English Speaking Jobs in Germany?!?

Scott is right, the German education system is total crap and racism is common in Germany. The only way kids can get a good education in Germany is if they go to a Gymnasium or private school. The "Realschule" and "Hauptschule" are just day cares.
Its true, in some cases, you won't be accepted as an equal, you'll always be an "Ausländer" (foreigner), thats how Germany is divided in to, "the germans" and "the foreigners". I think it's because integration is very poor here and the germans are old fashioned, they don't know what globalization is, some still think that Canadians only belong in Canada and Germans in Germany and the French in France, you'll always be a guest in Germany.
I found that if you speak english to the Germans, you will be more respected than if you speak German to them. You're "spirier" then.
As for english jobs, they can be hard to come by. The best and fastest way is to get a job at an embassy or consulate of an english speaking country or the armed forces.
I don't want to scare you off, or make Germany look bad, but I have to tell you, it's different.

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I think if you go to any NON-english speaking country, you will find the same issues i.e you are a foreigner and there are few jobs with English as the only requirement. I am sure this is the same in Montreal. So that is clear: one has to invest in the language for a few years and then maybe.

Racism is alive in several countries, not just Germany. Europe has always been xenophobic. No not just Germany. You just have to fight.

As for the education system it is 2:1 here on the forum in favor of it being horrible. Would need more volume to justify that.

So much for globalization.

Alright, there is nothing wrong with a good debate. So, in order to support my arguments, I can only speak for myself. I have finished my Abitur with ease and I don't find the education system hard at all. Sure there are Realschule and Hauptschule, but they kinda need them. With a country of 88 million people and a ration of 3:2 for foreigners, I think it is necessary that Germany has a filtering system in place. With regards to "wyatt" okay you have 3 children, so I assume they hold dual citizenship. If not, then they would be attending school illegally. Maybe your children are not doing as much work for school as they should do. For example, in grade 8 I went back home to Canada as part of an exchange program. Funny doing an exchange program into your own country but anyway. I went straight to grade 11 since the grade 8 9 and 10 were to easy for me and teachers felt the need that I need to work with people with the same or similar kind of knowledge. Hence, that would mean that the German Education System puts way more effort into their education system in order to effectively support those who are smart and those who are average.

The Germans have a lot of good things on the market and it is surely not because their education system sucks.
Another example, our own Government buys tons of equipment from the German Armed Forces in order to support us in the Canadian Forces. Why, well quality, design and flawlessness to name a few. Is all that equipment based on good education? Well kinda yes.

As for the racism aspect, well folks I hate to disappoint you, but I encountered more acts of racism within the Canadian Forces than I've ever in Germany. Wow, right in the kisser. And the crap (sorry my language) with Germans for Germans, French for French, Irish for Irish and so on, that's just bullshit. If there is one country that is more for globalization than the U.S. it sure is Germany.
I'm not trying to sweet talk Germany since Canada is always my number one, but I hate if someone criticize something with no facts.
Okay, personal experience is okay and understandable, but what about the facts. The majority of Canadians can't even afford to go to university unless they get a student loan in Canada. And which graduated student wants to start his career with a bank account of -50.000,00$. I've done my bachelor of science in Germany and the total coast for the whole thing including books was 3.000,00 bucks. And when I moved back home to Canada, the German B.S. was higher recognized than others. Is this really based on a education system that is so horrible such as the German?
I'd rather have a challenging school system in place then a school system were maybe even your kids sit next to hillbillies and basically learn almost nothing.

So, please prove me wrong.

Do you have one that is not 7 years old? And BTW, I did the Pisa in Canada that year and my friend saved a copy from the one tested in Germany. Pisa is based on the Lehrplan from every country or in Canada it is the provincial school board. So, I agree with you that the Pisa study shows Germany way below Canada, but on the other hand I have to say that the Pisa study was conducted in all four school systems. That would mean that Gymnasium, Gesamtschule, Realschule and Hauptschule. Plus of course the Grundschule. So okay the Pisa study is one way to attack this matter. But here is the interesting thing about it. Lets just say that the while I was back home, they asked me questions like how many states does the U.S. have, how many provinces and territories does Canada blah blah blah. Okay, that is kinda easy would you not agree? My friend on the other hand sad that in the German Pisa Case study they asked questions like how many dynasties were present in China from that and that century, which one was the biggest, why did Chinese people always carry a red book with them. When was the student revolution. So as you can see the spectrum of questions where way different and harder for the German people. And of course for the people in the Gesamt-, Haupt- and Realschule things were different. First is the ration of German speaking kids and not German speaking kids 1:2 which would clearly identify why in the Pisa study Germans got hardly any points for performing in their supposedly own language. But there are more case studies done by the Goethe Institute, the University of Madrid and Cambridge University that show that the Pisa study is not conducted well enough, since it does not allow the factor of the amount of cultural presence in classrooms and other things. Pisa should make a test that is equal and every country should do the same test.

So, thanks for trying to assault the German education system with a 7 year old case study but, things have changed. And things changed way before 2005.

And back to you!

