American who wants to move to Germany

Hi! I'm new to this forum. I am an American who wants to move to Germany. I am currently a nurse. Looking for any job information or advice on how to get a job in the hospital and how to proceed with my move. I want to live in northern Germany. I was just there this summer visiting a friend and I loved it! The problem is, I don't speak the language but am trying to learn and will take classes. How tough is it to get a job and not know much of the language? (After all, the US hires all the Hispanics who can't speak English) I looked online at US bases thinking I could get a job at one of their hospitals, but all their locations seem to be in southern Germany. I am looking at moving this summer. Any information at all would be appreciated! Thank you!!

Might want to try this site: http://www.cpol.army.mil/ for any civ. positions in Germany.

Forget trying to work as a nurse in a German hospital if you don't speak German. In fact, pretty much forget about any job other than teaching English for low pay if you don't speak German.

FYI, OP, the vast majority of Hispanics in the US speak English, and in most cases their English is better than non-Hispanic Americans speak Spanish.

Anyway, Hispanic nurses in the US who speak both Spanish and English are handy translators for the patient base in many communities.

What kind of nursing do you do, silverfox? Does your alias indicate that you are older? Only reason I ask, the only thing harder than getting hired as a non-EU citizen who doesn't speak German is getting hired as an older non-EU citizen who doesn't speak German.

Edit: Never mind about the age thing, I see you were born in 1981.

I understand you are not looking at Southern Germany but just in case you change your mind...we had a friend who is a retired nurse from the US Army move here. He had a job on the Army base as a nurse. He was overworked and left after 6 months. That's what happens here. Especially on bases that are being overloaded with people, such as Patch Barracks in Stuttgart and any other base in Stuttgart. Avoid this area, traffic is hell and so is finding a place to live. We got here 3 years ago and it's really changed.

Good luck with your move. Germany as a whole is great. We really enjoy living here (outside what I mentioned, of course).

If you are really serious, you NEED to learn the language, even if only a little. I can't tell you how many times I have gotten better treatment from Germans, simply because I was willing to speak the language a little. (notice I did not say "Able", my German sucks!) The myth that all germans speak English is like trying to perpetuate the idea that all non-hispanic Californians speak Spanish. Some Germans speak it very well, but many are also chronically mortified by the idea of trying to speak English and failing, so it is not uncommon for them to resist using it. Best method to learn: a kick-ass immersive class (but expensive), next best: Rosetta Stone. Seriously excellent software. Expensive, but if you stick with it, very fast; and excellent for those that have gotten old enough to have lost that child/teenage ability to soak up languages like a sponge. In either of these cases, you'll still have a TON to learn from practice/experience, but at least you'll be off to a good start.

You also need to grow a bit of a thick skin. Germans are blunt. Once you've learned a little bit of the language, you'll begin to see why; the language itself is very direct (except those damn separable prefixes, that s**t still gets me). On the other hand their ability to simply deal with things realistically, instead of trying to always sugar-coat, or beat around the bush, is sometimes refreshing. ...but then, I've been known to be blunt myself at times.

Aside from the socio-philosophical crap above, here's the following to consider:

1) This is (almost) a cash society. "Debt" is actually synonymous with "guilt" in German. You'll need to change your habits dramatically.
2) Getting an apartment in most areas is a test of character. The entire process, from looking, meeting, making arrangements, finalizing, PAYING!, and then furnishing is akin to surviving Homer's Odyssey.
2) The customer is NOT king here. The party to the transaction that has the most leverage is in charge.
3) Drive well, or not at all.
4) Water (bottled, anyway) costs more than beer (sometimes)... Coca cola definitely does; so I hope you're not a tee-totaler!
5) Learn the transit system early, and learn it well, the total ownership cost of a car is very expensive.
6) I can only speak for myself here, but I personally think that some parts of german government bureaucracy work better than American bureaucracy, but only if you have your officially signed/stamped paperwork ready ahead of time, and took the time to figure out which items you'd need BEFORE you went.
7) The "Obama Effect" has completely worn off by now.
8) There is no such thing as free... anything.
9) Remember how in the states, almost every dish that included meat had either beef or chicken in it, and it was usually beef. Here everything is pork. I still have a hard time getting used to that. You don't notice it at all, at first, but after a while you find yourself making crazed midnight runs to the Hauptbahnhof, just to get a burger.
10) You're going to walk a LOT more (some, like myself, actually like this)
11) Germans recycle EVERYTHING, the recycling you've done in the states is just a joke compared to these people!
12) German people do NOT make friends quickly, but thank god... they make them deep!

Good luck!

grnflash - that was a GREAT response. :-) I've lived in Germany now for over a year and a half, and can say that I can confirm most things you've said! :-) So, you've really tried Rosetta Stone? I have been taking classes at the Volkshochschule for a bit over a year and I find it skips a lot of things. I have always been curious about Rosetta Stone - but am skeptical of these electronic learning programs. (I've definitely lost that childlike/teenage ability to soak up languages like a sponge... sigh)

@Kristen 411,

Thanks for the +1 (I'm guessing that was you).

As far as Rosetta stone goes, I recommend it, but not by itself. It does absolutely nothing to explain the linguistic mechanisms that make a language work (remember those STUPID adjective ending charts?). The technicalities of the language are taught implicitly instead of explicitly. To elaborate: everything is learned through audio-visual cues and context clues. At the higher levels, it gets to be almost an artform to see how they walk you through the contextual cues while teaching the material.

For me, though, the biggest benefit was that it imparted (at least a little bit) that ability to "feel" what sounds right in different situations. This ability to "feel right" about parts of speech is also something that works immediately. So you don't just stand there with a twisted look on your face while you think through what to say. You also get a more immediate connection to the tone/intent of the speaker that way too. In my opinion, these two things alone are worth the price of admission. I also think this ability to "feel" the language was the main thing that I lost when I got older.

Still... not perfect. Most of the content that you are being taught is travel-vacation related (although it's all very useful). It does nothing to help with specific work environments, academics, bureaucratics, etc. There is (pun fully intended!) a world of possibilities beyond the scope of the program. That's why I recommend it with either the addition of a real class, or else allow yourself lots of time to gain experience.

Preferrably all three!

Cheers

Yeah...as said above, the culture shock can get to you - they say it takes (at least) 3 years to acclimate to a culture before you begin to live there. That's a long time to flop around finding your way, not to mention emotionally draining.

To be a nurse, you'll need to speak German well. Also, check on the qualification regulations, Germany is fussy about that. For example, a Russian nurse can't come over here and practice - needs complete re-certification. There are always exceptions but you don't want any surprises when you get here and learn you can't get a job as a nurse before going through a bunch of certification courses!

Buy a culture shock book or two, and heed (although the above list should be added to the candor of any book I've ever read).

Good that you move here in the summer - winter is a bitch.