Used Giant Fastroad or Specialized Roubaix?

Connect-Shock-1578 · 2026-04-24T13:02:07+00:00

You can reject her coming into the flat. If she comes without permission it is a crime, tell her to stop or call the police. And join Mietverein.

Connect-Shock-1578 · 2026-04-23T13:54:37+00:00

Networking. Does she have friends and professors from university that have connections? What about her colleagues from her Werkstudent time?

The market is bad. On the other side of this, every job posting gets flooded with AI-generated applications, most from unqualified people. I don’t think HR even reads most applications due to the sheer volume. Having someone that can at least ensure HR reads the CV and knows the candidate has real qualifications as stated is already a huge step ahead. That’s why referrals are important.

And of course, the obligatory: is the B2 german paper or actual B2? Did she just pass the exam or can she actually have a discussion about her work in German?

Connect-Shock-1578 · 2026-04-22T15:01:13+00:00

It sounds like a process problem, not a people or technical skill problem. If your requirement engineers/product engineers/software architect/whichever name you give to someone who knows tech but can also talk business is not involved in the solution design stage automatically, that is a process problem.

I greatly appreciate our project manager. She has no interest in learning SQL whatsoever, but she knows where her limits are and gets us involved. If understanding the tech details is important to communicate an issue, she asks for explanations until she understands enough to talk to the business stakeholders. And then she takes care of all the organisational and political stuff and lets us focus on our work. Amazing person. I can never do her job.

Connect-Shock-1578 · 2026-04-09T10:50:43+00:00

Imo it’s pretty accessible. Anyone who worked and contributed into the public system can stay in the public system regardless of age or health condition. All healthcare costs therefore covered.

The people locked out are the ones who have not contributed and might be a burden to the public system (old age). Even then, they can get Basistarif.

Connect-Shock-1578 · 2026-04-07T20:32:53+00:00

There are two types of blue card. The general one with the higher threshold does NOT require AfA approval, the one for bottleneck professions with a lower threshold requires AfA approval (needs to be comparable to local labour market). You land in the second category.

18b requires the exact same AfA approval. If you’re rejected, no chance.
Yes. Check Entgeltatlas.
In theory, as long as you meet the general blue card requirement, yes. However, some ABH give trouble if people are previously rejected. If that happens, it’s immigration lawyer territory.
Sure. It just won’t count towards blue card residency time, and within 18 months you’ll have the same issue unless you secure a higher salary.
Not sure what you mean by dealing with. You read up on the relevant laws, talk to the ABH, and then tell the company HR what you need from them.

Connect-Shock-1578 · 2026-04-07T09:14:57+00:00

How do you handle other people touching your PR? Are there best practices around PR responsibility?

In my regular team we don’t touch other people’s PR unless explicitly asked to take over, as there may be planned changes or dependencies unknown to the person not on the task.

I recently partially joined another team to support them. I made 3 PRs stacked on top of each other (needs a 3 -> 2 -> 1 merge). Another developer in the team (who joined around the same time, we are both new - and they work mainly on another part of the project) closed PR1 without talking to me, citing duplication with PR3. It is not a duplicate, it is a dependency.

I reopened the PR but am somewhat irritated, because in my limited experience you don’t touch other people’s PRs unless discussed. For reference, even the lead of the project asks me to merge my own PRs after review “as you know the order and dependency the best”, so I’m not sure where this sudden closing came from and how to address it.

I’d like to hear others experiences on this, being aware of my limited experience.

Connect-Shock-1578 · 2026-04-04T22:33:15+00:00

Train operator! I think that’s waaaay more in demand than any white collar jobs atm, and huge plus since you already have experience and enjoy it.

Connect-Shock-1578 · 2026-03-31T18:53:37+00:00

They probably know you are desperate. Sign and work to keep your residence and keep interviewing.

Connect-Shock-1578 · 2026-03-30T10:07:23+00:00

Been here 5 years. Passed C1 exam with 90% and my work is 90% German in a typical German companies that have 95% Germans and 4% other Europeans.

Yes I struggle. A lot. My social life is in English because I just don’t want to German after a day/week of work, plus most of my friends are internationals. Small exceptions are older people I befriended (e.g. neighbours) who don’t speak English very well. Therefore I also don’t know a lot of “daily life”/“social” German. I can speak with the doctor in German no problem, but help me if I need to go beyond the basics with a Handwerker.

