# IS a university degre required for IT jobs in Germany?



## oscarfh (Oct 14, 2013)

Hi!
My girlfriend and I are thinking about moving to Germany. 
I have German citizenship, so Visa issues wouldn't really be a problem, I think. Neither would be finding a job because my area is IT, which seems to be a trend all over the world at the moment.
We are concerned about my girlfriend's occupation: she has a bachelor of laws. But she is also interested in IT.

Is a bachelor/Diplom degree required for all IT jobs in Germany?

In Brazil there are different types of courses that are short (1 and a half years, maybe 2 years) that enabled the student to start working on a field of study (IT, for instance). Is there anything similar in Germany? 

We are concerned that she would not find any work if we move to Germany.

Thanks,
Oscar


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

There is a joke in Germany that qualifying for just about any job there always seems to require a 3-year training program. Not sure if that is still the case (I last lived there almost 20 years ago), but any serious training program for IT or anything else is likely to last 3 years.
Cheers,
Bev


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## oscarfh (Oct 14, 2013)

Bevdeforges,
thanks for the info.
One question only: we do not have Abitur. Do you know if there is any training that do not depend on having the Abitur (like private schools) and if they are expensive?


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## beppi (Jun 10, 2013)

A bachelor/Diplom programme that does not require a high school certificate for entry will not be recognised as equivalent to a German university degree.
So basically your question is if a high-school dropout with some legal training and no EU citizenship can get an IT job in Germany? In that case the answer is: Very unlikely!
In addition, she will not get a residency visa/work permit, unless as a dependant of a German citizen (i.e. you marry her).


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## oscarfh (Oct 14, 2013)

Hi Beppi,
no, she is not a high school drop out, she has a Bachelor of Laws.

In other countries, like Brazil (where I live), there are courses that are called "professional course", in which you learn a profession, get a certificate but do not get a bachelor degree and you are able to work in that area. I was hoping that it would be possible for her to enrol to such a course and after that have a job.


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## MrTweek (Jan 9, 2013)

Yeah, we do have something like this. It is usually called "Ausbildung". It takes 2-3 years and you will i.e. spend 60% in a company and 40% in a school. You will even get paid for it, but it's a low salary that usually allows you to survive, but not much more.
Some need Abitur, some don't. Depends on what exactly you want to do.

You should check out what the Bachelor or Law is worth in Germany.
Usually, if you have a university degree, it will also allow you to do anything that you would need Abitur for.

Also, there is no legal requirement for any jobs. She can work in IT if someone is willing to hire her. But without a degree and without any experience, nobody will, I guess.

Would you consider getting married, so your girlfriend gets a visa as well? If not, she will need to find a job with sponsorship will be close to impossible in IT without a degree (but might work in Law, since she already has a degree).

How are your and her language skills?


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## FFMralph (Dec 22, 2012)

I've been working here in the IT fror over 25 years and do not have a univerity degree or a german Ausbildung. So the answer is no!

A degree can be compensated with expierence.


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## oscarfh (Oct 14, 2013)

Hi MrTweek and FFMralph,
Thank you for you answers.
My German skills are ok, I could easily live and work (I lived in Dresden for more than 2 years where I got my Masters degree). I could easily have this conversation in German 

She doesn't speak German nor has any experience with IT. It seems strange, so I may explain the reason of this post: we recently decided we want to move from Brazil. We talked about places we would like to live and two came out from this conversation: Germany and Canada. We are now checking our possibilities (regarding job, education, etc).

For Germany, our long term plan would be something like this:
1- We would move together (as a couple, so she gets the visa) and I would work while she learns German.
2- After she has an acceptable German level (I am thinking about 1 or 2 semesters), she would learn a profession and start working and then we would build our life from there.

I think this is a reasonable plan, but please let me know if you disagree.
Working with Law in a foreign country is a little bit complicated as her degree would not be recognized in Germany.

My concern is that even if she learns German she has troubles finding any training/Ausbildung and any job after that due to the fact that she has all her education done in Brazil.


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## ALKB (Jan 20, 2012)

oscarfh said:


> Hi MrTweek and FFMralph,
> Thank you for you answers.
> My German skills are ok, I could easily live and work (I lived in Dresden for more than 2 years where I got my Masters degree). I could easily have this conversation in German
> 
> ...



As the wife of a German national she would be eligible for an integration course (possibly even required to attend) which would take care of the learning German bit.

After that, there are all sorts of programmes to help her get a qualification. I

As long as you don't mind being the main or only breadwinner for a while, I think it's very feasible.

f her German is good enough, she could for instance look into training as a legal assistant, that way her law degree would not be totally lost. (Or study law in Germany but that would be a very long process.)

Everything depends on individual circumstances, though - personal attitude, location, etc.


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## oscarfh (Oct 14, 2013)

ALKB said:


> As the wife of a German national she would be eligible for an integration course (possibly even required to attend) which would take care of the learning German bit.
> 
> After that, there are all sorts of programmes to help her get a qualification. I
> 
> ...



Hi ALKB, thanks 
Yes, we know that we will have tu put a lot of effort to move somewhere, not only for work reasons but also to get integrated in the culture, we do not want to be "foreigners forever" 

I do not have any problems regarding being the only breadwinner, as long as she is investing on something that will help her in the future (education, etc). So that would not be a problem at all.

That is interesting that there are these training programs, I will take a look into it .

Now everything sounds a little bit more possible than before 

thanks!


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