes) 6+ hours homework. Yik.

60k is more for senior developers. Junior get less.

Other than that the cost of living in Germany is quite low (lower in Berlin than in the South) and it's a very nice and stable country.

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

#5

Post by dcolkitt » Thu, Apr 22, 2021, 1:54 PM UTC

thanato0s wrote: post #4

Leaving in Germany for 6 years. Moved from France. What I'll say only concern Berlin. The interview process in startup can be more draining than that. Currently, it's more like 4 / 5 steps with (sometimes) 6+ hours homework. Yik. 60k is more for senior developers. Junior get less. Other than that the cost of living in Germany is quite low (lower in Berlin than in the South) and it's a very nice and stable country.

> 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't understand the supply side. Why would anyone with the intelligence and drive needed to become a software engineer pursue that field?

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

#6

Post by dnate » Thu, Apr 22, 2021, 1:55 PM UTC

thanato0s wrote: post #4

Leaving in Germany for 6 years. Moved from France. What I'll say only concern Berlin. The interview process in startup can be more draining than that. Currently, it's more like 4 / 5 steps with (sometimes) 6+ hours homework. Yik. 60k is more for senior developers. Junior get less. Other than that the cost of living in Germany is quite low (lower in Berlin than in the South) and it's a very nice and stable country.

I just got a 6 figure non-senior position in Berlin. Sent out close to 100 applications and went into interview processes at around 30 places. 80-90k is definitely doable if you are good and take your time (I was looking for 3-4 months).

You need to filter beforehand for salary. Most places expect to pay around 60-70k max. But getting the higher salary is more a matter of finding the company willing to pay it than just "being good".

As one CTO said during salary negotiations: "There are a lot of 100k devs working 60k jobs"

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

#7

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Apr 22, 2021, 1:55 PM UTC

thanato0s wrote: post #4

Leaving in Germany for 6 years. Moved from France. What I'll say only concern Berlin. The interview process in startup can be more draining than that. Currently, it's more like 4 / 5 steps with (sometimes) 6+ hours homework. Yik. 60k is more for senior developers. Junior get less. Other than that the cost of living in Germany is quite low (lower in Berlin than in the South) and it's a very nice and stable country.

[deleted]

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

#8

Post by sdevonoes » Thu, Apr 22, 2021, 1:55 PM UTC

> 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 may be an unpopular opinion, but saving 18K Euro/year leads you nowhere (first world problems, I know) if you would like to buy a decent house (not flat) in the suburbs of a medium-size German (or western European) city. Decent houses cost around 450K Euro (or more).

Edit: Let's start a revolution :) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26903194

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

#9

Post by eloeffler » Thu, Apr 22, 2021, 1:56 PM UTC

I'm surprised the article says nothing about certifications and or degrees, only work experience. I don't work in Software Engineering but I would have assumed that - like anywhere else in Germany - a university degree is required more often than abroad. Or am I wrong about that?

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

#10

Post by lbrito » Thu, Apr 22, 2021, 1:56 PM UTC

gigatexal wrote: post #2

What I did: Check who’s hiring in X on HN. Apply. Realize the company is located in Hamburg, Germany. Get hired. Move. Enjoy life in a stable, wealthy, European country.

>Move.

Ah, the pre-covid days. Nowadays you might as well say "move to Mars".