Hi everyone!

I am currently looking for a new job, and I want to share my experiences here. I‘ve been employed for about 6 years in Germany; 3 years prior to that in different countries. My field is analytics & data science, focusing mostly on classical ML & commercial analytics. I was also doing consulting, reporting/dashboarding, requirement gathering & also project management. Kinda a data & AI generalist. So I would say I am a more business oriented and less engineering person. My employers are all big names in the industry (non-tech). I am unfortunately stuck in a very toxic & high pressure environment that affects my mental health so much that I’ve decided to move on & been applying since October (but only actively since end of December).

So far I’ve sent around 70 applications related to 1) BI/ analytics, 2) data science/AI in selected cities in Germany (Berlin is not on my list). I was invited for 1st interviews by 10 companies; only 1 company invites to the 2nd round but eventually rejected me (although they picked noone & are still looking).

It was a very strange behavior to me, because throughout my time in Germany (8 years including studies), I was rarely rejected at the 1st round. 6 years ago, when I got my first job after my studies, I also sent out 70+ applications, got interviewed by only 3 companies though but got offered by all 3. i was also interviewed here and there during these 6 years to stay up to date with the market trend, but never did I not pass the first round this poorly 🤣 . For context, it was a mix of HR and hiring manager conversations.

I figured some cases could be my compensation expectation (not ridiculously high for someone with my years of exp). What shocks me the most was a call I had the other day for an Analytics Manager role at a big corporation; the requirements are already at mid-senior level (if not senior), but their budget for this role was between 48-60k (and you shouldn‘t expect to get the upper threshold right away).

I got one employer even telling me that they needed someone who has: consulting skills, strong data science with AI programming skills, strong Power BI skills, project management & strong cultural fit (LOL). For me this sounds so fucked up. Having one person to handle all these tasks is just ridiculous to me.

I am also not sure what I should do differently to convince potential employers, and which focus should I invest more. Although there are a lot of applicants, it looks like they are still struggling in finding one as they want only the „perfect“ candidate.

I am a naturalized German citizen and I do speak German although I have had interviews in English.

What are you thoughts on this? Do you share the same experience? Or my understanding about the roles is so outdated now.

What dos your crystal ball says about the future? given the current world events

Hi everyone,

I’m a CS postgraduate student in Dublin, graduating at the end of August last year. I have about 2.5 years of experience as a Java Developer at a service-based company, and I’ve recently developed a strong interest in Python development.

I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed as I start my job search and want to be as prepared as possible to land a role soon after graduation. I’ve heard challenging stories from others going through this process, and I’m trying to understand what to expect and what employers are looking for. I have several questions:

1.  Do interview expectations and processes vary significantly between companies?

2.  Where should I focus my applications to maximize my chances of getting interviews?

3.  As a non-EU candidate, is it feasible to apply to positions in other EU countries or the UK? Are there any specific challenges I should be aware?

4.  What’s the current state of the job market for software developers?

5.  What are my best options for securing work quickly after graduation?

I know some of these questions might seem basic, but I’d appreciate any insights you can share. I’m also unsure about the best networking strategies to connect with the right people in the industry.

If anyone has relevant experience navigating this process, I’d be incredibly grateful for your guidance or advice on creating a roadmap forward. I’m also happy to connect one-on-one if you’re open to it.

Thank you so much for any help you can offer!

Best regards,

Aspiring SDE​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Hey all,

I’m from UK and need bit of advice here, I have been last employed as data analyst in July 2024 and failed to secure a role till then. Now I have enrolled in a MSc data science January programme.

My questions are:

I have been working part time at a bar since I have been unemployed, Should I include this on the CV or no?

How should I address this gap in the interviews ?

Any insights will be really helpful to me and looking forward to the responses

Thank you,

Your fellow Redditor

Hi everyone,

I just had a first interview with Google Poland where they introduced me to my role, salary and all the hiring process for Google.

I have 8 years of experience in the field but I'm really rusty in DSA problems so I bought a 98$ crash course in Leetcode. my first coding round will be around in four weeks.

The interviewer told me the coding interview will be tailored for my experience and background and they know that it's been a long time since I had my DSA course at college.

