Moving from London to Munich

[Meghadabi]

Hi, my partner and I are moving from London to Munich for one year on his work transfer. I will have to look for a job once I am in Munich and I was wondering if you can help/ advice me on what the job opportunities are like for an English speaker there. I have low-mid level account & Business management experience. I have worked in film industry - production roles. I am willing to start small and work in any field, even work as for unpaid opportunities to gain experience. Thanks

Hi @Meghadabi, we're just bumping this thread for you in the hope that some Mumsnetters will be along shortly with some advice and helpful ideas.

Hi there, as a native speaker of English you always have the option of doing a TEFL certificate and teaching English. But be careful, such jobs are usually very low paid.
As in most other major European cities, English only jobs exist at the top and the bottom. If you are an expert in your field, it can be possible. Or in some large companies the langauge is English anyway for people working in certain departments.
Or at the bottom, in hostels, hotels, cafes and pubs you can get by as an English speaker.

Think about what you could do in this year. Do you need to work? Could you take the year and learn a new skill, or devote yourself to learning German? In a year you could learn the langauge, and if you extend your stay be in a much better position to find a role.

My advice would be to start an intensive German course at the Goethe Institut on your first day, and give yourself three months learning German to find your feet and look around at the opportunities.

www.goethe.de/ins/de/en/kur/ort/mue.html

Munich is one of the main centres of film/TV production in Germany so there might be opportunities there. Check out Bavaria Film Studios for example.

I definitely would suggest learning German, it’s a great opportunity to learn the language while you’re surrounded by it. Most Germans speak at least passable English but still your experience and job prospects will be so much better with at least a little bit of German.

It’s not too difficult a language to learn for someone who knows English as it has many similarities, especially in the vocabulary. Don’t be daunted by the grammar as for most purposes nobody will care if you get the odd ending wrong!

Viel Glück!

Thank you for writing back. I will definitely learn German and will check out the link. I am also looking at non profit organisations that I could work and volunteer with.

Thanks for writing back. I do have some experience working in the Indian film industry so this may be a good route to take. Will look up the Bavarian film studio and other similar opportunities. I do plan to take a German speaking course soon.

Hi,
I live in Munich and I can imagine that the university (LMU) would be a good place to look for a job.
There are also companies like BMW and Siemens.
If you have any other questions about the town/area, feel free to PM me, I'm more than happy to help x

Sky Deutschland 's offices are in Munchen. Their official language is English so may he worth approaching.

Learn German anyway, to look willing but.

Good luck.

Hi, Thank you so much for being so helpful. I will be moving in September and will definitely get in touch for your help :)

Munich is absolutely lovely in September. Just try to avoid the Oktoberfest (yes it starts in September, long story) and the area around it if you aren't specifically headed there because it will totally taint your view of our lovely city ;)

I live just outside Munich - the FB group for the Munich Professional Women's Network pops up sometimes because aquaintances are members - they also have a website pwnmunich.net/

There is a fairly big community of professional Indian ex pats, (if your Indian film industry experience indicates you have Indian heritage) and there are Indian expat meetup groups which might be useful for networking.

There are a lot of English speakers in IT companies, especially Microsoft and Siemens.

Thank you for the very useful suggestions. I will definitely check out the FB group and the link for networking and community support. I am in fact Indian :) and it would be nice to join some group for meet-ups and social acquaintances. Thanks again