German business ethics

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Hi forumites,

(To moderators - I'm not sure if I should post this topic to "Business" or "Europe" section, so please feel free to move it if it's out of place)

I got an offer for a few months contract in Ingolstadt, Bavaria. I've never been to neither Bavaria nor the rest of Germany and my knowledge of German is limited by movies' lexicon.

The reason they want to bring someone from abroad is because there are quite a few specialists in this particular field. In general though, this company deals with conventional IT consulting.

I know that it's better to wait until the potential employer names a figure, but what if he doesn't - what would be a sensible figure to start from? I skimmed over a couple of salary surveying websites, but their data seems lacking...

Also, is there a good primer on German business ethics? Should I be initiative or become a drone? Should I expect overtime or it's usually 9 to 17 routine?

Should I wait patiently as I did so far (and the business advanced painfully slow - they seem very busy) or remind them of my existence once in a while?

Also, I'll be glad to hear about Ingolstadt and Bavaria in general.

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Hi there Galilite,

What will you be doing in this company? That would make it easier to give you advise. I could also try to find some information about money since I work in HR in Germany.

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Hi urs53,

Appreciate your help Smile

.

I will be a software developer.

The field I'll be dealing with is more academic, but they specifically need someone with commercial experience; usually the two worlds don't mix, so I guess this adds value. On the other hand, I am not from this area and not a EU citizen which means bureaucratic and relocation hassle for them. The company is small, but the project itself and the customer are huge.

One site (PayScale I think) mentioned an average of 96,000 Euro a year (!!!) but it sounds unrealistic to me.

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I couldn't access our consultant's site from home... Sorry for the late answer, Galilite.

The top salary that I found is an annual base salary of EUR 158,237 and annual total cash (includes bonus etc) of EUR 209,964. Maybe this helps a bit.

As to the work ethics. I believe in becoming initiative and I think most managers in Germany do so, too - as in most other countries.

Working hours can vary very much from company to company. But I would expect some overtime in any case.

I have to work now - more later!

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Wow, thanks a lot :-) .

Hmm... I'm not pushing for the top rates, but, using the bits of German I know, "das ist fantastisch" Wink

.

So, common sense works anywhere.

Thanks again :-) .

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Oh yes, absolutely. Common sense should be the key everywhere.

Let me know how things are going.

Did you find any information about Ingolstadt? I don't know anything about except that Audi is there.

Do speak any German? In our company, English is the company language so it would not be a problem to start working there with hardly any knowledge of German. Although it sure helps day-to-day life!

Good look! Looking forward to hearing more! :-)

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urs53 wrote:

Did you find any information about Ingolstadt? I don't know anything about except that Audi is there.

Well, me neither. It looks like it's a small sleepy town near Munich... good enough for me.

urs53 wrote:

Do speak any German? In our company, English is the company language so it would not be a problem to start working there with hardly any knowledge of German.

Nope, no German at all. And yes, this company is international, too.

urs53 wrote:

Although it sure helps day-to-day life!

I wonder though, what is the average level of English there? I heard it's fairly high.

urs53 wrote:

Good look! Looking forward to hearing more! :-)

Thanks again, urs53 :-) .

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Galilite wrote:

I wonder though, what is the average level of English there? I heard it's fairly high.

Usually, you can get around with English in Germany. From time to time, I help some poor tourist out in a local shop etc. But we live in a small town so what can you expect... I'm sure it'll work out in Ingolstadt.

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I do not know about Ingolstadt, but:

Quote:

Ingolstadt,
Stadt in Bayern, an der Donau, 112900 Einwohner; gotische Bauwerke; Fachhochschule; Kraftfahrzeug-, Textilindustrie, Erdoelraffinerien. Im Mittelalter bayerischer Herzogssitz, 1472 bis 1802 Universitaetsstadt.
© 2003 Bibliographisches Institut & F. A. Brockhaus

"Ingolstadt,
City in Bavaria, on the Danube, 112900 inhabitants; gothical buildings; Professional school; Motor vehicle -, textile industry, oil refineries.
In the Middle Ages Bavarian duke seat, 1472 to 1802 university town."

And,

http://www.ingolstadt.de/tourismus/frameset.htm?eingangsseite_en

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satt_focusable wrote:

I do not know about Ingolstadt, but...

Thank you, too :-) .

Yes, I saw this site. Looks nice... Also I understand that there's a large English speaking expat community there, most working at Audi.

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German business ethics

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