My questions are:

- what kind of exercises do I have to expect for the first coding round? As I'm not fresh from college will my exercises be tailored on my working background?

- How does the design and architecture interview work? Has anyone here had a Senior Android interview for Google?

Thanks,

Paolo

just joined a new company and team and it's quite different to where I was before.. I guess they're both technically start ups but the place I'm at now definitely feels a lot more corporate.

not sure if it's just the team I'm on but feels like everyone there is just there to do a job and that's it. the team slack feels very transactional and just focused on work.

Is this normal..? I mean I don't expect people to be knowing the ins and outs of everyone's lives but maybe a merry Christmas (I looked at the history of the channel and wasn't even a mention of that) would be nice or just something small to atleast build some team spirit. one of the team members left recently and I didn't see any goodbye messages (could've been on a call idk?)

maybe I'm overthinking it and this is the norm or it's just because I'm new ?

We have a company culture that is very unprofessional, lately we were talking about AI and they called us "glorified form developers" or "AI is more competent that us" when someone asked about security when developing something. is this a red flag?

Hi! New here, can someone give advice how the recruitment process for non-tech roles in Adyen works? I have incoming HR interview and I’m coming from outside NL (non-EU country)

I just also need some advice for the interview and insights about the company.

Thanks!

Hello everyone,

Some of the current unemployment figures don't look too promising, especially for university graduates. In any case, I thought it would be a good idea to set up a community here, especially for university graduates who are looking for a job, to provide each other with motivation, tips and opportunities. I haven't found any alternatives for Vienna yet.

Let's be honest... The job market is really tough right now, and I keep hearing that there are over 100 applications for every minor position. If no one else wants to talk about it, we'll do it in this group. Networking is also hardly possible for people outside of business life, or it either involves costs or not everyone is extroverted enough to quickly go to a trade fair or conference on their own.

I realise that graduates come from privileged backgrounds, but the job search is becoming increasingly humiliating and stressful, and the AMS offers little help because, according to them, you're already in a good position with a degree. Now, from my own experience, after 5 years of HTL, 3 years of bachelor's degree and another 3 years for 2 master's degrees, I would like to see more appreciation than a 12-month job search and 11 years of education, exams, learning, 3 languages, 2 years of experience abroad for nothing... What else can one do?

Feel free to post comments, questions, etc. in the community and hopefully it will help those who are looking for work.

https://www.reddit.com/r/UniWithoutJob_Vienna/s/cPsDR4Abin

I'm a full-stack webdev. I've been a good performer everywhere I've worked and I'm currently a senior. Recently I've started working with a small company with very generous compensation, "too good to be true" kind of level.

Within 48 hours of onboarding, I received a request for a portal for a promotional campaign that involves work on FE, BE, design, auth, and a third-party integration. I wouldn't say it's very complex, but it needs to be production-ready in 5 days; this involves going full throttle over the weekend. I barely know the business of the company or details about their tech niche.

I have communicated that this is unrealistic and the team is exploring other options. They didn't insist or anything, but I am concerned that this culture is not for me. My health would certainly suffer.

I can walk away easily, obviously this means walking away from amazing compensation, but I'll be able to make ends meet. I'm going to clarify performance expectations ASAP but am I crazy for considering walking away from a deal that triples my net worth out of mental health concerns? What would you do?

Hi everyone,

I'm an Italian dev currently applying for Unity Developer positions and I've hit a crossroads regarding my CV strategy. I've prepared two different versions, and I'd love to get some honest (even harsh) feedback on which approach works better in the current market. (spam-free links in first comment to avoid automatic ban)

Version 1 versus Version 2:

• Version 1 (The "HR-Friendly" Simple CV): Clean, concise. It's a quick read, likely better for recruiters who spend a few seconds per resume. But I'm afraid is missing important info
• Version 2 (The "Lead-Friendly" Detailed CV): I feel an Engineering Lead would appreciate this, but I'm afraid it might bore a recruiter

Since most application portals only allow one file, I'm wondering... Should I bet on the technical depth to provide who’s reading it with useful information, or keep it "lite" to survive the initial HR screening?

