Rather than saying it dark sides of MS in Germany I will call it difficulties one face during his/her MS in Germany. I have seen the list of persons who are following these particular question are Indian. As an Indian, I will highlight that particular section too.
In the supermarket, you need German to get the right product for you or you to have to always translate product name inside the market, which will cost your time a lot in the beginning. Then at the counter, if you have some queries than again language comes as Barrier as you can’t expect Counterperson to answer in English. On a day to day life, there will be so many incidents where you will feel left out if you don’t know the language, you might not find some activities to do in your free times. It’s not at all the dark sides as you can always overcome it by learning the language, which might require some effort but it’s worth doing.
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. Everything has a proper process and you need to follow it within the given deadline. Many students need to wait for a year because they didn’t register for the exam on time. Once the deadline is gone no one can help you not even the professor. If you don’t follow the rules then you will face bad consequences. Examples like Registering for the exam, Deregistration of the exam, taking a free semester, thesis submission and registration. These things have proper document work to followed by students, and they are strict about it. It can be online or offline depending on your university. Other than that it’s hard to finish your study in regular course duration also for locals, as doing internships, writing project reports and performing good in Exams need more preparation in comparison to another country. So it’s normal even for bright students to take one or two extra semesters to finish the Course.
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.
These are the major aspects which can be irritating for a foreign student. But that doesn’t make MS in Germany a bad option for your higher studies. It’s still worthy to face these complications for better career possibilities. I hope I have served the question properly, I am thinking about writing an answer to the Bright side of MS In Germany. I will surely post the link once I am done with that. Thanks for Reading. At the time of writing this question, I have crossed the 3-year mark of my time in Germany. I was always thinking about this question for my self, and by writing this question I want to relive this 3 year of the journey by sharing the experience with you all reader. I moved to Germany on 18th December 2015 on the last working day of that year before school vacations. It was a good welcome for me as Christmas was just a week away and the whole country was decorated and happiness was in the air. My first city in Germany was Berlin, where I initially stayed with a German guest family. The reason behind moving to Germany was higher studies and I chose to do my Master in German taught the course, so in Berlin, I need to do my language course and after getting the required certificate I need to start my study, that was the plan I was following. I was told by the German teacher back home (she was also working in Berlin, she was on a contract of 2 months for language teaching in India), Germans are pretty cold by nature. My host or I say Guest mother (Gast mutter, she also used to introduce her as my Gast mutter when we are out) prepared food for me almost a week and showed me everything in the Hause and also markets and localities around. I enjoyed this as it was vacation time for me and I had time to know the people closely. She also invited me to the Christmas party at her daughter's place and we had a great evening. I am mentioning it as I was never away from my home till I finished my bachelor study and suddenly moving to a foreign country can have a negative impact on a person, feeling the homesick and missing family is hard for some people, here my guest mother made me my start in Germany a lot smoother. She was a teacher by profession and we used to talk during breakfast about different topics such as history, war and etc. , which eventually helped me to improve my German and also who doesn’t like stories. When I first came I had done A1 level exam and also finished the half class for A2 level, so I can understand the easy conversation, her stories made me confident to speak fluently. I stayed there for 4 months and during that time I was doing my language classes, around July in 2016 I finished my C1 class, and by end of October, I appeared for DSH, Telc C1, and TestDAF. Out of this 3 exam, I qualified in two (Telc and TestDAF), which was needed to get the admission in any German taught course across Germany. I can say 2016 was a year of learning for me, as I not only to learn the German language but also the different aspects of German culture and behavior. Being in Berlin it was also fun as Berlin is quite open and famous for it’s welcoming and colorful life. By October I had 3 confirm admissions with me. I chose TU Chemnitz as it was directly connected with my Bachelor content. Until now everything was smooth and I was also faster than others, by qualifying exam soon and also securing admission in 9 months of time. In Chemnitz, I started my study in Germany, everything was going fine. In November I was going to India for some family function, but I fell sick and I couldn't go to INDIA. Also, I didn’t appear for the exam as I was kind of under stress because of the sudden events, which I was not expecting. This was the time where you need your family the most, as they are the one who takes care of you during sickness. Here I was dealing with everything