# Higher Education and Working Opportunities for Biomedical Engineers in Germany



## abhishek.jayakumar

Hey there guys,
I am an Indian citizen as of the moment and I completed my mechanical (specialisation biomedical) engineering undergrad in Australia. I subsequently applied for Australian permanent residence and was approved in april. The issue however is that there aren't many jobs for biomedical engineers in Australia primarily due to the small market and extreme labour laws. The jobs that are available require experienced personnel and not many companies want to go into the trouble of training a graduate biomedical engineer when they can find someone who is already experienced enough to get on the job. 

I intend to start my engineering careers by working as a design engineer or a QA/RA associate in a medical device company such as Braun Medical, Siemens, SJM, Philips etc. 
The thing is I am open to higher education (MS, or ME or MBA) if it amounts to gaining an edge over the rest of the competition. Do you guys think it is a good idea to do a master's course in Germany (I heard that most German Higher Education institutes offer world class education at subsidised rates to international students)? And Is the job market good for biomedical/mechanical engineers there? I guess I can come on a WHV next year when I get my Aussie citizenship, and while I am there I can take some german language courses.


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## abhishek.jayakumar

abhishek.jayakumar said:


> Hey there guys,
> I am an Indian citizen as of the moment and I completed my mechanical (specialisation biomedical) engineering undergrad in Australia. I subsequently applied for Australian permanent residence and was approved in april. The issue however is that there aren't many jobs for biomedical engineers in Australia primarily due to the small market and extreme labour laws. The jobs that are available require experienced personnel and not many companies want to go into the trouble of training a graduate biomedical engineer when they can find someone who is already experienced enough to get on the job.
> 
> I intend to start my engineering careers by working as a design engineer or a QA/RA associate in a medical device company such as Braun Medical, Siemens, SJM, Philips etc.
> The thing is I am open to higher education (MS, or ME or MBA) if it amounts to gaining an edge over the rest of the competition. Do you guys think it is a good idea to do a master's course in Germany (I heard that most German Higher Education institutes offer world class education at subsidised rates to international students)? And Is the job market good for biomedical/mechanical engineers there? I guess I can come on a WHV next year when I get my Aussie citizenship, and while I am there I can take some german language courses.


bump.. please help me


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## beppi

As a non-EU citizen, you can only be hired into jobs where the employer cannot find suitably skilled locals. Given the high unemployment, particularly in Southern Europe, this might be difficult - what do you as a fresh graduate to offer that no European has?
But this should not stop you from applying for jobs.
It might be easier to enter a university course. Apply for those too!
If both works out, you can decide between actual possibilities you have. So far your considerations are just dreams.


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## James3214

The jobs market is good for biomedical/mechanical engineers but the problem is they want experienced ones. Obviously if you want to work in Germany it would be better to study your masters here. The following Govt. website here might help:
https://www.study-in.de/en/studium/...=Master&subject=&onlyEn=0&send_x=21&send_y=19


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## abhishek.jayakumar

beppi said:


> As a non-EU citizen, you can only be hired into jobs where the employer cannot find suitably skilled locals. Given the high unemployment, particularly in Southern Europe, this might be difficult - what do you as a fresh graduate to offer that no European has?
> But this should not stop you from applying for jobs.
> It might be easier to enter a university course. Apply for those too!
> If both works out, you can decide between actual possibilities you have. So far your considerations are just dreams.


Thanks a lot for your reply.. Yeah my first instinct was to dismiss the whole idea based on the current unemployment in southern europe thanks to european soveriegn debt crisis, but then I came across some websites which lists engineers among other occupations with severe personnel shortage. Im assuming the local european populace isnt sufficient enough to satisfy the shortage or maybe there arent too many biomedical engineers out there (AFAIK not many institutes around the world offer biomedical engineering degree).


