Looking for a job in Kiel

Hello All!

I'm currently an au pair in Hamburg but I'm in Kiel EVERY weekend to see my boyfriend and once I'm done being an au pair on January 31, 2010 I'm going to need a job so that I can, 1) have a job and, 2) have a job so I can get my working visa and stay in Germany (Kiel specifically) with my boyfriend. My German's nothing to throw a party about but I still have 7 more months here to improve it. I really have no idea what I wanted to do.. I had no idea what I wanted to do back in America (probably a lot of the reason I came here if nothing else). I was thinking I could maybe teach English to little kids if nothing else (I think there's something where you can work in a Kindergarten or something for an additional year..) since I assume you don't need a college degree for that but I think I may want to continue my education as well. Everyone here's so eager to learn English I have to think that I might actually have the advantage at getting a job but I don't know. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated as the clock on my current visa is ticking!

Do you mean mean a FSJ (Freiwilliges soziales Jahr) at a Kindergarten?

yeah I think that's what it's called.. I may've already found a Kindergarten too but I can't talk to them until September.. still.. I'd like to know all my possibilities.. but it really seems that no one knows what I should do..

The easiest way to get a visa is to apply for the university. (...or marriage, but I wouldn't rush that...) You can also try looking into becoming 'Selbstständig' (basically, self-employed or freelance) and seeing if you can be some sort of an English tutor. I'm new to Kiel too and looking for work - would love to share ideas of places to look with you.

Yeah, I'm thinking the University would be nice.. but how can I pay for it (I know it's MUCH cheaper than in the States!)? I'm still not sure what I want to study (that's a problem. I know.) but I think it'd be good to get an education first. I'll be living w/my bf and his parents own their own company so he thought if nothing else they could just hire me into their company. I've thought there must be someway I could use my English as I'm a native speaker.. I tutor might be a good idea.. any idea what my options for using my English would be and how much education I'd have to get for it? I'm willing to just brainstorm with anyone.. I'm so lost!

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Don't limit yourself to teaching English just because your German isn't top notch. Kiel isn't exactly a hub of international business, but I'm sure you could find something other than tutoring (if you don't want to be a teacher that is). Studying isn't all that expensive, but I'm sure the English based programs are more... Since you don't know what you want to do - have you thought about being a waitress/bartender? There is a pub owned by a man from England called Strongbow's - it's somewhere off Holtenauerstr...Your BF should know what I'm talking about - you could talk to him about a job and that would be a good way to build up your German skills - - baptism by fire if you will.

Being hired on by the family is also a good idea, but tricky...family issues, tax issues... I would use that as a last resort.

Have you searched online at www.englishlanguagejobs.com and posted a resume on Monster.de or even checked with the consulate in Hamburg? There might even be a bi-lingual kindergarten in Kiel...I'm not involved in the parenting community, so I have no idea...

Do you have any specific interests in something you might be able to turn into a job?

Mmm sorry about taking so long to get back to you but I've been a mixture of busy and distracted. I went to Englishlanguagejobs.com but so far have found nothing.. I'd seriously thought of working in a bilingual Kindergarten for a while but now I'm pretty sure I don't want to go anywhere near anything like that... I suddenly got the spontaneous idea of writing as I love to read and think writing is something I could get into so I may look further into that. I don't really have any other ideas outside of that so lets hope something happens with this spontaneous idea or another one pops up. I'm going to the job center in October so I'll see what I can do there... I'm thinking I'll pretty much for sure what to do some further education here. Have you found anything else?

Hello,

I recently moved to Kiel with my girlfriend, I'm from Massachusetts and she's from Berlin, and i heard about these meetups at Strongbow's for english speakers. The next one is on the 5th, this thursday at 19:30. I'm looking for a second job right now because my job right now doesnt pay enough. I have a 2 year degree in Culinary Arts, so im looking into restaurants, maybe someone there can help me out. You should check it out, it may be a big help for you too.