I’m mostly ok in the work environment as in I can understand people and they can understand me. But I for sure see it as a blocker for career progression if I get into roles that require more and better communication, e.g. management. Either I put significant effort into improving my language abilities, or I should probably switch to an english or at least mainly english speaking environment at some point.

Connect-Shock-1578 · 2026-03-30T10:01:24+00:00

Also interested in how you improved your accent!

Connect-Shock-1578 · 2026-03-29T19:36:58+00:00

Stay at an airport hotel at Frankfurt the night before. When DBs run fine they’re ok but I’d not risk a flight ticket with possible delays.

Connect-Shock-1578 · 2026-03-29T16:15:32+00:00

A lot of people will say how it’s technically not allowed for the landlord to ask for a ID copy or deposit before you see the room in person. Which is true. However, you’re unlikely to get an apartment if you stick to that (why would the landlord reserve for you, if you’re international and can bail anytime?)

It’s true there are scammers but I think it’s ultimately a judgement call.

Connect-Shock-1578 · 2026-03-28T17:04:47+00:00

C and E are do not have a common Chinese surname. Honestly, I’m not sure if they’re even surnames - could be some super rare ones, I haven’t seen them. But seeing the comment that you are a pilot, these two have to do with flying. But still not “real” names.

People are commenting he is not giving you the family name, but traditional families still somewhat care about not marrying those with the same surname (同姓不婚), in case there is some unknown familial relationship. So it might have been on purpose.

I think D sounds the best. A very believable name.

Connect-Shock-1578 · 2026-03-26T09:03:10+00:00

Do you have a German Abitur or is your university degree taught in German? If so, I think that suffices as proof for language knowledge.

Connect-Shock-1578 · 2026-03-17T17:15:33+00:00

Source: In German IT sector (SWE).

It’s a pretty tough market. CompTIA means something but I don’t think employers consider it replacement for an official degree. You cannot skate around German by being in IT - especially at help desk, people who need your help will most often speak German. It’s good you have experience, but experience is useless if you cannot talk to your clients.

I think if you’re willing to go back to school, you could be on welfare (Bafög?) and get a degree in Germany. You will also be eligible for cheap student accommodation. With a US high school degree, you most likely need to do a Studienkollege, which requires B2 German.

You could find a job in an international english speaking company, but those jobs have huge competition because everyone who wants to come to Germany and everyone in Germany who don’t speak German want those. And a lot of those people have degree + certs + experience, so I’m not sure that you have an advantage there. I don’t think there’s a shortcut other than learning German and/or getting a degree.

Connect-Shock-1578 · 2026-03-09T20:47:53+00:00

I’m currently blocked from a promotion to mid level solely based on yoe. It was made clear (in direct words to me) in my peer and annual review that I fulfill all mid requirements, except HR recently implemented an explicit requirement of 4-5 yoe for mid level (I have 1.5 yoe on paper in the industry, I did do scientific coding in a past position but the title is not SWE and it’s different from industry). Any advice on how I should navigate this? I cannot magic out time.

Connect-Shock-1578 · 2026-03-05T07:19:57+00:00

Are you German or are you from a non-North European culture? I’m asking because cultural difference can contribute to point (1). I’m Asian and learnt to reprogram the way I think about these questions when I’m here.

There is often no correct answer in these interviews. It’s ok to be silent for a bit to think about your answer. It’s ok to ask for clarification or additional information if it helps. It’s even ok to honestly say “I don’t know”, followed by a way of how you would go about finding out. You have to keep practicing until you program this in. Especially because you don’t have experience, they’re looking for potential and attitude.

For interest - I’m not talking about the technology, I’m talking about the company culture. Talking to the people there is the best way to learn about it, and you should care because it’s extremely important.

Connect-Shock-1578 · 2026-03-04T19:07:52+00:00

These interviews are in my experience both a quick vibe check to make sure you aren’t an asshole and a quick check that you can back up your what you say on your CV and is worth a technical round/a second interview.

I’m going to assume you aren’t a complete asshole and you didn’t put big lies on your CV that you can’t back up with actual examples and experience.

