Working as a student

It is easy to find some kind of job and earn a bit of side income - but don‘t expect it to be a dream job with good pay. You will not be able to earn your full living expenses (and studying at the same time)!
Waitresses are required to speak good German, so what is your level there?

Carolyn1988 wrote:

Hi everyone, I'm going to be moving to Berlin next year from Canada to get a degree in psychology. I seen some comments about how unlikely certain people can move for work if they are not from Europe from things that aren't needed (like being a waitress for example). I know that when I apply for a student visa I can work certain hours. Would it be difficult to find a job in Berlin with a work visa for students? I'm not really qualified for anything so would I be able to find work as a waitress (just for an example)? 6 years is a lot of money (the minimum amount for students x 6 years) and I was hoping to find work to be able to keep me in Germany instead of trying to save for 5 more years worth of the minimums so I wouldn't have to work. Does anyone know or have experience in this situation?

There are university-associated organizations that help students get part-time jobs or one-time earning opportunities. (Used to be called TUSMA but don't know whether that's still the case.)

In Berlin, especially in the tourist areas, many restaurants hire waiting staff whose English is better than their German. A certain American chain Restaurant in the western city center doesn't 'do' ordering in German at all. Irish pubs and the like are also known for hiring English speakers.

Fast food chains are also known to hire people with little German (you may have to start in the kitchen).

Berlin is not a bad place for English speaking job hunting. I know the numerous English language schools are always eager to hire native speakers as teachers,  holiday camp counselors, camp managers, sometimes also administrative staff. I think they would appreciate your background in psychology. Mostly, they expect you to work freelance though.

The big unknown here is COVID. Will restaurants be able to stay open? Will holiday camps be allowed to take place?

By the way, if you will be studying psychology, your German must already be pretty good, right?

Don't think a degree in psychology takes so long? Education to get certified in fields using psychology to treat people might indeed need so long - or longer. To be a psychiatrist means studying medicine with a specialty in psychology. To be a psychologist may indeed require training beyond a mere degree in psychology. Guess it depends what you are planning to do with psychology since it is a very broad field.

But what is your level of German? One needs a C1 level of German to study medicine, there is no English language program. Other medically related fields like nursing and physiotherapy require B2 German. So I would think a psychologist would likely need at least B2 or C1 to work. And most German taught university programs are on a C1 level. Don't know if there is a English taught one for psychology; if so it won't lead to many, if any, job opportunities in Germany without fluent German.

But as Beppi mentioned, lots of typical part time jobs for students in things like food service are likely possible. But this will not likely be enough to pay one's total living expenses and one still needs the required amount in a blocked account to cover this to have a study visa.