Any advice for a non-german speaking american on finding work/ supporting myself in cologne, germany?

Question

Any advice for a non-german speaking american on finding work/ supporting myself in cologne, germany?

Answer 1

Go to CHRMA on the net its jobs working with the Army but Cologne is some distance to the nearest military base.work at a Irish pub or get a driving job

Answer 2

Your joking right! No... unless you learn german and hopefully have a college education or higher.

Answer 3

You could work as a waiter at the Hard Rock Cafe...It has lots of English speaking tourists..???

Answer 4

Hello,

Work as an English teacher. That is what I do...it is not the best paid job, and it is very hard to get a contract in Germany, so you will have to work freelance and work out your own tax payments.

I work for Berlitz and have private students as well. There are so so many language schools in Germany.

You just need to have a very sound knowledge of English grammar - Germans expect 100% detail when it is explained to them and will catch you out if are are unsure!!

That is your best option - other choices would be to find an Irish pub/bar...

There are also many large international companies in Germany - you could try to research them - if you have good qualifications - and try your luck there!

Good luck.... you will have fun here - I do!!

Answer 5

Residency is hard to acquire and jobs are tougher still. Work permits for foreigners are guarded like the holy grail in Germany. It will be extremely hard for you to get one, especially if you're basically unemployable because you don't speak German. It's a different matter altogether if you get a job here in the States with a company that will send you to Germany. Then again, why would they if you don't speak the language? So your mission is clear: learn German. It's a tough language (especially the grammar) but you can do it with some focus and hard work. I would suggest looking into Daimler-Chrysler Corp.'s management training program. Part of it will be here in the States, and part of it will be in Stuttgart, Germany. Another company with a very big presence in Germany is Procter and Gamble. There are also the major airlines and the State Department. The military is not an option for two reasons - 1. Cologne is in the part of Germany that was primarily under British military jurisdiction, so we wouldn't have bases there. 2. We're closing bases and realigning forces like crazy in Germany and most of the remaining forces are in the central and southern parts of the country. Good luck, though. Where there's a will, there's a way right?

Answer 6

It strongly Depends on your qualifications.

if you have very good qualifications (college, some years of working experience) you might find a job in a large international company or as a business consultant.

If you studied literature, communication or similar, you can give it a try as a language teacher.

Without particular qualification, but young and ready to adapt: au-pair.

The economic situation in Germany is not really rosy at the moment: lots of Germans are out of job. The only qualifications that are strongly requested are degrees in engineering.

Since you are  not a european citizen it might really be tough, since chances to get a green card are really slender.

Answer 7

NO CHANCE AT ALL!!!!

Answer 8

First you need to learn German. Then you´ll need a residency permit and a work permit and you can´t get one without the other! Otherwise, you could always offer your services as an English tutor or dog walker and work "off the books".

Answer 9

I don't think there is any chance to find a job with German company, there are so many people with good German and English looking for a job. Only thing I could think of would be with an American Tourism Company...

Answer 10

I'm afraid that the best advice is also the most obvious:  Learn German.  Sure, it's a hard language to learn and it will take you many years to become proficient, but in the end it's the best thing to do if you plan to stay here and work.

The other option is to work for the U.S. Government in Germany.  But we are drawing down, closing bases, and moving east.  If you're not already in the system, it will be hard to get in because you will be competing with those of us that are going to get moved around due to base closures.

Answer 11

How to support yourself: once you're there, apply to the nearest Berlitz school to teach English, they always need people, they have their own training programme and you don't need any experience of teaching or knowledge of German...then once they offer you a job, you get a letter from the Berlitz school to support your application for a work visa (which you can get pretty easily in Germany if you have an employer ready to offer you a job). Did this for my non-German-speaking Aussie ex-gf, worked perfectly.

Just got to wonder why the two dears who came after me gave me a negative rating...if you were US military or the type who worked for Procter and Gamble, you'd have thought of those things already...