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## abhishek.jayakumar

James3214 said:


> The jobs market is good for biomedical/mechanical engineers but the problem is they want experienced ones. Obviously if you want to work in Germany it would be better to study your masters here. The following Govt. website here might help:
> https://www.study-in.de/en/studium/...=Master&subject=&onlyEn=0&send_x=21&send_y=19


Thanks a lot for your reply. Yeah its the same situation here in australia as well. There are a a handful of biomedical engineering jobs but hardly any of them are entry level roles. And the entry level ones which do come up get filled by more experienced people ..
I guess I have to start the process by doing masters there? Anyways, do you guys know how the study environment there is like? Is it full-on or a bit relaxed? I am a kinda of a outsie person so I was just wondering about the nightlife there? I like to hit a bar every two weeks and get crunk. Do universities hold social events (like DJ parties, drink fests and the sort) like they do here in Australia?


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## James3214

I have never studied here but yes, they seem relaxed but maybe not as much as the Aussies! Although, students do enjoy themselves and occasionally get drunk they don't tend to have the same anglo-saxon culture of going out and getting totally wasted. If you do, you might be losing more friends than making them.


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## abhishek.jayakumar

James3214 said:


> I have never studied here but yes, they seem relaxed but maybe not as much as the Aussies! Although, students do enjoy themselves and occasionally get drunk they don't tend to have the same anglo-saxon culture of going out and getting totally wasted. If you do, you might be losing more friends than making them.


Oh right... Haha worst comes to worst if I really want to get wasted, I can always catch the Eurostar to London ay ... Hmm but on the upside, Studying in Germany seems like a really good idea and it seems too good to be true that the tuition fees for most german universities can be so low given how other anglophone countries charge in the tens of thousands of dollars per year from each student. Now to just find a good masters course.
What about the people (AKA girls ) there in Germany? Hospitable and Outgoing much?


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## James3214

abhishek.jayakumar said:


> What about the people (AKA girls ) there in Germany? Hospitable and Outgoing much?


No terrible, definitely not like Aussie girls, very unfriendly, unhospitable and they hate foreigners.


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## abhishek.jayakumar

James3214 said:


> No terrible, definitely not like Aussie girls, very unfriendly, unhospitable and they hate foreigners.


Haha for real? Hmm In that case I guess the amount of money I save on tuition fees from not studying in Britain can go into my commutation between Germany and UK


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## ALKB

abhishek.jayakumar said:


> Oh right... Haha worst comes to worst if I really want to get wasted, I can always catch the Eurostar to London ay ... Hmm but on the upside, Studying in Germany seems like a really good idea and it seems too good to be true that the tuition fees for most german universities can be so low given how other anglophone countries charge in the tens of thousands of dollars per year from each student. Now to just find a good masters course.
> What about the people (AKA girls ) there in Germany? Hospitable and Outgoing much?


Even if there are no tuition fees at all, there might be an admin fee per semester, usually something between 150 and 500 EUR. This can include all sorts of amenities, like a semester ticket for the local public transport.

Check daad.de for suitable 'international' Masters programmes. There are programmes taught 100% in English and some that slowly introduce some German-taught courses towards the end.

After graduating from a German university you can apply for a post study work visa for up to 1.5 years and if you find qualified work in your field, this can be extended and later on converted to a permanent residence permit.

Good luck!


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## abhishek.jayakumar

ALKB said:


> Even if there are no tuition fees at all, there might be an admin fee per semester, usually something between 150 and 500 EUR. This can include all sorts of amenities, like a semester ticket for the local public transport.
> 
> Check daad.de for suitable 'international' Masters programmes. There are programmes taught 100% in English and some that slowly introduce some German-taught courses towards the end.
> 
> After graduating from a German university you can apply for a post study work visa for up to 1.5 years and if you find qualified work in your field, this can be extended and later on converted to a permanent residence permit.
> 
> Good luck!


Thanks a lot dude. 500 euros is nothing man considering 17000 dollars I paid per semester when I came to Australia to study as an international student. Not to mention transport costs and housing. The only problem with Australia is that everything is expensive here. I'll have a look at daad.de and the other link James mentioned and god willing, I'll be aboard a Lufthansa flying to Frankfurt from Sydney in June next year... What about combined degree options? Have you heard of anyone doing combined degrees in Germany? As in for a combination, Id be interested in Masters in Biomed Engineering and Masters of Business Administration.

Sent from the future....


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