I like to answer this kind of questions as the person who asked it want a binary answer either yes or no. But in reality, it’s not always like that, it depends on so many factors including the person itself. I will try to break down the thinking scenario to make it easier for readers to prepare them self for their adventure in Germany.

The first thing to clear: What is a student job?

• A job which a student can do without affecting his studies and earn some money to finance his/her studies is known as a student job.
• A student job is mostly part-time up to 20 hours per week as per the guidelines of the German education ministry.
• There are many portals / Startups which recruits students and send them to their different clients such as restaurants, supermarkets, bars, factories etc.

The second thing: the German language?

• You need to know the German language if you are working in restaurants or bar as you have to somehow deal with your German customer, take orders and so on. You can also work in the kitchen, there might be some German working with you, it would be easier for them if you know some German.
• You can work in Amazon or similar warehouse because of the shortage of people with them during festivals. Here they are in need and also your work doesn’t need to communicate with anyone other than some basic instructions from your team leader. So here you can work without sufficient German skills.
• In factories and hotels as cleaners or packers, you don’t need German for your work, but your boss might love to instruct in German so if you know some German it’s always a plus point.

Conclusion:
it’s possible for sure, but it won’t be always easy to find. As Germany seems small on the map but you will be in different cities where different industries would be situated and they will have different requirements for their student employees. So you can’t get the binary answer in yes or no.

It depends on factors such as:

• Location
• Industry
• Type of work
• Demand / Supply
• Time of year
• etc.

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Knowing German in Germany makes things easier for you. As you will be in a position to discuss and argue in case of any conflict situation. There are many students who are in their learning phase with the German language, but they still managed to get part-time student jobs in their respective localities. In the end, your inner Jugaadu soul will lead you in case of trouble to find student jobs.

​Short Answer: No, It’s not enough.

​Long Answer: Not enough at all, even if you are going to study in English taught course, the thing which you will learn on Duolingo will help you to know the basic grammar and basic day to day conversations. By basic, it’s really pretty basic. Like I am eating an apple and he is eating an apple kind of stuff, so if you won't do any other thing to learn the language and only use Duolingo, you can say only these kind of basic sentences which according to CEFR would fall under A1 and in some advanced Duolingo levels A2, more than that Duolingo can not offer at the moment. I am Duolingo Global ambassador for 2 years, there are some promising features like Duolingo Stories, Duolingo Podcast and Duolingo events which can be used to fulfill the gap. You can connect with me and learn a language for free over Duolingo.

I am pretty sure you know already about LinkedIn, which is professional networking site. Main purpose of LinkedIn is to connect with like-minded professionals and make your network strong in any particular field. You can also use it find new jobs and share your field knowledge and insights with your network or learn something new about interest using groups. 

Coming back to Xing. It does the same work as Linkedin and it's more popular in German speaking countries or in other words under DACH region. DACH consist of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. LinkedIn is the international networking tool, which allows you to make global connections around the world. On the other hand XING is more limited in DACH region basically German speaking countries. Xing is still popular business platform in Germany, but Linkedin ist getting popular day by day. In Austria and Switzerland is Linkedin is slowly taking over Xing.​   

You are reading this, that means you are in DACH region. Either working professionally or looking for some opportunities here. That's why you are interested in knowing about Xing. Xing has majority of experienced professionals with higher positions in their firms. As it's German equivalent to LinkedIn, it also works same as LinkedIn, you can create your profile on Xing, follow the businesses of your Interest. Take part in any group discussions, post your ideas and content for other people and businesses to make your presence in this professional network. As of now there are more than 18M registered professional in DACH region over XING.  
​

As you know about LinkedIn premium, you can also get some insights and statistics about your profile with Xing premium. You can update your profile with your skills and language,etc with your work and education to be visible to the recruiters. It's all about showing off your skills over such professional networking platform. By keeping your profile updated can bring you new opportunities as most of the recruiters depends on Xing and LinkedIn for their recruiting and it is also nice to have someone experienced in your network, so you can learn from them.

Main thing to observe that Xing or LinkedIn is not Facebook, so you shouldn't use it like it. It's professional networking platform, so you have to use it wisely. Use proper profile photos, don't pose rubbish internet junk on your profile, put your details responsibly. Make suitable connections, follow companies you admire, rest your network will work for you, and it will bring some new opportunities for you. 

All the best.  
Happy Networking.
-Ankit Sheladiya

Are you looking for tips and methods to improve your speaking in German language? Normally speaking can be improved over the period of time being in the environment where the language is being spoken. It is a fact one can learn speaking by hearing the sound...as we all know that deaf born baby is not able to speak anything even though his speaking organs are fine. There are number of other factors which can help you to reach fluency in the speaking in German. Your background and your practice and method are the biggest one. 

Here I will share the learning tips which helped me during my journey until now. Follow if something you can try for yourself if it helps you in your fluency. 

I know it sounds weird, but it's impossible at the beginning of your learning a new language phase that you know every single word, so in that crucial time you can use gestures and body language to convey your message. Sometimes you have a hint of the word, but not able to remember it completely, associating it with the gestures you will be able to use the purest form of communication. In another way, during this communication method, the receiver can give you the word for the thing you were trying to say with the gestures and body language. 