I have no idea where you went to school in Germany, but where I go it’s not like that, some of the kids I go to school with (Gesamtschule grade 11) couldn't even find their own Bundesland and city on a map, let alone China or how many dynasties were present in China from certain centuries. I know an English student teacher from the UK who is visiting us at our school and she told me that some of the grade 8 students she works with can't even spell the names of the months. They spell April with an E (Apriel) and März with T (Märtz). Besides horrible literacy and geography, there is no discipline (even though the Germans are known for discipline - yeah right). For example, you can see some little 6th grader bad mouthing his teacher, playing around with a lighter trying to light a classmate on fire, vandalizing school and city property, smoking, etc, etc. I would NEVER, EVER see that back home in Canada (ok, maybe the vandalism, but not at the same degree). They definitely need an education reform here in Germany.
As for what you said about the Canadian Forces and racism, SIGINT, I have friends that are with the forces (air force and army) and they never mentioned anything negative about the forces or the way they are treated or anybody else, but I will ask them specifically about racism. In Germany on the other hand, I never (or maybe just rarely) heard anybody say "African-American"(or African-European in this case) to a black person; they just went right ahead and used the "N Word". I had to explain to them what that really means, and what would happen to them if they used it in Canada or the US.
As for your university argument, I barely even met anybody here that wants to go to university (everybody wants to do the "Ausbildung" which is just a waste of your youth in my opinion). All my friends back home plan on going, not to mention myself and that without a loan.
As for globalization in Germany, I can't seem to find a hint of it here. I have a cousin who works in Dusseldorf. Even though the business language is English at her company and the company is American, her colleagues are giving her a hard time because she doesn’t speak German. They just want her to speak German because it would make everything a whole lot easier for them and they wouldn’t have to improve their English.

Psia 2006

Judging from my experiences all I can add is that the material that the kids need to learn is provided, however the kids are not being taught, it is up to the kids themselves with the help of the parents to learn the material. There is a high proportion of immigrants in Germany who don’t speak the language well enough to be able to help their kids, combine that with native families where both parents are working and have no time or just don’t care and its receipt for disaster.

I'm sure a lot of it comes down to personal experience. I have a friend here who is german and when he moved to Canada he found the education system very easy. He felt he was doing grade 8 math in grade 11 in Canada.

Could it depend on the state in germany? I've heard similar experiences of students moving from one province to another where the education system is either more advanced, or easier.

I think it has to do with the Laender. apparently in Baden-W. the school system is very good.

To whom it may concern,

Racism in the Canadian Forces:
Okay some of you have friends or a cousin or some buddy in the Forces. And surely they have never talked about racism in the CF. But just because Racism isn't mentioned by CF personnel doesn't mean that racism is not present, right? Maybe I was in a position in the CF that have worked with that issue but due to certain regulations and orders I am not entitled to talk about it. Do you seriously think that a CF member would talk about racism in the CF? Well, the CF is a big green machine and it does absolutely everything in is power to protect its reputation and its public view. What the hell do you think would happen if somebody mentions acts of racism in the CF! Plus let's just say there are also personal experiences that would support my statement 100%.

Class behavior in Germany/Canada:
Geez, you can't really believe that there is not one person back home that did not badmouthed his teacher. Even I did it maybe as part of a joke, but surely there are students that do that, regardless whether it is in Germany or Canada. So just by mentioning that it seems obvious that you can't really point your finger at one person and say that all of them are like that. Just call a spade a spade would you?
Plus with regards to Education Systems there are Canadians that are less educated then other Canadians. That is based on the provincial education system. And or course their social background. I can guarantee you that since I believe it or not went to a rural junior high too. I am not sure who was smarter the truck or the hill billy.

The bottom line is the following: As a true Canadian, I believe in our education system as long as we don't compare it to other education systems. Maybe it is not with us to judge the German Education System since it is not design for NON-GERMANS. All I see are two or three knuckleheads that try to compare their experiences with the German Education system without really making a point. We don't really go anywhere with this topic. Maybe Düsseldorf sucks because it has so many poor people there. Maybe Hamburg was a better experience for me because it is more international. Like New York or something. All I said is based on personal experiences and that is all I have. So for me, as a Canadian living in Germany, all I can say is that I was always treated with respect, I was never made fun of, I was able to speak English the entire time I was in Hamburg, and I even survived the German Education System without any problems. And it is surely not because I am smart as Einstein.


BTW, for those of you that look for Jobs, the following cities have tons of jobs available for Canadians. Berlin, Munich and Hamburg. Further more can you apply as translator for the Canadian Forces in Germany due to the fact that the forces have a lot of business in Germany and are in need for people with both language capabilities. Also, you can work in local embassies or consulate but only for a minimum wage type deal. But the best bet for finding jobs in Germany prior to already move there is to go to either Toronto or Vancouver or Ottawa and ask in the Embassy or Consulate for job opportunities for Canadians abroad. That's how I did it and it worked great for me.

Hi Cdn
There is a web site: toy town germany
which may help. It offers a wide variety and it is geared to English speaking positions.

Just stumbled across the site and the conversation re Racism. I have been living outside of Canada for 15 years now. First in the UK, then Germany shortly and now Dubai. If there is one thing I have learned is that no nation has a monopoly on Racism. It is everywhere and most everyone is racist to a degree. Some places more rather than less perhaps. (It is particularly bad here in Dubai where the notion that an entire race is inferior is not even questioned by large segments of the population). As much as I love Canada I encounterd more racism in Canada and the UK then I did in Germany.
If you are thinking about living abroad I would say that more to the question is do you find the culture and way of life (values, education, social structure) apealling to you and something you can live with. I enjoyed England, but found it frustrating. I found Germany great very enjoyable, eficient, good social structures, great public transport. I despise Dubai even more than Calgary (and thats from an Edmontonian).