Just some kind of the paradise! In Germany, you can study and work without knowing German

Let's make a reservation right away: this post caused a huge number of negative comments in the popular group "It's Time to Blame", the meaning of which boiled down, in general, to the banal truth about the need to know the language of the country in which you want to live. But the main idea of this publication, Helen Sargsyan, who, having studied for the third year in Germany, has never used the German language, the readers, it seems, did not understand. And it is also simple: the author calls on his Russian compatriots who do not know German, but, which is much more common, who speak English, not to be afraid to come to study and work in Germany. Big cities, of course, like Frankfurt, Berlin, Dusseldorf and Munich. There will be many opportunities for them too. And language is a real deal:

“Everyone Guten Tag from Frankfurt am Main!

I am writing here my story of moving to Germany in order to first of all dispel the myth that Germany is for those who know German.

To begin with, I have been living in Germany for 2 years now and nowhere, except at the checkout in the store, to say: “Danke. Chuss”, I do not practice German.

Let's go over the highlights of my experience.

1. Free education in Germany. Both in English and German.

In 2019, I received my 2 diplomas in Stavropol and decided to cut it as soon as possible. I was 24 years old at the time. Before that, I managed to live in Holland for a year under the exchange program: I studied 2 semesters at a prestigious university, received a scholarship of 6,000 euros, rode around Europe, visited 6 countries, ate and drank, saw Holland and decided that I would not live there. But I was always drawn to Germany, and then education is free. And moving through school for me was one of the fastest and most optimal options to dump.

I applied to 8 German universities for an English-speaking master's degree in International Business. Somewhere you apply directly, somewhere through the federal portal Uni Assist (they evaluate your diploma). I spent about 30,000 rubles on the process of submitting documents to universities - these are notarized translations of diplomas, copies, as well as the Uni Assist commission for processing your documents. I was waiting for a response from universities for about 1-1.5 months and received 5 invitations. I chose Mainz to be close to Frankfurt, to the business and financial center of Europe, but at the same time it is not so expensive to live.

During the time of submission of documents for enrollment, the German language was never needed. I passed the language exam in English and the entire enrollment process, communication with universities, etc. was in English. She also translated documents into English. Without any apostilles.

2. Visa

For a visa, you need a standard package, where the main documents are a financial statement: you had to show 10,236 euros for a year of residence (at the rate of 853 euros per month - this is a living wage). The only problem is that Germans often ask for money to be shown on a blocked account. This is a Sperrkonto account where you deposit the specified amount and cannot withdraw. Then, every month upon arrival, exactly 853 euros are sent to your account in a German bank. I opened such an account in a week, there are special agents for this, I collected my papers with translations into English, went to Moscow to the consulate and received a visa in 4 weeks. Communication at the consulate was in Russian.

3. What if there is no money for moving? Apply for a scholarship!

Germany is one of those countries where money is generously distributed to students, needy and different talents, left and right. There are 100,500 different funds, where you can find fin. support for almost any category of applicants. Basically, many foundations are tailored for socially and politically active people with academic achievements. But it happens that it comes to the absurd and you can be given money simply because you are so special, you have rain-colored eyes, or in your family you are the first to receive a higher education. In general, the main thing is to correctly compose a motivation letter, where you must convincingly tell why you should be given money.

I applied for a scholarship here onsite, after the end of the first semester. I was given 5000 euros for 3 semesters. And this is how I will serve while I study. I am getting my scholarship from DAAD for excellent study. I also received 800 euros at the beginning of the pandemic, as a one-time aid to students from the state. She applied for a scholarship in English.

4. Studying in Germany is difficult

The buns here definitely cannot be relaxed while studying. Despite the fact that I am a person already experienced in terms of “sitting at a desk and studying for A's”, it was difficult for me here like nowhere else. I study at the University of Applied Sciences called Hochschule. They are more focused on practical knowledge, while Universitäts are more academic.

In my case, there were a lot of group work, business projects, calculations, presentations. The first year there was no time to just think about anything other than studying. The most important feature of such applied universities is the teachers from the industry. My finance lecturer worked in the big four at KPMG, marketing lecturer at Coca-Cola, export and business economics lecturer worked as economics advisor in Germany and other countries, and HR lecturer worked for Lufthansa for 10 years. All these people know their job well and demand a lot from students. If you study 1.5-2 in Germany (where 1.0 is the highest mark), then you are a great fellow.

During my studies, I never had to speak German. Except perhaps in the German courses that I volunteered to do, just to practice a little.

5. Work in Germany

There is more than enough work in Germany in English. It is a well-known fact that world-famous companies in all areas of the economy are concentrated here. Each region of Germany has its own specialized area: for example, Dusseldorf - industry, household goods; Frankfurt - banks, consulting, insurance. It is advisable to go to study immediately where you plan to work and live in order to initially build a network there and put down roots in the right direction.

After studying for 2 semesters, I decided to start accumulating local work experience, so that later, after graduation, it would be easier to get a job. I found a job in 2 months of intensive search, for Germany it is quite fast, and there is a lot of competition among qualified specialists. But then again, it all depends on how you package your profile, how you write your resume, and how you sell yourself in the interview.

I designed my resume in such a way that I was invited to 16 interviews in companies such as Allianz, SAP, JP Morgan, Hilton, Jaguar, Bosch, UniCredit and others. I chose an internship at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, in the very heart of the European stock market, where I now have the opportunity to have as clients all those banks in which I wanted to work lol.

I did all interviews and job applications in English.

I work part time as a student, get 14 euros an hour, free lunch at the office, corporate discounts, finance training and other goodies. The corporate language is English, I don't speak German at work, just like many other employees.

As a result, for 2 years of living in Germany, German was never useful to me, although I learned it and can speak if I strain. But I came for a comfortable life, for a life without stress, and in Germany there is an opportunity to live like that. Maybe I will start practicing German closer to the moment I get my passport, as for citizenship I need to pass the language exam at the B1 level. In the meantime, I live, work, enjoy life and grow strawberries in my garden..."