All you need to know about studying in Germany 2

This blog post is the sequel to the enormous previous post on studying in Germany. These are my experiences after having been here for one year. Where the last post regarded how to get to Germany, this one will be about what to do once you’re there.

You should look at the Simple Germany YouTube channel to learn even more about moving to Germany and specific topics.

This post will follow the same basic idea. You should look at the bottom right of the website to see all the sections and skip to the one you need the most.

Getting a student job

Compared to many other countries, German law is very flexible regarding jobs. This makes it ideal for students who are looking to supplement their income. As stated in the previous post, you are still limited to 240 half days/120 full days per year, which comes out to a part-time job for almost the whole year or a full-time job for almost half the year. There are generally 250 working days a year, so be somewhat careful. If you exceed either of those requirements, you will lose your status as a student. Many jobs will give you a time-tracking sheet which will let you know how many hours and days you’ve worked. The issue with the working days fixes itself easily if you’re working at a university – generally, your contract ends with the semester, so you cannot work 240 half days. 

First of all, before you even start looking, it’s essential to make sure that you have a residence permit (Aufenthaltstitel) and a working permit (the green piece of paper that comes with it that says that you’re allowed to work). If you’re casually talking to a potential employer, make sure to mention to them that you have a working permit.

In addition, note that you aren’t allowed to work a freelance job.

There are a few relevant approaches to looking for a job:

1. Working at your university
   1. Public universities usually have their own student job sites, and those jobs are specifically tailored for students. They have very fair requirements but generally pay at or slightly above minimum wage. In my case (TUM), I get paid 13.25 euro per hour. The university sets the wages; generally, the higher your previously attained education, the better your wage will be. I like this route because of two main reasons:
      1. Flexibility regarding working hours, location, and schedule – your employer knows that you’re a student (duh), knows that you have classes and exams, and will generally give you a schedule that fits around them. Your time can also be flexible, and the job may even be remote (even if it’s not, it’s probably just going to be at the campus). My first job was flexible time and remote – you couldn’t ask for a better combination. I just had to ensure I hit my time and work quota, while the rest was up to me. You can often choose how many you want for the working hours, so you can choose not to work the whole 20h/week. I started with 12h/week, which was okay, and now I will continue with 15h/week. 
      2. Contacts and interactions within the university – personally, I love learning about new things, and a university is the best place in the world to be a lover of learning. During my job – which was mainly unrelated to my field of study – I learned about an entirely new, different, fascinating field. I also interacted with brilliant and dedicated people working on projects that will change the world. If you’re working assisting a Master’s/PhD student, then you will get to see what they write and what you contributed to. If you’re a tutor, you will (hopefully) get to see your students succeed. 
2. Working at a company related to your field as a working student
   1. Many companies offer working student positions. If you want to make money and sustain yourself while retaining your student status, do not choose internships. Internships are allowed to pay below minimum wage and are generally full-time. Working student positions are part-time and pay above minimum wage. However, from my research, they usually pay slightly above minimum wage. Nevertheless, if you get a position as a working student in an adjacent field, you can sustain yourself and get experience in your field. By the time you finish your Bachelor’s, you could have up to three years of experience, immediately making you a much more qualified candidate. I believe this is the best long-term choice if you are willing to put in the effort. However, you will need to keep in mind that they are less forgiving than jobs at the university. They are more likely to require you to go to a physical location and are more stressful because you are at an actual business that needs to make a profit. I know many friends currently working at jobs like these, and I see that they are generally more tired and think about work outside of work.
   2. Working as a regular part-time employee is also possible but likely challenging to pull off. I have a friend who did this but had to quit his job because it was too exhausting. However, this can be very powerful regarding wages and future prospects. You will make a lot more money, and your experience will be much more valuable.
3. Working at a company unrelated to your field as a working student
   1. Service jobs – in particular, restaurant jobs can be very high earners. However, you must still consider the time and energy investment and the opportunity costs of not gaining experience in your field. I know a friend who worked full-time exclusively during the relatively short summer and winter breaks at a restaurant and made a lot of money from wages and tips. 
   2. Delivery jobs – experiences with these vary dramatically. Anecdotally, most of the delivery drivers I see on the street while riding my bike move extremely quickly, often to a dangerous degree, and have to take illegal shortcuts to get to their location on time. In addition, because most of them deliver on bikes, weather can impact the job quality significantly. In Germany – a country up north – you do not want to depend on the weather. However, you can get good money from tips if you’re fast and charismatic. A friend of mine told me that he makes 6-12 euros per hour, which is pretty bad. I wouldn’t recommend it if you could find another job.
   3. Retail/sales jobs – experiences with these also vary. However, they generally pay pretty well. Lidl, for example, pays their cashiers 16-20 euros per hour. Still, these jobs can be pretty stressful, and cashiers have to work at a breakneck pace. Again, as a last resort, this is an option. From neither of the past three job types will you gain any relevant experience for your work, so I do not recommend them unless you need the money and cannot afford the risk of looking for a difficult job in your field. In that case, I completely understand and respect people who choose these jobs.

