How difficult is it to find a job as a software developer in Germany?

by Johan Stelzner Co-founder

This is a very common question!

Germany is one of the best countries in Europe to work in as a Software Engineer.

The salaries might not be as high as in the neighboring Switzerland, but still higher than in most other EU countries, and you get a high standard of living with quality public services: education, healthcare and transportation.

The country has a vibrant tech job market with over 30.000 tech job openings and startup hubs like: Berlin, Hamburg or Munich.

At the same time, there are over 800.000 Software Engineers in Germany, so the competition is stiff. The following factors might work in your favor or against you:

1. Work experience and technologies

- while getting a job in Germany is not easy, it is even harder as a Junior Software Engineer, especially if you are a foreigner. Most of the companies are looking for Developers with 2+ years of experience.

Having said that, it is possible to find a job even as a Junior, but you should be rather looking at internship or trainee offers (Praktikum in German).

The 2nd part is the technology that you specialize in. If you search through openings on GermanTechJobs you can see that there are many offers for Java, JavaScript, and Mobile Developers but not as many for Ruby, C# .NET or C++.

2. Being German or EU / EEA citizen

- if you are a citizen of one of the EU / EEA (European Economic Area) countries it will be pretty easy for you to migrate to Germany - it is a matter of filling the papers after you get the job.

When you find the job and move to Germany, after arrival you just have to visit the Residence Registration Office (Einwohnermeldeamt) or Immigration Office (Ausländerbehörde) and get registered.

That's why most of the time German companies prefer EU / EEA citizens when searching for new employees.

3. For people from other countries

- there are 2 administrative categories:

a) If you are a citizen of the USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, South Korea or Israel, you can move to Germany to find a job, and after that apply for a residence permit from the Ausländerbehörde.

b) If you come from any other country, for example: India, Brazil, Ukraine, etc. - then you have to either get a Job-Seeker Visa or find an employee that helps you with a work visa. For more details please refer to the official government website.

4. Language skills

- the only official language in Germany is, well… German :)

Speaking German fluently is definitely an advantage and many companies simply require it. However, you can still pretty easily find a job with English only, especially in startups or in big corporations.

Nevertheless, if you have the time and possibility - start learning German. Even if you speak it on a basic level (A2 / B1), it will vastly increase your chances on the job market.

For the full step-by-step guide: https://germantechjobs.de/blog/how-to-find-job-as-software-developer-in-germany-complete-guide