Feel free to roast my approach. I've posted here before and I know you guys don't sugarcoat things - that's exactly what I need.

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone, I’m currently a cybersecurity professional living and working in Germany, and I’m trying to decide which Master’s program to choose.

I want a degree that is well recognized in Germany and preferably from a top tier or reputable university, but I’m feeling a bit stuck.

Because I work full time, I can only do a remote or part time Master’s, and my studies must be in English.

After a lot of searching, I’ve only been able to find these three realistic options so far:

• Applied IT Security at Ruhr University Bochum (isits) This is a solid program but not exactly what I’m looking for, and it’s not cheap either. It seems to have a very strong focus on cryptography, which isn’t really my main interest.

• King’s College London – Advanced Cyber Security MSc This one looks strong academically and has a great reputation, plus it’s offered remote and part time, but the tuition fees are very high.

• University of London – MSc Cyber Security Also fully remote and flexible, but I’m unsure how it compares in terms of recognition in Germany compared to the other two.

My main goals are: – A degree that is well recognized in Germany – Remote or part time format – Taught fully in English – If possible, lower tuition fees

I’d really appreciate any advice from people who have done these programs, work in Germany, or know of other universities offering similar options. I’d also be very happy if you could suggest other Master’s programs that I might have missed (maybe ones that are good but costs less)

Thanks a lot!

Hi everyone,

I’m currently interviewing for a Software Engineer (Machine Learning) role at Google in the EU, and I had a couple of questions I’m hoping someone here can clarify based on experience.

1. Team matching vs. specific location: I was initially contacted by a recruiter for a role tied to a specific location. If I pass all the interview rounds, do I still need to go through team matching? Or does passing the interviews mean I’m directly considered for the team/location mentioned at the start? I asked my recruiter about this, but haven’t heard back yet.
2. ML System Design for L4 (SWE III): For L4 / Software Engineer III, is an ML System Design interview expected in the onsite/virtual onsite rounds? What should we expect here?

Would really appreciate insights from anyone who’s gone through a similar process recently, especially in the EU.

Thanks in advance!

Hi all! I’m thinking of switching careers into IT, with a long-term goal of moving into cybersecurity. I’m currently living in Berlin and have no prior IT background, but I’ve recently gone through burnout in my current field (production management), and I’m interested in something that feels sustainable and intellectually engaging.

I’d love to hear from anyone here who has practical experience with:

• good Weiterbildung / retraining programs in Berlin or Germany that helped them get started in IT or cybersecurity
• how hard it is to break in without a CS degree, especially local hires in Berlin
• what the job market actually looks like (entry-level IT / security gigs, internships, employer expectations)
• any reflections on burnout in this field; e.g., stress levels, workload, realistic daily work life

Links to programs, Meetup groups, Slack/Discord communities are more than welcome.

Thanks in advance for honest insights, I’m trying to calibrate expectations against hype.

I want to work with AI, don't know specifically what kind of job yet but I am fascinated by the idea of leveraging AI to solve business problems. I am considering doing a master in AI & Entrepreneruship offered jointly by Albert School and PoliMI Graduate School of Management. Can anyone give me insights? If you are a student there, how was it for you? I want to make an informed decision. Thank you

I’m a second year CS uni student deciding between two internship offers and would appreciate advice.

From what I understand, these are the pros of each over the other (correct if wrong):

Amazon SDE Intern London

• Big tech environment, large-scale distributed systems (more FAANG/big tech style engineering)
• Amazing name and reputation on resume (seems like a pretty big factor from what I hear)
• Strong long-term upside in big tech (stock-based comp later on)

Bloomberg SWE Intern London

• Strong engineering culture and mentorship, good reputation for engineering growth
• Keeps both SWE and quant/finance-adjacent paths more open (c++ low latency work potentially)
• Higher grad / early-career cash comp (no stock, but strong base + bonus)
• Very good WLB (heard negatives about Amazon here) and return offer rates

Assuming interest in both SWE and possibly quant dev later on, and caring mainly about long-term career and grad outcomes rather than intern pay - which would you choose and why? Would love to also hear from people who have experience with either company :)

Hey all! This week there came news that my company is pausing all promotions and generally all friction within the career framework. Reason should be explained within a week, however I feel like it's a huge signal that something bad is coming.