One thing you must note when getting employed in Germany is that you will need to complete a lot of paperwork. It’s pretty straightforward, and you will receive information on everything you need to fill out. The paperwork generally needs to be printed out and signed, but you can fill it out digitally. In my case, I had to fill the paperwork out and either send it by post or bring it to the job place. This process can take a week or two, so let the bureaucracy do its thing. The volume of paperwork will be different depending on the employer.

Another important thing to note is that one of the documents you need to fill out will ask you for your (pension) insurance number (Versicherungsnummer) and tax ID number (Steueridentifikationsnummer). You won’t have either of these if you haven’t had a job in Germany. Communicate that with the person responsible for your job. They’ll handle it for you. This is normal. You’ll get both of these a few weeks after you start your first job. 

One of the documents will ask you if you want to avoid contributing to the German pension fund. If you avoid contributing, you will get a slightly higher income. In most cases, you want to contribute to the pension fund. Do not avoid contributions. Wherever you end up in the world, if you’ve contributed to the fund, you will get money from the German state once you retire. There are also a few other reasons why you should not avoid contributing, but I forget them. If I remember, I will update this post.

In terms of distinctions, there are two important classes of jobs for students that you will meet – minijob and midijob. A minijob is any job that earns a maximum of 538 euros per month, which comes out to 10h/week or less on a minimum wage of 12.41 euros (note: this is for 2024 – this changes often). These jobs are subject to a very low tax but do not contribute to the pension fund. A midijob is any job that earns 538-2000 euros. These jobs contribute to the pension fund but have a relatively low tax rate. This is basically a real job with all the benefits and downsides.

Another important part is that once you have German health insurance, you need to register your job at the health insurance provider (minijobs are exempt from this), so that they can change your classification from a student to a working student. This is very important. Just schedule a meeting and take your job contract to the health insurance provider. They will do all the rest.

Additional information about jobs:

1. Germans love their work-life balance. Generally, if you’re not at work, you will not be working. This is really nice.
2. Germans love work. At work, you’re expected to work. I’ve noticed from my friends that breaks are (consciously or unconsciously) frowned upon. Legally, however, you are entitled to a break if you’re working for a specific number of hours, so don’t let anyone take that away from you. Check the laws in your particular region for that.
3. Germans love bonuses. Most jobs offer bonuses at specific times of the year. At my university, there is a bonus at the end of each semester. Most non-university jobs provide a Christmas bonus. Others have summer or winter holiday bonuses.
4. Most jobs require good German knowledge. Lack of German knowledge can severely impact the range of jobs that you can get. Generally, a B2 or C1 level is considered sufficient for most jobs. Jobs in English are pretty rare, but they do exist. They usually pay the same – or slightly below – German jobs. However, this seems to be slowly changing, and many modern companies accept knowledge of either.

Finally, jobs are helpful from a personal, mental, and social aspect. You feel better from being a productive member of society, you learn to work in a team, and you start gaining more and more independence from whoever financially supports you. My roommate worked for 8h/week and used a job not only to make money but to find many new friends and practice speaking German, all while helping other people directly. You can get more out of a job than money and experience. Also, you’ll probably waste those 8 hours in the week on your phone. I know you.

The postal system

One of the benefits of Germany’s love for bureaucracy is the maturity and capabilities of the systems that enable it. No bureaucracy can exist without a robust postal system, and Deutsche Post / DHL certainly delivers in this regard. However, the capabilities of the postal system can also be confusing to beginners, so this post will try to explain what you can do if you need to send something by post.

First, you will be glad to know that you can do almost anything without interacting with another person, without going to a store, at any time (with caveats). As of this decade, you can get postal stamps online, print them yourself, stick them on a box/envelope, and put them in a Packstation. A Packstation is a large metal container from which you can pick up mail or place it there so that a delivery person can pick it up. You can find them everywhere in German cities, and you don’t need to interact with another human to use them. If you’re not at home, afraid that someone will steal your package, or don’t want to go to a post office, you can use the Post & DHL app to use a Packstation for practically everything. 

