IT job prospects in Germany

Hi there,

after a few years back in the UK I am considering returning to Germany. Back then (1990s) I was making a good living as a software developer, both as employee and contractor.

As I have taken my eye off the ball somewhat I would be very appreciative of a quick run-down of the IT jobs market. From what I read in the press it seems to be all doom and gloom - is that really the case?

What I am really interested in is what locations are still hot (or not), what skills are in demand and, of course, what kind of salary/rates I could reasonably expect to command for a "senior developer/team leader/software architect" type of role.

I know it is a lot to ask, but if you don't ask you don't get.

Here's hoping...

'Big' Sim

ps. I speak German well and have worked in "all-German" environments so that shouldn't be a barrier.

You don't mention what your core skills are...

I also work in IT as a Senior Software Developer but am currently unemployed since end of February, but from what I see on many companys' websites, there are many joby available in Munich, esp. for C++/JAVA.
This was only from a search of the telephone book

I would suggest that you speak to some agencies and ask what the situation is... they should have a good idea

From what I've heard most german companies are starting to have vacancies in many areas. The company I work for recently took a full page advert in SZ, and really the responses we got werent that great.

If you have a good IT job right now, most people are staying put and not looking to change. Job security is really well valued after everyone got burnt in 2000...

P

SAP SAP SAP SAP SAP.

If your German is good enough you can try the tools on the GULP website (primarily for contractors), with trends, rates (based on your skill):

http://www.gulp.de/knowhow/mainknow.html

I feel that the market has picked up the last year in Germany, with the no. of jobs advertised and rates on the increase.

Where I work (bank in Frankfurt) if you want to be a software developer then Germany is the wrong place - try India or further afield.

However, there is still (I think) a demand for decent software project managers who can tell the Indybums what they need to do.

Try Satzsoft. They're located on Leoploldstr and the company belongs to an English guy. He has people working all over Germany.

Thanks for responses. It doesn't seem to be too encouraging, which is a shame. I'm currently working back in London where there seems to be an insatiable demand for IT staff (will it last? who knows!) but my reasons for thinking of moving back are more personal than professional.

ITO core skills: OO/C++/Unix/RDBs + managerial experience which makes me a bit of a dinosaur these days I suppose.

What I am still interested in is reasonably achievable hourly rates/salaries. When I left there used to be huge discrepancies, especially with contractors working through German agencies who exploited their contractors' lack of knowledge of their true market value, so it's always nice to know what the ballpark figures are.

Thanks.

'Big' Sim

Check jobserve.com.

For example:


The IT sector here has picked up greatly in the last 12 months. I've been contracting here on and off since 1998.

Other useful sites are jobpilot.de, monster.de and as previously mentioned gulp.de.

Blimey! Things have got bad.

Thanks for the tips.

'Big' Sim