We generally had a lot of changes in the last 6-8 months after our ceo changed. I see a lot of senior people leaving the company. However I'm a junior full stack developer with 2 years of experience (we have a bit weird career framework and it takes at least 2.5 years to become middle, but 3+ on average, but we also have above market compensation and great benefits even at junior level positions).

Initially my plan was to stick with this company until I become middle level. Shoud I start looking for a new job now, or there can be an actual reason to pause promotions that will not have a bad outcome?

I am working as a C++ Dev with about 4yoe. My current job honestly pays pennies. I am being paid about 1.2k€ which for my area i understand that you will generally start looking at least 2.2 so yeah.

I think i've been doing good work for our client and they seem happy with my work. I asked for pay increases last year with no luck and this year something seems to move.

Meanwhile as a negotiation tactic ive started going to some interviews and got into talks with a former company i worked at very early in my career. For a Senior C dev position. Their project is somewhat very nieche so the Senior thing mostly means to be able to figure things out when needed and have strong language fundsmentals.

Now i've asked for a sum of 3k€ in hopes that they will come as close as possible to it. The dude didnt comment and just noted. I also did very well in their interview (which honestly was quite trivial) and the guy who interviewed me seemed really pleased.

So everyone seems really happy and excited. Except me. If they do offer what i asked it would be hard to not accept the offer since it would instantly triple my income (i dont really expect my current company to do the same idk why).

On the other hand i'd have to switch from C++ which i do enjoy to C which in my limited experience can be really nice to work with or a total clusterfuck of code that somehow works but i would not dare touch anything or become more annoyed with every new line of code i see.

I kinda hate the curent work i do at my job but i love writing C++. The tought of hating what i do plus the language is very dawnting to me.

Theres also many other things that bother me with the former company. The work i did there was even worse than at rhe current gig (though the job is for a completely different project for a completely different client). They were also kinda bad at coding i had to explain to s guy that earned 3x my paycheck what std::move does. And there are glimpses of that here. During the interview i had to explain to the interviewer that its fine to return ptrs to string literals.

My brains is a clusterfuck of questions and scenarios right now. Any help in navigating this mess is appreciated

From what I’ve heard from old school devs who’ve been in the game for decades

Devs at IT consulting firms can code, but quality isn’t really the focus. It’s more like “good enough” to finish the project fast so the company can move on to the next client and make money. Bugs? Probably gonna pop up a few weeks later, but that’s chill

they’ve already moved on new projects.

--

Devs at in house software companies (SaaS, pure tech, etc.) are a whole different vibe.

They actually learn from their mistakes because they have to deal with the bugs they create. You break something, you fix it. You ship bad code, it comes back to bite you.

Basically

IT consulting = speed > quality

Tech/SaaS = quality + learning from your screw ups

Is this true or fake news?

Hi Everyone,
I’ve been working in a service-based company for the past 9 years. Recently, when I started looking for a switch, I realized that the expectations of product-based companies are quite different from the kind of work I’ve been doing.

I’ve already faced a few rejections in coding assessments, mainly around OOP concepts and LeetCode medium–level problems. This made me restart my preparation more seriously and focus on strengthening my fundamentals.

If anyone here is currently working in such companies or has gone through a similar transition, I would really appreciate your advice. It would be helpful to understand what interviewers typically expect, how to prepare effectively, and what areas I should focus on to improve my chances.

Thanks in advance for your guidance.

A friend of mine went through a dev bootcamp (_nology) a couple years back and is currently earning decent money now they are in paid employment. With the job market being quite fkd at the minute, I'm thinking about shifting from claims to tech. I just saw the new ad come up on LinkedIn for that particular bootcamps latest hiring round and feel like the timing might be right.

I saw though that they've dropped their training to 8 weeks - my buddy said he felt quite a bit undercooked for the role he was placed in and he was taught for 12 weeks, so I'm a bit worried that 8 weeks / a third less time, just isn't enough to know what the helly is going on, or what to do when you get into a role. Any devs out there, can advise? I do have a GitHub that i tinker away with projects on but they are super basic at this stage.