The Deutsche Post website is incredibly comprehensive for buying the proper stamp. You can even make custom stamps with your own design! This is the easiest way to do it – especially if you have a printer and a Packstation nearby. The website tells you all the rules, maximum weights, maximum sizes, and different options you can buy with your stamps. I’ve bought 20+ stamps for all kinds of different purposes, and I’ve never had any issues.

The safest option for buying envelopes and shipping boxes is to go to a Deutsche Post/DHL Filiale. These are everywhere in German cities and are usually a convenience store where you can also send and receive mail. This means that you’re always near a “post office,” where you can send/receive mail and buy the equipment to do so. However, the envelopes and shipping boxes here are usually slightly overpriced. For great prices, you can buy standard envelopes and shipping boxes at larger supermarkets. I recommend the large envelope without a window for sending mail because it looks professional and doesn’t need folding. However, the stamp for large envelopes is slightly more expensive, and you cannot send them in a Packstation – you have to go to a Filiale and interact with another human.

Quick note: the difference between Deutsche Post and DHL is that Deutsche Post is responsible for letters and small packages (like books), while DHL is responsible for shipping larger items. DHL is a part of Deutsche Post, and the German state owns both.

This is the process that you need to follow if you’re sending a letter:

1. Gather the following information:
   1. Destination address
   2. Sender address (optional)
2. Get and fold your paper(s) (if you want to be extra German, the standard DIN 824 shows you how to properly fold your paper).
3. Fill out the address field and all other needed information according to the standard DIN 5008 – you can learn everything you need to know about writing a proper letter address field at this website – Anschriftenfeld – DIN 5008 (neu) (din-5008-richtlinien.de).
   1. If you don’t want to do all this work, have a printer, and have the internet, you can also just get a stamp from the Deutsche Post website with all of this information properly filled out already, print it, and stick it on the top right of the envelope when it is placed horizontally (for a regular envelope, have the part that closes be on top, while for a large C4 envelope, have the part that closes be on the left).
   2. If your envelope has a window, all of the information has to be contained inside the window. If you download a stamp from the Deutsche Post website and print it, the piece of paper will be automatically aligned so that it can either be folded and fit in the window on a small envelope or just directly be placed in a large envelope. You are not allowed to write on the outside of envelopes with windows. If you don’t want to print out the stamp, then you have to write everything out normally. However, it needs to fit in the window and be fully visible. You could also just stick a small piece of paper in the window with all of the information filled out to the window from the inside.
4. Select a stamp with your desired characteristics:
   1. If you are sending legal documents, make sure to buy a stamp with Einschreiben – this means that you get tracking, insurance, and can pay extra to also get the recipient’s signature on delivery. This costs more but is absolutely worth it.
5. Take the envelope to a Packstation or a Deutsche Post Filiale (which you can look up on Google Maps) (note that you can only take large envelopes to a Filiale) – sending it is completely free.
   1. If you take it to a Filiale, make sure to take the receipt so that you have proof that it was sent, and you can access the tracking (if you paid for it).

This is the process that you need to follow if you’re sending a boxed package:

1. Gather the following information:
   1. Destination address
   2. Width, height, and thickness of your package
   3. Weight of your package (somewhat optional – just make sure it’s not too heavy)
   4. Sender address (optional)
2. Go to the post’s online calculator and put in the dimensions of the box – you will be given the correct stamp for your box.
3. Add any extras like fast delivery if you need them.
4. Pay for the stamp.
5. Print out the stamp (see a. if you don’t have a printer).
6. Cut the part with the barcodes along the cutting guide.
7. Stick it on the box.
8. For this step, you can either take the box to any place that handles mail (you can look up a Deutsche Post Filiale on Google Maps) or use the app to find a Packstation and follow the instructions on the app.
   1. Note that there is a Packstation variant that can print stamps, so you should look this up if you want to send mail without interacting with humans but don’t have a printer. If you want a printer, you can look at my review of a good student printer – https://snikolaj.com/2024/09/14/epson-workforce-wf-2935-review-the-best-value-printer/. 
   2. If you take it to a Filiale, make sure to take the receipt so that you have proof that it was sent, and you can access the tracking (if you paid for it).

You can (and probably should) reuse old boxes from other stuff for shipping. This is better for the environment and your budget since original post boxes can be somewhat expensive. However, you need to mark out any previous shipping information on the box. You can cover it up with a marker, pen, glued piece of paper – anything, as long as you cannot see any other shipping information other than the one you put there. 

