Moving to Deutschland
Living and working in Germany can be one of the best professional decisions you’ve ever made. Germany prides itself on efficiency, punctuality and accuracy so it is a natural environment for a market researcher. The market research world is highly developed and home of many of the biggest brands in our sector. Lots of international and small/medium sized agencies have offices there due to the vast number of well-known brands HQs. SAP, BMW, Siemens, Aldi, Adidas, Audi, Bosch, Deutsche Bank, Lufthansa and Nivea are few of the international brands that promise a versatile, long lasting and challenging MR environment. Time spent working there will really add value to your skill set and will enhance your career.
If you’re planning to relocate to Germany, here are a few things to consider first:
Career Opportunities – Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Cologne are the cities to target for market research jobs. The market dynamic is similar to the UK, with lots of jobs and movement between agencies and numerous consumer insight client side opportunities.
Culture – Germany has a very high hourly productivity and people work efficiently to finish in time to go home. Private and work lives are kept very separate, so work friends will almost never be your best friends. Being on time is really important and that is 5 minutes early. Meetings are taken seriously and people will aim to always reach a consensus.
Language – while there are jobs where German is not required, if you know it, it will be an advantage. Start learning the language long before you move there, it will help.
Lifestyle – life is pretty busy in Germany as in any other developed countries, but German people love the quiet, so you will see a lot of tranquil places. They also love rules. As an employee you will be very well protected and not exploited. All cities are bike and recycling friendly. Very importantly and not unexpected, Germans have amazing beer and take pride in it.
Cost of living – based on the city you choose to relocate to, the average cost of rent for a 1 bedroom flat will be 700 EUR/month. A pass for public transport will be about 70 EUR/month and a meal for 2 people in an average restaurant will be 45 EUR. Compared to other EU countries, Germany is reasonable. In return, the average salary for a Research Manager will be 56,000 EUR/year.
Relocating with children is relatively easy. Between the ages of 3 and 6 kindergarten is optional, and from the age of 7 to 18 school attendance is compulsory. Public schools are free. There are two options if your children need to study in English: free bilingual public school or international school (that is expensive).
Now that you’ve learnt something about living and working in Germany, are you convinced to making the move?
I am looking for Research Managers, Associate Directors and Sales Manager with experience in a full service research agency. Reach out to me for more information on alex@hassonassociates.com