Finding a job in Germany: where to look, language and salary research

Use several channels at once. The most useful are:

• BA Jobsuche (the Federal Employment Agency's job board): the largest public listing of vacancies in Germany, in German. You can filter by occupation, place and working time. Registering a profile lets the agency's placement service suggest jobs to you.
• Make it in Germany: the federal government's portal for skilled workers from abroad has its own job listing. Its vacancies come from the BA job board: employers tick a box to say they also want to reach international applicants, so these ads are a useful signal that a company is open to hiring from abroad.
• EURES: the European job mobility portal run by the European Labour Authority, with vacancies across the EU and EURES advisers who can answer questions about moving for work.
• Company career pages: many employers, from large corporations to research institutes and public bodies, publish vacancies only or first on their own websites. The BA notes that the most common ways to apply are by email or through the company's website.
• Professional networks and job sites: networks such as LinkedIn and XING, as well as sector-specific boards (for example for academia, tech or healthcare), are widely used. Treat them as one channel among several, not the whole market.
• Recruiters and staffing agencies: private recruiters (Personalvermittlung) and temporary-work agencies (Zeitarbeit) place many candidates, particularly in IT, engineering, logistics and healthcare.
• Speculative applications (Initiativbewerbung): sending a short, targeted application to a company that has not advertised a role is normal in Germany.

Personal networks matter too. Meetups, alumni groups, professional associations and job fairs are where many newcomers first hear about openings.

Berlin has a comparatively large English-speaking job market. Newcomers commonly find it concentrated in tech, start-ups, research and international companies. In the German Startup Monitor 2024 (published by the German Startups Association and reported by Berlin Partner, the state business development agency), English was the working language in 55.8 % of Berlin start-ups, compared with 34.9 % across Germany.

Outside those niches the picture changes. The Federal Employment Agency's own advice is that most companies expect at least basic German and that English alone is often not enough. Roles in public administration, healthcare, education, retail, customer service, law and most of the Mittelstand (small and medium-sized companies) usually require good German. Even in English-speaking teams, newcomers commonly report that German helps with customers, colleagues outside the team, promotions and job security.

A realistic strategy for many people is to apply for English-language roles now while learning German in parallel, so that the pool of jobs open to you grows over time.

Language levels are described with the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), from A1 (beginner) to C2 (near-native). Job ads often name a level, such as "German B2" or verhandlungssicher (business-fluent, roughly C1).

• Regulated professions: more than 400 professions in Germany are regulated, including doctors, nurses and teachers. For these, the law sets the language level you must prove, usually alongside a recognition procedure.
• Skilled jobs in German-speaking teams: expect B2 or higher.
• Entry-level and practical jobs: requirements vary; basic German is often expected for safety instructions and dealing with customers.

An employer may require the German level a job genuinely needs. However, the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency points out that blanket demands such as "native German speaker" can amount to indirect discrimination on grounds of ethnic origin when they are not justified by the job.

The most reliable free source is the BA's Entgeltatlas (pay atlas). It shows the median gross monthly pay of full-time employees subject to social insurance, by occupation, and lets you filter by federal state or region, gender, age group and qualification level.

For orientation, the 2025 data published by the BA in July 2026 put the national median for full-time employees at €4,217 gross per month. By qualification, the median was €3,133 without a vocational qualification, €4,069 with a recognised vocational qualification and €6,146 for university graduates. Medians differ considerably between regions: Hamburg had the highest (€4,768), Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania the lowest (€3,497).

Points to keep in mind:

• Gross versus net: ads, offers and the Entgeltatlas use gross pay (brutto). Income tax and social contributions are deducted from it; the taxes guide explains how.
• Collective agreements: if an employer applies a collective agreement (Tarifvertrag), pay scales are often published. The DGB, the umbrella body of German unions, reports that pay under collective agreements is on average around 11 % higher.
• Statutory minimum wage: €13.90 gross per hour in 2026, rising to €14.60 on 1 January 2027.
• Residence thresholds: for some permits, such as the EU Blue Card, the salary must reach a set minimum. See the Blue Card and skilled worker guides for the current figures.

What you may do while searching depends on your citizenship and current status. This is an overview; check the residence guides and, if in doubt, ask the immigration office.

• EU, EEA and Swiss citizens can look for work and start a job at any time without a permit.
• Non-EU nationals already living in Germany should read the supplementary sheet (Zusatzblatt) of their residence permit. It states whether employment is allowed in general, only with a named employer, or not at all. A permit for one purpose (for example family) often allows any employment; a permit for a specific job often does not allow you to switch freely.
• Opportunity Card (Chancenkarte): this job-search permit for qualified people allows part-time work of on average up to 20 hours a week and trial employment of up to two weeks with each prospective employer, as long as the trial job is qualified or leads to training or recognition.
• Graduates of German universities can usually obtain a residence permit of up to 18 months to look for a job that matches their qualification, provided they can support themselves.
• Citizens of Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States may enter Germany without a visa and apply for a residence permit here within 90 days. You can look for work and attend interviews, but you may only start working once you hold a permit that allows it.
• Visitors on a Schengen (short-stay) visa are not allowed to work in Germany. If you need a visa, the Opportunity Card or a work visa are the usual routes.

If you hold a permit tied to a job and that job ends, there are specific notification duties. See the guide on registering as a job seeker.

• Agentur für Arbeit: anyone can ask the local employment agency for career advice and job placement, free of charge. If you are about to lose your job, registering as a job seeker is also a legal duty (see the separate guide).
• Hotline "Working and Living in Germany": run jointly by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) and the BA, on +49 30 1815-1111 (Monday to Thursday 9:00–16:00, Friday 9:00–12:00, Central European Time). It answers questions on job search, recognition, entry and residence, and learning German.
• BA international services: for people still abroad, the BA runs an international advice service with information in German, English and Spanish and the option to create a profile.
• Recognition: the official portal Anerkennung in Deutschland helps you find out whether your profession is regulated and which authority is responsible.