When receiving any kind of mail/package, I again highly recommend installing the Post & DHL app. Once you verify yourself, you can track not only the mail you send but also the mail sent to you (including online shopping). You can choose different delivery options: a Filiale, a Packstation, or a specific part of your apartment/house. You can also find a Filiale. You can buy stamps. You can find a Packstation, which essentially offers every service Deutsche Post/DHL offers.

Transportation

An important part of getting to your university is… getting there. This also applies to everything else. Luckily, Germany is excellent in the area of transportation. For students, the three main modes of transport that I would recommend are:

1. Walking
2. Cycling
3. Public transport (especially the Deutschlandticket)

Walking

German cities are generally very walkable. This decreases as you go to the suburbs (which are automotive-industry-funded 1950s USA theme parks). However, the density of supermarkets is very high in cities. Generally, there will be at least one supermarket within a 10-minute walking radius of your location. With universities, it can be very variable. Most universities are either outside the city, or if they’re inside, the housing near the university is ludicrously expensive. If you have the option of walking to your university, do it. Walking is good for you. Walking in Germany is made even better by the fact that German cities generally have many trees, plants, and parks inside of them. It’s very easy to touch grass, as it’s all around you. However, make sure to walk on the side of the sidewalk that’s not recessed because that’s the bikes’ part of the sidewalk. You may laugh, but my previous country only recently got bike lanes.

Cycling

If your university, your job, or the supermarkets you need to visit are farther away, a bicycle is the ideal choice. Germany has pretty good cycling infrastructure – some of the best in the world – and in the city during rush hour, it’s faster to go by bike than by taking public transport or by car. Bikes are also convenient because there is much more parking available and it’s always free. 

Learning basic bike maintenance will help a lot, but bike repair stores are always nearby, even if you don’t. Many supermarkets sell kits with bike repair tools, and you can always find those tools in repair stores or home improvement stores.

To stay on good terms with the law, make sure to buy a white front light and a red rear light for your bike and have them turned on when it starts getting even a bit dark. Also, make sure to have a helmet. It’s not legally required, but worrying about breaking your head is more important than worrying about breaking the law. 

You can either buy a new bike or used. You can buy new bikes in bike stores, but they can be quite expensive. The bike store variants are generally branded and look like they’re high quality. You can look at the Check24 website for cheaper bike deals. Quite often, supermarkets also sell bikes for pretty discounted prices, which you can find by looking at their catalogs (this is something I generally recommend you do for a few minutes per week). E-bikes are also very convenient and may be the best form of travel, but they are also even more expensive. They follow the same buying guidelines as above.

If you’d prefer not to spend a lot of money, buying used bikes is a great choice for both your budget and the environment. Generally, the best place to buy a bike is Kleinanzeigen, which is where most used things in Germany get sold. The cheapest single-speed bikes can go for around 50 euros, but I’d recommend at least getting an 18-speed or 21-speed bike for a more enjoyable experience. You can find those used for around 150-200 euros, while an e-bike can be found for around 500 euros and above. You need to take more care when buying used e-bikes because they have more parts that can wear out. There are many buying guides online for used e-bikes, such as Help With Buying A Used E-Bike! : r/ebikes (reddit.com) (see the top comment).

If you find yourself stranded somewhere with your bike, you should know that you can take your bike on public transport, but you have to buy an additional ticket for it. The ticket is pretty cheap.

You should also know that a big advantage bikes share with cars these days is the ability to carry large and heavy things. Bike trailers that attach to the rear allow you to carry up to about 50kg relatively easily. These trailers are very cheap on the used market. Just make sure to go slow with your bike with these attached because any additional weight increases your braking distance.

Electric scooters deserve an honorable mention. They work and are relatively cheap, but I’ve never tried one and don’t need to. I believe they’d be a great option for crossing walking distances quickly, but I don’t want to talk extensively about something I’ve never tried.

Public transport

German intracity public transport is generally excellent. Make sure to get the reduced price Deutschlandticket (for students and trainees) so that for only 29 euros per month (as of writing this article, they plan on increasing it) you get unlimited public transport in all of Germany, including the regional trains that go between cities. These are slower than the ICE fast trains, but one ICE trip usually costs as much as multiple Deutschlandtickets. If you can afford it, the ICE experience is really nice. For most relatively short trips, going with an ICE is about as fast as flying (when including the waiting time, boarding time, potential delays, etc.).

Nevertheless, public transport is organized by a city, so each city can have varying qualities of public transport. 

If you can choose where to live, you should try to choose a place with the best public transport coverage, particularly to places like your university, job, and the shops you visit.

