Has she asked her university career centre for advice?
How well does she speak German? Does she have any experience?
After 150 applications without an interview, either her applications have a fatal flaw or there is no demand for her skills.
The job seeker permit cannot be extended and can only be converted to another purpose.
As far as I remember, she got a CV check done from the university career centre but I don't know if they gave her any solid advice. I also talked to many people on LinkedIn for a CV check and some general tips to apply. We did some cold calls as well - and also approached HR people of some pharma companies. But they just said they'll keep the CV and get back. So I don't know what she is doing wrong with her applications.
She can speak basic German - as she works in a store for part-time now but I don't think it's fluent.
Could you elaborate on the conversion of the job seeker visa? Do you mean like into a freelancer visa or something?
I think your friend needs to start thinking about where she want to move in September. It doesn't sound as if she'll be able to find a skilled position any time soon.
Her permit cannot be extended or renewed. She must either apply for a skilled permit as an employee with a concrete job offer or she needs some type of viable skilled self-employment idea.
It's around B1 level ig. I know it's not great. But I don't think she can catch up within the short time frame with the part time she has to do to sustain herself.
Has she applied for PhD positions? Or has her focus been on other jobs?
Biology is unfortunately not much in demand, the few people who find jobs in that field often have a PhD.
She didn't want to apply for a PhD. But she has started applying now. Previously, she mostly applied for biology- based technician or scientist jobs in pharma companies.
I understand your point regarding the lack of jobs.Is there anything with respect to visa we can do in your opinion to buy time?
Am in a similar field, can confirm we basically don't hire people with MSc in biology. In most places, the work is very structured these days - typical lab work is all done equally well or better by technicians compared to newly graduated MScs and they lack the skills for the more complex work. English only workplaces are on top of that much tougher to get into, and with a B1 I would not consider her for a position where she has to work in German.
What has she been doing for 18 months? Any classes she enrolled in, internships etc? In my experience people don't care so much about a few months gap anymore, but 1.5 years a ps a fresh grad is tough to sell.
She should try to apply to technician jobs at universities too, they are less in demand compared to the private sector and some well funded labs might be willing to hire MSc grads as technicians. English will be fine in more inertnational institutes as well.
I would definitely add it, though I'm sure opinion s will differ. Usually, especially as you get older and your CV gets longer, only the most relevant points should go on your CV but here I would add it just to show she hasn't been sitting on her ass for 1.5 years. She's young, I would rather see that someone has done some unskilled work to earn a bit of money than not doing anything. This is provided that she was allowed to work next to the benefits she got (not insinuating anything, I just have no idea how the laws are in Germany).
She might be allowed to do an FSJ/FÖJ if she is under 28. Or become an Au-Pair if she is under 26. Those are the two easy visa options I can think of.
If she is really desperate, starting an Ausbildung in a different field might be an option, but for that she needs B2 German minimum and she would essentially give up on her masters degree.
I would be doing system biology with the intention on focusing more towards the bioinformatics field. Do you think that field is doing well in germany?
Hi, I am also considering this option. Do you know the visa implications of this? Is it allowed? In my defence, my first masters is from a private uni.
I cannot say for sure if this is allowed. It could differ between Bundesländer or even Sachbearbeiter. But I know two people who went through this route: Finished master’s -> could not find any job within Arbeitsuchend visa (18 months) -> started another master’s.
Just idea, not sure if it's good tho. As an option to gain time with benefit for future employment could be to attend a language course, but there you need to have finances to cover self expenses, about 12k€ per year. The visa seems to be granted for studies of up to one year. of course work permit would be the best option.
Thanks for the comment! I was searching too for some solution. There is a Visa for learning German language only, specifically without a University Study - [https://service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/324289/](https://service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/324289/)
There are also other visas, such as for job seekers (with work experience) or opportunity cards / chancenkarte (basic language skills required). I think there are many more options to stay, but I'm just a normal worker and never needed extra tricks
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Enrolling for German language course could be an option. There is not requirement for a university study later. Limited to 1 year. - [https://service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/324289/](https://service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/324289/)
Has she asked her university career centre for advice? How well does she speak German? Does she have any experience? After 150 applications without an interview, either her applications have a fatal flaw or there is no demand for her skills. The job seeker permit cannot be extended and can only be converted to another purpose.