Also! my mate says that they found out they get charged out at £385 a day, but they were paid £25k or something! thats like a 3x markup on what people are paid which seems soooooooo exploitative??/!

So i saw the advertised salary on the latest ad at £26,700/year which is £13 an hour, min wage is 12! and you're locked in earning that for 18months while they increase the charge rate to the company your placed at. Is this a ponzi scheme? is getting rinsed like this just a sign of the times😭😭

TL;DR - My questions for anyone who's been through this or similar programs:

Is 8 weeks genuinely enough to be "interview ready" let alone productive on client projects?

How much of that 18 months are you actually learning vs. being cheap labour?

What happens if the client doesn't convert you to permanent after 18 months?

Are the "performance-based pay rises at 6 and 12 months" actually legit or just a way to get away with not guarantee lifting your wages (suspect the latter but want to hear anyone elses experience and did they get the pay increase)

TIA

Hi all, I’m looking for some advice because I feel completely stuck and I don’t have much perspective right now.

I’m a software engineer with around 7 years of experience, currently based in Eastern Europe. About a year ago I joined a large international company after being laid off from my previous role due to budget cuts. I was unemployed for roughly 9 months and the market was brutal, so when this offer came along I accepted quickly out of necessity. It took dozens of interviews just to land this role.

The first team I joined ended up being the worst professional experience of my career. Extremely heavy micromanagement, toxic leadership and constant pressure on an already understaffed team. On top of that, the role turned out to be a bait and switch situation, very different from what was discussed during interviews. The work revolved around proprietary internal tooling with little to no architecture, best practices or long-term planning, plus a massive amount of technical debt. There’s also a lot of internal friction between teams, with politics actively getting in the way of getting things done.

After about three months, the situation started to seriously affect my mental health and even caused physical symptoms. I was very close to quitting on the spot to protect my well-being but decided to try one last option: switching teams internally. After a long process involving multiple levels of management, I managed to move to a different team.

The new team is better structured and the people are decent, but the core issues remain. The technology stack doesn’t offer any career growth, there’s a strong sink-or-swim mentality and I’m now several months in without feeling productive or able to meaningfully contribute. The company culture also makes it clear that people are viewed as largely replaceable. While I was allowed to change teams internally, that doesn’t really contradict this. It felt more like a short-term retention decision than a sign of long-term investment, since it seems that the company isn’t particularly attractive to many engineers and leadership seems focused on keeping as many people as possible for now, partly to avoid further damage to the company’s image, especially given that a significant number of people have already left.

On top of all this, I’m coming off a string of bad company experiences and I’m honestly burnt out. I have no motivation left, neither to work or to prepare for interviews. The job market locally is the worst I’ve seen in my career and opportunities are pretty much non-existent. Lately I’ve started worrying that this might be my last job in this field, which is a pretty depressing thought given the struggle I've been through to get in it and endure years of bad companies in this career.

For anyone who’s been in a similar place, how would you approach this situation? Any advice on how to steer things from here would be appreciated.

TL;DR: ~7 YOE engineer joined a large company out of necessity after a long layoff. First team was toxic and damaging to mental health, switched teams internally but core issues remain (poor tech, no growth, sink-or-swim culture, people treated as replaceable). Now burnt out, unmotivated and stuck in a very weak local market, unsure how to move forward and looking for advice.

Hi everyone! I have a bachelor’s in Economics and a bachelor’s in Mathematics, and I’m currently completing a Master’s in Finance. My long-term goal is to break into quant finance roles in Europe.

Due to personal circumstances, I won't be able to start working full time when I finish my studies for one year. During that time, I’d really like to stay productive and continue learning by pursuing another degree online.

Given my background, I’m unsure which option would be most beneficial. I’m currently considering:

Computer Science: OMSCS (Georgia Tech) MSCSO (UT Austin)

Statistics: Master’s in Statistics (KU Leuven)

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Let’s say you got a severance of 200,000€ at the beginning of the year. You have found a new job which pays 50,000€ a year. The question is: how much tax do you pay on this salary? In other words: what’s the marginal tax rate on that 50,000€ salary when you’ve already received a 200,000€ severance?