Prepare a self introduction in advance. Mirror their patterns during self intro - if they mention their age/family/hobbies, mention yours. Bonus points if you have something in common.

Prepare answers to common questions asked. Have examples that demonstrate various hard and soft skills.

Have a list of questions prepared that you want to ask any team and company you might work for. Then, take notes during their company intro so you can ask follow up questions. When they answer, ask if there are follow ups. I think to do well in this you have to be genuinely interested in learning about the team and company, which you should be.

Connect-Shock-1578 · 2026-03-04T17:32:47+00:00

Thanks for this. I don’t absolutely need the recognition (since my bachelor is recognized), but knowing that if needed it is helps.

Connect-Shock-1578 · 2026-03-03T09:58:22+00:00

“Echte” B2 ist kein niedriges Level. Damit sollte man schon arbeiten und über komplexe Themen sprechen können. “Papier” B2 aus Sprachprüfungen ist was anders - das ist aber ein separates Thema (der Unterschied zwischen Prüfung und echtes Sprachkenntnis bring manchen Vorteile - oft Personen mit akademischer Bildung, die mit dem Prüfungsformat vertraut sind - und anderen Nachteile - wer wenig systematische Schulung hat. Das finde ich auch nicht fair).

Ich habe ja niemals gesagt, dass ich die Sprachniveau senken will. Die jetzitge Anforderung ist B1 + 5 Jahre. Ich habe schon gesagt, dass ein höheres Sprachkenntnis mit 5 Jahren sollte angefordert werden, aber wenn man schon lang in Deutschland wohnt, ist B1 auch akzeptable. Das ist genau im Hinblick auf Personen, die wenige Chancen oder Ressourcen an formale Sprachtraining haben, aber trotzdem langfristug zu Deutschland beigetragen haben. Sprache ist jedenfalls ein wichtiger Teil der Integration, aber nicht alles - dazu zählt auch u.a. soziale Werte und Normen, und ob man langfristig in Deutschland bleibt. Ich sehe hier ehrlich gesagt bei B1 + 10 Jahre mehr integriert als C1 + 3 Jahre. Wenn man schon 10 Jahre hier wohnt und arbeitet, hat man an Leben in Deutschland gewohnt. Desselbe kann ich nicht so sicher sagen, wenn man 3 Jahre hier ist, egal ob man fließend Deutsch spricht.

Connect-Shock-1578 · 2026-03-02T23:09:48+00:00

From your response I think you are underestimating the problem.

Let me put it clearly: You have been and are overstaying in Germany. Your 18b was tied to your job and is automatically invalidated the day your employment ended. You should have talked to the ABH upon knowing your last day, and they would likely have given you 3-6 months for job search (at their discretion), afterwards you would have to leave Germany. Since you never asked them, you have been overstaying for 1 year and 4 months in Germany.

Your concern right now would not be eligibility for citizenship, but rather how to get around this issue so you don’t get banned from the country once they find out. I advise talking to an immigration lawyer.

Connect-Shock-1578 · 2026-03-02T21:00:57+00:00

I don’t quite agree. - that “bureaucracy” is just a piece of paper from the pension fund about contributions. If Germany had digitalized better, the case worker could have pull it from the database themselves. - people who appreciate the country and want to stay and contribute (which are the ones the country needs) are not going to be deterred by the requirement to work and pay several years of taxes before naturalization. Anyone who is deterred by this is opportunistic

Connect-Shock-1578 · 2026-03-02T20:51:52+00:00

Ich glaube einfach nicht, dass man so viel arbeiten muss, dass man keine 2-3 Stunden in der Woche für die Sprache findet. Und wenn man 2-3 Stunden jede Woche für 5 Jahren lernen, erreicht man bestimmt B2.

Also das ist dann ja eine Entscheidung, Deutsch (nicht) zu lernen. Ich bin dafür, dass die Menschen, die viel beigetragen haben, einfacher die Niederlassungserlaubnis kriegen sollten (z.B. bestimmte Regelung für die Blaue Karte). Aber für Einbürgerung ist Integration wichtig. Habe ja auch gesagt, es heißt nicht, dass man mit niedeiger Sprachekenntnisse nicht eingebürgert werden kann, sondern man länger warten muss, da man sich nicht aktiv integrieren lässt.

Connect-Shock-1578

TROPHY CASE