Hello Everyone,

From the very start of applying for master\bachelor in Germany till graduating, the only thing is in our mind to finish the study first, but at mean time we all know alongside of studies we must take care of millions of stuffs. Then after lot of hard works we finish our master\bachelor degree. And then what? Today I want to share some of my experiences right after the graduation, what should we do and what things we need to take care of. Disclaimer: These are all my personal experiences, it can of course vary for others.

The Final semester of my master was very hectic, due to the THESIS and finishing it before due date, normally during this period alongside writing thesis paper its difficult to search for jobs (yes, it’s better to start early as it takes bit of time to look for companies or jobs related to the field). I will get back to this topic later. Anyway, right after thesis and completing all the credit points, student go through the process “Exmatrikulation” which means you are no longer a student. I was not aware of the fact that from the university the whole world gets to know that you are no longer a student (because it changes few facts). First your health Insurance and Resident permit office will contact you regarding your current state.

Insurance (Krankenversicherung): As long as you are not a student they will send some papers to fill in referring your current status (working or unemployed). Based on the status they take new amount of health insurance fees. It’s important not to ignore those letters because if they don’t get any response from you, the take up to 700 euros every month from your bank account. I have the health insurance from TK and due to unemployed status, they take 176 euro per month (yes student life was better!). But there is a way not to pay this much of amount. You can contact job center (Attention: not employment center) nearby you and tell them you are unemployed and don’t have enough money to pay this much. Rest they will tell you the process and all (but I didn’t do it (long story)). The amount of insurance fees remains the same until you get a job.

Resident permit (Aufenhaltserlaubnis): Alike Insurance the Auslanderbüro contact you regarding resident permit. I had my student visa till the end of this year but its technically invalid as I am no longer a student and the Auslanderbüro contacted me to go to their office. So, in this period the resident permit one should apply for is the “Arbeitssuchend Aufenthaltserlaubnis” which is resident permit to look for jobs. The documents they ask are “a filled-up form, the academic certificates (mine was mater certificates), German language knowledge (any cirtificate), biometric photo and most importantly Sperrkonto or blocked account (8000+ euro for a year).”  I had all my papers ready and submitted once but they still asked me for a persönlich gespräch (Personal interview). At first, I was bit scared why and what may possibly ask me, but it was merely for taking my signature for some papers for the resident permit. That was all the procedure and after 1.5 months later I received my visa for a year.

As for searching for jobs and getting one here in germany depends on so many factors, also everyone’s experience more or less is different. It depends on your academic background and performance, internship here in germany, German language knowledge, location and luck! If someone has done an internship and thesis in one company they can apply for related position in the company. Normally if you have good performance in internship and thesis company sometimes offer jobs too. So this is all for today, best of luck to all the students who will finish their master\ bachelor this September.