About cars

Buying a car in Germany is prohibitively expensive for students. Used cars are quite cheap, but they come with additional maintenance costs, very high insurance costs (which is often why they’re sold for so little), higher fuel costs, and high parking costs. In the bigger cities, you’ll also always struggle to find space to park your car since cities are moving to become less car-dependent.

If you don’t have a driving license, the process of getting one in Germany is relatively straightforward. Germany is a nice place to drive since drivers respect the rules, unlike many other countries. However, the costs for that are extremely high – expect to pay many thousands of euros. The exact amount will vary depending on how good you are at passing the exams.

If you have a non-German driving license, there are different processes to turning it into a German one. If you’re just visiting and not a permanent resident, then you should be fine with any driving license. However, if you’re settling for studies or work and have a residence permit, then you should check if your license is still valid. Some driving licenses need to be “converted,” so you need to take some supplementary lessons and exams to learn the specific rules in Germany.

It’s good to have a driver’s license regardless because many companies still require driver’s licenses even if the job requires no driving. In addition, rental cars can be useful when you need to travel longer distances or carry some objects. Moving is so much easier and cheaper when you can simply rent a van and do everything with that.

Buying and selling used items

Unlike many countries, Germany has a healthy used market. Most Germans sell their used items through Kleinanzeigen. eBay is in a distant second place. Kleinanzeigen works like a traditional used items website, where you see something listed, send the seller a message, negotiate a price, and then pick it up. However, there are listings that you can buy without any (written or verbal) human interaction. Also, you can usually negotiate with the seller to have them send you something by post. I recommend doing this for any item that you can reasonably expect someone to ship. Otherwise, you may put yourself at risk. Unfortunately, unlike many other places in Europe (especially the East), Germany does not feel very safe.

Unlike in many cultures where haggling is expected, Germans are much more reasonable and firm with their prices. Often, you can get a small discount, but the expected price is the one that’s expected. I recommend that you buy most items that won’t be your daily drivers from the used markets and get the other things through price comparisons on Check24 (note: for tools, I recommend Lidl’s Parkside brand since they are very low cost and have decent quality if you’re not using them every day).

Furniture is something that I’d strongly recommend you buy used. It’s usually at most half the price of the original while staying in mostly good shape. The most important factor here is whether you can bring furniture to your apartment, whether you’ll need to take it apart, and the seller’s available times. If you’re diligent enough with your looking, you can find people who need to get rid of some furniture as fast as possible, so you can immediately message them and go pick it up first. Often, these people will give it to you for free. Just ensure you have the tools to take it apart if needed. 

University life outside of class

This depends heavily on your university and city. I’ve asked around to get more informed answers about other places, but do not take what I say as fact. My experience at a technical university in Munich (not hard to guess which one) so far has been that the social life is much more tame in Germany than elsewhere. Classes are quite rigorous, and you likely won’t have that much free time due to the volume of material that you need to learn. Like in most places, students tend to concentrate in cliques with other students that share some feature. Generally, this is based on ethnicity. 

The nightlife in Munich is bad if you don’t have much money. Like some other high-cost-of-living cities, most of the conventional fun is stuck behind high prices and dress codes. There are student bars and nightclubs that are more affordable, and there, you can find some conventional fun. If you don’t want to spend much money and have friends who share that opinion, you can have a picnic in a park with a crate of beer. 

At your university, one of the best ways to have a friend group and have fun while also improving your future prospects is to join a club. At all of the universities I’ve been to here, there have been many university clubs with a huge diversity of topics. Often, clubs can be something related to your program but more interesting than the material in class, like building racecars and rockets, playing in an orchestra, or filming films – you have to see for your university. Most universities will have university club fairs. Also, if there are multiple (public) universities in your city, it may be possible to join a club at another university if what you want isn’t available at your university. 

My experience with making friends in Germany has been strange. Usually, friendships are formed relatively quickly but take a long time to open up. You shouldn’t ditch all of your old friends from wherever you’re coming from because it can be lonely if you haven’t found the group of people you’re compatible with. However, universities are so big that you’re very likely to find someone you’re compatible with. 

You can also meet new people and improve your skills by volunteering. You can volunteer at the fire brigade, your university, community centers, churches, environmental groups, and more – many options exist. You can find advertisements for volunteering on notice boards in many places, or you can also look up opportunities online. Apart from actually helping people and meeting new people, a benefit to volunteering is that it is seen as a big plus when applying for jobs. However, I would only go for volunteering if you can cover all of your existing living expenses and study well enough to pass your exams.