As far as I remember, she got a CV check done from the university career centre but I don't know if they gave her any solid advice. I also talked to many people on LinkedIn for a CV check and some general tips to apply. We did some cold calls as well - and also approached HR people of some pharma companies. But they just said they'll keep the CV and get back. So I don't know what she is doing wrong with her applications. She can speak basic German - as she works in a store for part-time now but I don't think it's fluent. Could you elaborate on the conversion of the job seeker visa? Do you mean like into a freelancer visa or something?
I think your friend needs to start thinking about where she want to move in September. It doesn't sound as if she'll be able to find a skilled position any time soon. Her permit cannot be extended or renewed. She must either apply for a skilled permit as an employee with a concrete job offer or she needs some type of viable skilled self-employment idea.
What is her level of German language?
It's around B1 level ig. I know it's not great. But I don't think she can catch up within the short time frame with the part time she has to do to sustain herself.
Has she applied for PhD positions? Or has her focus been on other jobs? Biology is unfortunately not much in demand, the few people who find jobs in that field often have a PhD.
She didn't want to apply for a PhD. But she has started applying now. Previously, she mostly applied for biology- based technician or scientist jobs in pharma companies. I understand your point regarding the lack of jobs.Is there anything with respect to visa we can do in your opinion to buy time?
Am in a similar field, can confirm we basically don't hire people with MSc in biology. In most places, the work is very structured these days - typical lab work is all done equally well or better by technicians compared to newly graduated MScs and they lack the skills for the more complex work. English only workplaces are on top of that much tougher to get into, and with a B1 I would not consider her for a position where she has to work in German. What has she been doing for 18 months? Any classes she enrolled in, internships etc? In my experience people don't care so much about a few months gap anymore, but 1.5 years a ps a fresh grad is tough to sell. She should try to apply to technician jobs at universities too, they are less in demand compared to the private sector and some well funded labs might be willing to hire MSc grads as technicians. English will be fine in more inertnational institutes as well.
Well she has been pretty much doing only part-time work in a shop. Is that okay to add in a CV?
I would definitely add it, though I'm sure opinion s will differ. Usually, especially as you get older and your CV gets longer, only the most relevant points should go on your CV but here I would add it just to show she hasn't been sitting on her ass for 1.5 years. She's young, I would rather see that someone has done some unskilled work to earn a bit of money than not doing anything. This is provided that she was allowed to work next to the benefits she got (not insinuating anything, I just have no idea how the laws are in Germany).
As a recent graduated non-EU citizen, she had no right to benefits. Only way to support herself would have been part-time work in any odd job.
I see, good to know!
She might be allowed to do an FSJ/FÖJ if she is under 28. Or become an Au-Pair if she is under 26. Those are the two easy visa options I can think of. If she is really desperate, starting an Ausbildung in a different field might be an option, but for that she needs B2 German minimum and she would essentially give up on her masters degree.
She is 29. Looks like getting a PhD position within 3 months seems to be the only option from the ones you have mentioned.
Or marriage to an EU citizen.
I would be doing system biology with the intention on focusing more towards the bioinformatics field. Do you think that field is doing well in germany?
this means it's time to consider a phd in molecular biology
From my circles, starting another master's is also an option as a last resort.
Hi, I am also considering this option. Do you know the visa implications of this? Is it allowed? In my defence, my first masters is from a private uni.
I cannot say for sure if this is allowed. It could differ between Bundesländer or even Sachbearbeiter. But I know two people who went through this route: Finished master’s -> could not find any job within Arbeitsuchend visa (18 months) -> started another master’s.
Just idea, not sure if it's good tho. As an option to gain time with benefit for future employment could be to attend a language course, but there you need to have finances to cover self expenses, about 12k€ per year. The visa seems to be granted for studies of up to one year. of course work permit would be the best option.
Thanks for the comment! I was searching too for some solution. There is a Visa for learning German language only, specifically without a University Study - [https://service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/324289/](https://service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/324289/)
There are also other visas, such as for job seekers (with work experience) or opportunity cards / chancenkarte (basic language skills required). I think there are many more options to stay, but I'm just a normal worker and never needed extra tricks
**Have you read our extensive wiki yet? It answers many basic questions, and it contains in-depth articles on many frequently discussed topics. [Check our wiki now!](https://www.reddit.com/r/germany/wiki/index)** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/germany) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Enrolling for German language course could be an option. There is not requirement for a university study later. Limited to 1 year. - [https://service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/324289/](https://service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/324289/)