# Career prospects around Nurmburg / Erlangen area



## Aloha#1234 (Mar 19, 2018)

Hello all,

I am a US citizen married to a German national. I am a 45yr old male with a BSD in Housing and Urban Development from Arizona State University. My professional background is in residential construction management (subdivision development) but my last year in that industry was 2005. Since then i have floated between service sector jobs while bouncing around the world. I can speak Korean pretty well (I am ethnic Korean) and should be able to pick up reading and writing again with some effort. I can also speak and read simple Spanish/Portuguese. Unfortunately i speak and understand very limited German.

I am a very reluctant expat at best but our current family situation, may require that I stay in Germany indefinitely. My wife just had breast cancer and now has some other related health issues which will be chronic and this would make immigration to the US with its current health insurance scheme, very challenging. 

I know I will have to become proficient in German and will work on this with the integration courses. 

My questions are:
1. Does having a bachelor's degree in an area that doesn't seem to have a clear equivalent in German a profession have any use? 
2. After learning German, is it feasible or even possible to go on to obtain a masters degree in a German university that is marketable in the German job market?
3. Is it possible to get hired on at Siemens, Audi or any other multinational company based on fluency in English and Korean along with a bachelors degree that does not specifically relate to the industry?

Any other advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Aloha


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## ALKB (Jan 20, 2012)

Aloha#1234 said:


> My questions are:
> 1. Does having a bachelor's degree in an area that doesn't seem to have a clear equivalent in German a profession have any use?
> 2. After learning German, is it feasible or even possible to go on to obtain a masters degree in a German university that is marketable in the German job market?
> 3. Is it possible to get hired on at Siemens, Audi or any other multinational company based on fluency in English and Korean along with a bachelors degree that does not specifically relate to the industry?
> ...



I am sorry to hear that you are in such a difficult situation.

1. Sounds like Stadtplanung to me. My mother has a degree in Architektur und Stadtplanung. A problem with foreign degrees in architecture is that often completely different laws and codes apply. Also, German problems of Urban development and strategies are probably wildly different from American ones. Looking at course content, maybe you could apply at NGOs? My mother worked for the Red Cross for a while. Not sure whether there is much in that way in Nürnberg.

2. Learning German to the required level will take several years of intensive study. If you need a relatively short term solution, you may want to look into Masters degrees with English as language of instruction, or maybe bilingual ones. Unfortunately, a lot of English Masters Programmes are asking for (high) tuition fees and the free ones are highly competitive and oversubscribed. Limiting yourself to the Nürnberg area for this could also be a problem.

Apparently there are a few:

https://www.daad.de/deutschland/studienangebote/international-programmes/en/?p=l&q=&degree[]=2&fos=0&lang[]=2&lang[]=3&cit[]=6&fee[]=0&sortBy=1&page=1&display=list

An alternative could be to do an Umschulung. Usually you need to be registered as unemployed for at least six months before you can get into a programme to get a new qualification.

3. No idea. It sounds unlikely but who knows, they might need a project manager who speaks Korean. Check their career websites, contact their HR department. Worst thing they cans say is no.


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

There was a time when literally every second person I met in Berlin was a documentary filmmaker who'd trained as an architect. The point of the anecdote being that even the Germans were unemployed, so an American degree is construction management, then no work experience in the field for over a decade, and none in Europe, doesn't put you in a very good position to find a job in that area. 

I don't know quite what to suggest, might be the case that you just take what jobs you can find as you learn the language and try to find a better field of employment. But Germany can be pretty ageist and structured, not sure how easy it is to retrain for a new skill if you aren't just out of school in your 20s.

I understand there's a fair bit of work in that part of Germany - some of it English - but in the software, IT, engineering, design sort of worlds, where you'd need the right background and experience to find a job.


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## ALKB (Jan 20, 2012)

Nononymous said:


> I don't know quite what to suggest, might be the case that you just take what jobs you can find as you learn the language and try to find a better field of employment. But Germany can be pretty ageist and structured, not sure how easy it is to retrain for a new skill if you aren't just out of school in your 20s.


Very true, that's why I suggested Umschulung, which is quite normal for even people in their 50s to do (or be forced to agree to lest they lose their unemployment benefits).

I hear that lately, there are way more Ausbildungsplätze than young ones willing to go through and stick with getting a qualification, so that employers take chances even with mature applicants. A friend of mine in his late 30s is currently looking for a place (sadly, he is looking in Berlin, where there is no shortage of applicants). Still, the required school-type portion of an apprenticeship will require quite good German and all exams will be in German, so OP would definitely ave to invest some time and effort into learning at least the basics.

Aloha, did you get a waiver on the language requirement for your spouse visa due to your university education or are you required to take part in an integration course?


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

I notice that you're asking about Siemens - I would say that the best way to find out about that would be to try. Check their website and see what jobs they are posting there. Apply for one or more and see if you get a response. 

At this point you probably need to concentrate on learning German, but take a look at some of the "usual" job boards (Monster, Stepstone, LinkedIn) for your area. They do sometimes have job postings in English and if you've got the right combination of skills and training, they might respond. 

I know when I was "Human Resources Manager" for a small plant in southern Germany, we got loads of resumés from US soldiers looking to stay on in Germany (usually because they were married to Germans). They all seemed to say that they were looking for "any job." Those went directly into the bin, because I really didn't have time to try to match up CVs to available openings (and in those days we didn't have any). Your CV/resumé should focus on a specific job or job type based on your background. Apply for jobs posted that are perhaps a bit above or below your level - once the main position has been filled, they may need staff or assistants to. And the Korean may come in handy - you never know.
Cheers,
Bev


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## Tellus (Nov 24, 2013)

From my sight could be best if you use your mentality and language skills.
First get in contact with IHK Nürnberg (Industrie- und Handelskammer), they get best contacts to all companies around. They know who needs support for asian markets, f.i. ADIDAS, PUMA, Siemens, Bosch, but smaller comps too. Perhaps you can train students at Uni Erlangen to make them fit for Asia. Guess English as study language should be Ok. Along the way you'll learn quick German.


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## *Sunshine* (Mar 13, 2016)

Aloha#1234 said:


> Unfortunately i speak and understand very limited German.
> 
> I am a very reluctant expat at best but our current family situation, may require that I stay in Germany indefinitely. My wife just had breast cancer and now has some other related health issues which will be chronic and this would make immigration to the US with its current health insurance scheme, very challenging.


Has the final decision to move already been made? Do you have other options? Would you be willing to move even if you would be limiting yourself to unskilled jobs for the foreseeable future? 

Most importantly, are you sure your wife would be eligible for public health care in Germany? How was she previously insured when she last lived in Germany?


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