Fuck.

[feuervogel]

So, according to a comment on someone else's f-locked post, the age I'm going to be in 10 years, once we have few or no cats and a smaller principle on our mortgage, that is, 45, is considered "too old" to get a job in Germany, really really.

Fuck my life, fuck me, and fuck that bullshit.

I'm never going to get to move to Berlin if neither Ben (who will ALSO be 45, and a 20-year-experienced software engineer) nor I will be able to get jobs to support ourselves.

I was happy until about 10 minutes ago when I read that comment notification. Now I want to curl up and cry a lot.

Comments

[beth_leonard]

I wouldn't worry too much about it at the moment -- Google has failed me, but there was an article in the Wall Street Journal not too long ago about how many medical and high-tech professionals are leaving Germany, creating a bit of a shortage. You may want to look at the demographics of the field in which you wish to work and determine how many will be retired in 10 years before you give up in advance. Germany may well be importing professionals in your field to support their boomers' medical needs.

--Beth

[beth_leonard]

Found it sort-of. You can do a two-weeks-free log in to read the bit behind the cut:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704913704575453652182261156.html#articleTabs_comments%3D%26articleTabs%3Darticle

I already used mine so I can't see the rest.
--Beth

[feuervogel]

It's possible. One of my German friends said pharmacists are in demand, especially in Brandenburg, but no way will I live in Brandenburg. The number of towns within a reasonable commute from Berlin (30-45 minutes by train, preferably accessible on a Berlin ABC transit pass) is pretty small.

I still have no idea what would be required for me to work as a pharmacist there: whether I'd have to go back to school and learn from scratch, or if I could just spend a year as an apprentice in a pharmacy and then sit the license exam. I really don't like license exams; if I sat down to take the NAPLEX today, I'd fail. (Most of us would, after a few years of work, when we don't have everything we learned in school fresh in our minds.)

Ideally, this writing career will happen by then. It doesn't pay much, most likely not enough to be proof that I can support myself (currently E10,000/yr). I don't know whether you can get multiple visas (ie one for freelance/self-employed writing, one for part-time work either through an employer or SE). http://www.toytowngermany.com/forum/index.php?showforum=180 has lots of discussion on visa issues, and http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/EN/EinreiseUndAufenthalt/Uebersicht_node.html is the official site (English version).

I honestly wouldn't mind being a tour guide with one of the English-language places there, but you have to have lived in Berlin for a year before you can apply. I would need to somehow support myself, or Ben would need to find a job that can support us both. That may be the hard part.