on my own and also the German medical system is also a little bit complicated for me. I learned a lot about human behaviors and about my strength and weakness. It also made me distinguish between fake and real friends. I almost wasted 6 months in this scenario and in the meantime, I decided to leave Chemnitz and decided to start freshly Master in HAMBURG. After skipping that semester at Chemnitz I moved to Hamburg around May 2017. This city made me fight and repair the damage done in the last few months. I started my study with a positive spirit and cleared 6 subjects in the first semester. apart from that, I was enjoying my life by taking part in different activities. My time in Hamburg was really amazing as it helped me financially, mentally and physically fit. I made lots of close friends whom I can trust. At the end of the year 2018 in September, I moved to Hannover to start my internship and thesis to finish my Master. Professors helped me finding this position and everything is running smooth. I am Automotive engineer and will start working as a full-time professional soon this year. This is my Journey till now, I traveled a lot in Europe, tried so many fun activities, adventure sports and met some really cool people around the world. Initially my plan was to get out of my routine life in India, Master in Germany seems to be an easy and fast way, but it turned out to be a little bit longer than my stupid plan, I wanted to return back in 2 years,now I am thinking of staying 5 more years to make a strong career and than move back. A lot of things has changed in this duration. Some in my self and some in my way of thinking and taking things. I can’t go more in details but I would list the things I would like to share with you all.
so, for me, it is kind of roller coaster ride and I am really enjoying it. I find myself more organized and peaceful than I used to be way back home. To summarize a good experience of my life and still counting. Germany is the pioneer country to open its University doors to all students across the EU and non-EU as well. As per my experience and perception, they have planned more from their side to make the experience of incoming students better and worth sharing. This includes the International office in every university to make the orientation easy and find some contacts assuming you don’t know anyone here in Germany. This way you don’t feel left out as a student here. Apart from this, they provide help for accommodation search, German classes, scholarship information, financial guidance, and some intercultural activities to make one’s student life memorable. These programmes have no discrimination whether you are from the EU or Non-EU. This summarizes the official university guidance and support for International students. Apart from feeling welcomed, you save money as there are no tuition fees in Germany. As semester contribution you pay around 250–400 euro depending on your city and university. This includes the free transportation ticket and fees to access university infrastructure such as library and canteen, etc. With your student ID card, you can avail student discount for many things starting from movie theater to museum and other entertainments. If you have always dreamed about traveling European countries such as Switzerland, the Netherlands, etc then it’s really easy and cheap to travel to many beautiful European countries. German university doesn’t have so complicated schedules so you can always plan a short vacation even during the semester. Safety is never a concern about being in Germany. People follow rules and they do not make unnecessary arguments. They are also helpful, but the thing is you need to ask once. You can roam around late night in most German cities without any issue. Police and security people are always there to help you out, in case of emergency. Germany is known as the powerhouse of Europe and has a large number of job opportunities for young professionals. You can start working in your field even when you haven’t finished your studies. They pay you well and also at the same time prepare you for the industry. This kind of experience can be a dream for the student in many countries. Germany in comparison to other EU nations offers very reasonable expenses on Food and living. The supermarket offers high-quality food products at a very affordable price. Accommodation is quite tricky in Germany as well but way lot cheaper in comparison to Switzerland or the Netherlands. There are tons of Indian Restaurants and Indian shops to fulfill your taste desires. You can find all the needed things to cook your Favorites food from back home,regardless of which Indian state you come from. There are also many temples, Gurudwara and masjids managed by Indian community if you are little on a religious side and like to celebrate such festivals, you can do it here as well. You can travel around Europe with your schengen visa to fulfill your dream of living ZNMD moments, and what not you have everything you need for your career and adventurous life abroad. Now getting back to your question How is the life of Indian students in Germany? It’s the same as other non-EU students …no Special treatment or no extra discrimination.but there are many things listed above offered by Germany which also expects the same kind of response from students as well to make harmony. It’s really good for a great lifestyle and quality education in Germany. By following native rules, respecting the native culture, being reasonable and not creating any disturbance in university as well as in day to day life, then there is no issue for Indian students in Germany. Thanks for reading. |
Ankit
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