This article is more than 1 year old

Get a job in Germany – where most activities are precursors to drinking

A Brit explains the fun to be had rolling rocks down country lanes

The eXpat files In Germany, employers are keen on certifications, the money's good and if you want to, you can spend weekends rolling wheels down country lanes.

So says this week's expat superstar, Brit-turned-German-resident William Durkin, who adds that almost everything in Germany eventually leads to a drink. Or five.

Over to you, William.

The Register: How old are you and where do you live in the UK, when you're there?

William Durkin: I'm 31 years old and am originally from near Leeds.

The Register: What kind of work do you do and with which technologies?

William Durkin: I have spent the last 14 years working in IT, first as a sysadmin and then as a SQL Server DBA. I focused on SQL Server when I moved over to Germany and started working for a mail-order retailer. My main responsibilities were in general database administration, performance tuning and system architecture.

The Register: Why did you decide to move to Germany?

William Durkin: Most expat stories are down to one of two situations – career change or relationship – and my story is a bit of both. The company I was working with in the UK folded, and my German girlfriend (now wife) had returned to Germany a few months before. She suggested I try my luck on the continent, so I gave it a go.

The Register: How did you arrange your expat gig?

William Durkin: I didn't. I was young, fearless and foolish. I thought I could just rock up in Germany and continue my life. The harsh reality caught up with me and I had to face the facts. Germany is geographically close to the UK, but different enough in pretty much all other ways. I had to start at the bottom of the career ladder again and that set me back a good three or four years. I'm now much further on in my career and couldn't be happier.

The Register: Pay: up or down?

William Durkin: My pay was initially down, but is now higher than anything I could expect back in the UK.

The Register: How do workplaces differ between the UK and Germany?

William Durkin: Germany is very much education-centric in the workplace. Apprenticeships are the norm and graduate degrees still mean a lot in comparison to the UK. Luckily, if you have a proven track record, then a missing degree is less of a concern. My decade in IT now equals or trumps a similar degree-holding candidate.

The Germans also live up to their reputation as hard-working people. However, from what I have seen, they work hard until they have fulfilled their 40 hours, then they flee the office. Work/life balance is a big thing over here, I recall hearing that the Germans spend more on holidays/hobbies than most (if not all) other European countries and am inclined to agree.

The Register: Will your expat gig be good for your career?

William Durkin: I have moved along a path that I would never have considered in the UK and see a lot of opportunities to continue growing. Working in Germany has opened me up to a lot more cultural diversity and has improved my communication and soft skills immensely. These skills have now allowed me to recently move into consulting/contracting and opened up even more interesting and challenging work than I would have had back in the UK.

The Register: What's cheaper in Germany? What's more expensive?

William Durkin: Housing is cheaper as far as I have experienced it. I had a three-bedroom house newly built for about half the price of a similar house in the UK. This shocks me every time I visit the UK again and see what the market looks like.

Cars, on the other hand, are insane compared to the UK; used cars seem to be especially expensive. It may have to do with the "cash for clunkers" programme they ran about five years ago, but you just can't get a decent used car for cheap here.

The Register: What do you miss about home?

William Durkin: Not a great deal to be honest. I'd have to say it is the "special" stuff that has no decent alternative. Cadbury's chocolate, a decent bacon butty, fish and chips. All things that I can live without and then stuff myself on when I visit the UK.

The Register: What's your top tip to help new arrivals settle in Germany?

William Durkin: Don't hang around with other expats too much and also try to learn the language. It is nice to know people from home, but the best way of settling is to get stuck in with the locals. If you show that you are trying to learn the language and are willing to join in with their (sometimes strange) local traditions, then you'll generally be greeted with warmth and friendliness.

The Register: What advice would you offer someone considering the same moves?

William Durkin: Do it! Germany is only an hour's flight from the UK, so if things don't work out you aren't stuck on the other side of the globe. I'd suggest trying to learn a little German before moving, especially if you are aiming at living in the countryside - local government offices and shops outside of the cities are not that great with dealing in English. Alternatively hook up with the expat network in the area you are wanting to move to before moving and see how they could assist you.

Also consider industry certifications. The Germans are big on these, although they don't necessarily prove real world knowledge, it is a yardstick that you can be measured against.

The Register: How easy/hard/impossible is it to watch your favourite sports team from home?

William Durkin: There are several ways of achieving this (legally and questionably) and can be found using your favourite search engine.

Football is almost as big in Germany as it is in the UK, the Bundesliga is fine, but most German football fans acknowledge that the Premier League is better. As such, it is common for the games to be shown on Sky in sports bars or, if you have a German Sky subscription, you would get Premier League games as part of their sports package.

Other sports (cricket, rugby) are almost non existent over here and have never seen a club or league mentioned anywhere. If you want your fix for those, maybe Sky Germany offers something, but I wouldn't bet on it.

The Register: Is there a UK expat community in Germany? If so, should other Brits embrace them, run like hell in the other direction, or keep in casual contact?

William Durkin: There is an expat community, but it is something I never really got into. It really depends on what you want to do while living in Germany. I live in an area that doesn't have a large expat population, so have limited access to the expat community. There is an active presence online (Facebook, websites etc), so it wouldn't be difficult to participate if you wanted.

I'd suggest having a look into what expat offerings are in the area you are living and give it a go. If it doesn't appeal, you can step back from it all easily enough.

The Register: And because this is the weekend edition, what can you do on weekends in Germany that you could not do at home?

William Durkin: Germany is massive so there is always something to choose. Many of the states in Germany offer a day rover pass for their train and bus network. These work out quite cheap, especially in groups of up to four adults, and you can see a lot of Germany for not a lot of money.

A particularly interesting pastime in the North West of Germany is a game called "Bosseln" that generally takes place from January to April. Groups of people meet up on small country lanes and split into teams. The teams take it in turns rolling a ball or disc (a bit like a roller blade wheel) as far as they can. The team that collectively rolls the furthest wins the round, with the winner of each round receiving a shot of Schnapps from the losing team (who also drink a shot).

It generally ends after about three hours, with pretty much everyone freezing cold and drunk. The group then proceeds to a local country pub for a hearty meal and more drinks. Come to think of it, most activities around where I live are just precursors for drinking!

Either way, Germany is a really interesting place to work with similar living standards to the UK. It is easy enough to get started here and something I haven't regretted since moving here.

If you think William's expat life isn't as interesting as yours, drop us a line and we'll tee you up for a future eXpat Files. ®

More about

More about

More about

TIP US OFF

Send us news


Other stories you might like