I'm curious if there are any folks on Blind who have successfully received German work permits without a degree. IT is on the worker shortage list, so I know it's possible. I'm just skeptical about it, given some horror stories I've read (I know a Blue card is out of the question, for example).
I can’t comment on that, but I was wondering what is the TC like over there?
Depends a lot on YoE, field, region. A senior engineer would be offered something in the 55-85 range most of the time, and a few companies going a little bit beyond that closer to the 100k range.
Salaries are not as bad as people here try to paint them, but make sure you understand what income tax you're going to pay before you go. It can easily be 40% for a single young guy.
I'm married, so that helps. TC, it varies, but I've seen some low salaries. Lots of jobs in the crypto space and the salaries are generally far better there. If you don't have a degree, there are salary minimums you must meet in order to get a work permit. If the job requires a degree for immigration purposes, it's a tell that the salary doesn't meet the threshold. That's burnt me in the past.
A friend of mine (US citizen) immigrated to Germany without degree. As long as you fit the position requirement and minimum salary you should be fine. Check carefully the taxes classes and make sure you calculate how much will be deducted from your gross salary as taxes are quite high in Germany. You can Google Brutto Netto Rechnern to find online calculators.
It is possible to get a work permit without a degree, it is just that won’t be a blue card. If you have years of experience you can get a specialist/highly skilled visa. https://www.make-it-in-germany.com/en/visa/kinds-of-visa/work/
OP, did you move? Any idea on how the job scene is for swes? How to prepare for interviews? (Traditional leetcode ish). I see this jobseeker visa thing. Wonder if it is approved easily though.
I think you can do blue card also with 5yoe instead of degree. But the salaries are so crappy there
From what I've read, there was never specifics to how to certify work experience in the law and so Germany alone has simply chosen not to try. Might be a different outcome if a lawyer is involved.
Depends on the country this 5yoe rule. In Sweden this is the case but not in Germany unfortunately. There might be others tho.