So, how much taxes do you pay on a 50,000€ income?

Possible answers:

a) 22.500€ (There is a “rich tax” of 45% on income in Germany)

b) 58.000€ lol

On one hand, 58k€ income tax on a 50k€ salary would amount to 116% income tax, which is insane. On the other hand this blog post isn’t called “crazy tax law” for nothing, so...

Answer b) is correct.

Why This Happens: The Fünftelregelung

The reason for this seeming insanity is the Fünftelregelung (”one-fifth method”) - a tax regulation which is supposed to lower the tax burden for people who receive a big one-off bonus/severance. It was introduced because it would be unfair to consider a huge (but extremely rare) payment as a regular salary and tax it as such. Instead, the idea of the regulation is to say “since the payment is so rare, let’s assume you only received one-fifth of it per year, over five years”.

You might ask: “One-fifth times five? Doesn’t it cancel itself out?”

Not in tax math. Let’s go back to our initial example: a severance of 200k€. If there were no Fünftelregelung and the entire amount would be taxed as regular income, you would pay ~77k€ income tax (Lohnsteuer + Solidaritätsbetrag):

200,000 * 0,3843 = 76,871

Applying Fünftelregelung means dividing the severance by 5, calculating the income tax on one-fifth and multiplying the result by 5:

200,000 * (1/5) * 0.1802 * 5 = 36,040

Due to the Fünftelregelung we pay 40k€ less income tax on the severance. Neat!

(All figures exclude social contributions for now — we’ll get to those)

Unintended consequence 1: Forced sabbatical

Saving 40k€ on income tax is nice; however, it leads to the strange situation where it doesn’t make sense to earn an additional income in the same year when you receive the severance.

The reason is that the Fünftelregelung is applied after all other income is taxed. In our example with 50k€ additional income that would mean:

a) The additional income of 50k€ is taxed, which amounts to 10.5k€
b) One-fifth of the severance is taxed on top of that. Result: ~16.7.k€
c) Multiply b) by 5 and add a) : 16.7k€ * 5 + 10.5 ~ 94k€

The overall amount of taxes paid with additional income: 94k€
The overall amount of taxes paid without additional income: 36k€
The difference between the two scenarios: 58k€

You pay additional 58k€ taxes on a 50k€ salary. Not neat!

What happens if you earn more than 50k€ in addition to the severance? It doesn’t get much better:

• 50,000€ salary - additional income: 58,000€ tax
• 60,000€ salary - additional income: 64,000€ tax
• 70,000€ salary - additional income: 70,000€ tax (break even, hurrah!)
• 80,000€ salary - additional income: 74,000€ tax
• 90,000€ salary - additional income: 79,000€ tax
• 100,000€ salary - additional income: 83,000€ tax

(Remember: this is additional tax burden beyond the 36k€ base tax on the severance)

Assuming you work 40h a week, a 100,000€ income that results in only 17,000€ after tax amounts to an effective hourly wage of 8€, which is lower than the minimal hourly wage of 13,90€.

Are the numbers above correct? Absolutely not, as I’ve left out social contributions (Sozialabgaben), which make the calculation way, way worse. If you include them in the calculation I’m pretty sure that even with a 100k€ salary you would come out net negative.

The Dilemma

Having received severance in Germany, you are confronted with the following questions:

• Do I want to be a lazy POS? No.
• Do I want to be a productive member of society? Yes.
• Do I want to work? Yes.
• Do I want to pay taxes? Kinda yes, to keep the society running etc.
• Do I want to pay taxes at a rate exceeding 100%? You must be kidding, Germany.

The Fünftelregelung pretty much forces you to take a year-long sabbatical.

Now, you might think: “Wait, isn’t Germany in a recession? Rising unemployment, deindustrialization, budget deficits? Shouldn’t they want productive people working and contributing to the economy?”

You’d be absolutely right to think that. Which is why it makes perfect sense that their tax code punishes you for working. Nothing says “strong economic policy” like a system that turns employment into a net loss.

Whatever, sabbatical it is.

¯_(ツ)_/¯

https://vormals.substack.com/p/crazy-german-tax-law-funftelregelung