I will share my experience of being alone in Russia for the first time in my life at the age of 18, I had no clue about the Russian language. I was waiting at Saratov train station for someone to pick me up, but after waiting for 2-3 hours, I was so tired due to travelling since 3 days from Surat to Saratov via Delhi and Moscow. I decided to book a room so I can rest until this miscommunication can be solved. I went to the stations guest house, I could only say Hello and the lady over there could not speak any English. I was showing with my hand 1 room for me. I showed her my ticket from Moscow to Saratov. She was replying back with her hand one or two, I insisted one again and again. But later she showed me the room one was private and two was for sharing and she showed the price on her phone (Nokia Phone) for both rooms. This way I was able to find myself a room for that night without speaking Russian language and no chance of having internet on my phone in 2013 on my first day in Russia. After that, I got the WIFI and contacted the responsible person about my stay and the problem was solved. That was my AIESEC Exchange Programm in Saratov. 

The best way to grab the fluency is by being in the environment of that particular language. That would be by moving into a German-speaking country like Germany, if possible or else making some native friends of that language. Even I have seen many people from foreign students are always in their country groups, even after staying in Germany for many years. It's good to be with your countrymen but if you have goals of speaking the language fluently you should also have more native friends, it helps not only in learning the language but also you get familiar with the culture. ​

I have been living in German-speaking houses since my first day in Germany, In Berlin, I was living with a German guest family where I had my full time talking session all day from breakfast to evening tea, which made me or forced me to speak in the German language. Even after that, I have always found a WG(Shared Apartments) with German speakers throughout my journey in Germany since December 2015, excluding a few months where I was living in non-German WGs. Sometimes it is not possible for people with a family to have experiences like me, they can find some Facebook Groups for German speakers or some useful sites Like Meetup Duolingo Events and other for language exchange meetups near you. You can find some tandem partner to practice your language, there are many such apps available on play stores. Italki is one of them. Even I am also offering speaking sessions due to this lockdown situation. You can get information on M4dspeaks Facebook page.

This method tells you to act against your Instincts, for example, if you are too positive you can take big risks without considering any backup plan to fall back. The same works for the very cautious people who may not focus on the rewarding side of the opportunity you are looking at. By wearing these 6 different hats having unique thinking Patterns you force yourself to look at the different viewpoints, it can help you to look at problems from different perspectives, one at a time, to avoid any confusion or misunderstandings.

As mentioned in the video, I have original Powerpoint presentation to help you getting started with 6 thinking hats, and live your dreams.

Keep Exploring. 

• Studium ist nicht einfach.

For MS Students professors are having expectations from you that you know your field as you have done your Bachelor study. In master, you just need the guidance and you will do the work yourself. Class durations are 2*1.5 hours for each subject plus tutorials and Laboratory extra. In these 3 Hours, you might see the 60–70 slides covered. The speed of teaching is faster, the material is self-prepared by the professor and if you miss some explanation of one slide you can’t find it most of the time solution to it other than professor him/her self. People like me will have a hard time being concentrated for 3 hours continuously. Getting an appointment with the professor is also a tough task, on open visit hours there will be many other students waiting outside his office. So it becomes more complicated getting your doubts solves, it’s not impossible but it’s not easy at all.
Other than those organizational issues the course content is high quality and deep into the particular field. Exam based on that material will not ask you to write 3 types of Pumps or some other kind of questions where you need to mug up the text. Exams can be oral and you need to explain the core concepts of the particular topic to pass, for good grades you need to understand the Concepts really well, so you can answer all the counter questions correctly.
​

• Geld wächst nicht auf Bäumen

Money can be a big issue if your family is having a financial issue and are depending on you financially. As a student, you get some exemption from taxes up to a certain limit. But in that certain limit, you can not cover your expenses and also support your family. Even if you are only looking after your self it will have some money shortage. Working hours are limited to 20 Hours/week during Semester time, and at that time you also need to study as well. Other than that yearly limit of 120 full days or 240 half days a student is allowed to work. In that duration on an average if someone uses 100% of these days then average 10/hour one can earn around 9600 Euro. Which is slightly above the tax limit of students (8130 Euro), the tax rate is roughly 10 percent which means if you earn more you pay more taxes. You also need to have compulsory health insurance which costs you around 100 Euro per month. Depending on your City monthly rent starting from 250–600 Euro has to paid by you. Food, Travelling and all other extra costs will make your budget tight if you are too careless. The system supports the student with different incentives but you can not grow that much to afford a luxury life, you will survive for sure, but just survive. All your high-class luxury hobbies will make a big blow on your budget.

Another aspect I assume that one got the job here for part-time, or in university as Help staff. But not everyone will get it, for Jobs at Mac-D and other restaurants will demand fluent German. Again language will be a hurdle if you don’t know it. In that case, you will depend upon seasonal labor jobs at Amazon and other packaging and manufacturing plants where you don’t need to speak much, just repeat the task at your assembly line. It’s not fun, as timings are too bad and locations of Amazon warehouses too. You will waste some more time commuting and affect your health. 9600€ is decent amount though if you are not living in Expensive cities like Munich, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, etc. Again it also depends on individual needs.