Working as a student in Germany is one of the best ways to gain experience and earn some extra cash while studying full-time at a university. It is a great way to expand your network, learn the language and get an understanding of the German workforce. Team Coracle’s last blog gives you 5 compelling reasons why you should work while studying in Germany.
While getting a student job in Germany is a great idea, you need to know the different types of employment that you could get when you are a student in the country. The reason you need to understand these categories is to understand the salary expectations, taxation laws and work hour requirements for each of them.
Let’s dive in!
Part-time Jobs
Part-time werkstudent (working student) jobs are the most coveted among university students. These are mainly in your area of studies and allows you to apply the things you learn in college in a real-life situation. You could also find part-time work in a company that is not related to your course of study which might help you gain skills that will be valuable to your career path in the future.
Part-time jobs are a great means to test out the theoretical knowledge you receive in class but also serves as a springboard for you to launch yourself in the German workforce. Acing your part-time opportunity could be a gateway to full-time employment at the end of your university days. And we know how desirable that could be!
Part-time jobs generally need you to work up to 20-hours a week or 80-hours a month and depending on your industry can end up paying you quite well for your efforts.
Mini Jobs
Mini jobs are a great solution if you have only a limited time in your schedule and want to make the most of it to earn a part of your expenses. A mini job employee is paid a fixed rate of €450 a month and does not need to work more than 47 hours a month.
These types of contracts are common in service sector jobs. They are often preferred by students because you don’t need to contribute towards social security in it. Several employers also prefer this type of contract because of the lack of taxation requirements!
Midi Jobs
Midi jobs are right between a part-time contract and a mini job. In a contract like this, you can be paid between €450 to €1300. You don’t need to pay taxes or contribute towards social security as long as you are getting paid less than 850 euros a month.
However, if it exceeds beyond that, you are obliged to pay the full contribution towards social security based on the amount you get paid. You can always work in a midi job on a student visa as long as you don’t end up exceeding the 20 hours per week mandated by the ausländerbehörde.
Freelancer
While being a freelancer is an option for earning money, you are technically not allowed to work as a self-employed person in Germany while you are a student. Germany has separate laws for working as a freelancer and therefore, as a student this might be too much bureaucracy to wade through to get your work done.
So, unless it is completely unavoidable, freelancing might be the least favourable option out of all the types of employment available to students. And if you indeed want to go through with it, you might need to receive permission from the Agentur für Arbeit (Employment Agency) and the ausländerbehörde before you begin.
Internship
Talking about the most desirable forms of employment, an internship is the best option for a full-time student. Firstly, an internship is most likely a part of your university’s education program. This often would mean that it does not come under the 20 hours a week restriction of your student visa and you can work in a separate job along with it (of course, if you have the time for it!).
Secondly, internships are designed to give you work experience in your area of study and therefore, you are sure to pick up relevant skills for the future through an opportunity like this. And again, who knows if you impress your bosses, a job contract might be waiting for you at the end of it.
And finally, internships pay (albeit, with a few clauses)! Germany is supposed to have some of the highest paying internships in the world given it meets the following criteria -
- It is longer than 3 months
- It is not a mandatory part of your academic course.
However, if you do have to intern as a part of your course and your internship lasts longer than 3 months, you can get paid for the extended period. Moreover, most companies do pay a living wage to their interns. So, despite there being a few unpaid internship opportunities, in most cases, you earn more than just experience! Interesting, right?
Conclusion
Now that you know the different types of work contracts that you can get in Germany as a student employee, you can start looking for opportunities that match your schedule and your area of interest. And if you are looking for more information about pay, timings and tax regulations, stay tuned for our next blog!
