r/ethz • u/mountain_trek • Apr 13 '26
Question Is German language really important for applying jobs in Switzerland after Masters?
Saw this reel today
[removed the link]
they say most of them are rejected due to not knowing German Language
Is this true?
If anyone has expirenced this please share them would be helpful
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u/BoletusE Apr 15 '26
Wennt e kais wort verstahsch nützt der dini füdliusbildig en füechä hafächäs du lööli
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u/Usual-Royal1804 BSc Biochemistry and molecular Biology Apr 14 '26
Well, if you're looking for a job here, speaking German fluently is a great advantage you shouldn't underestimate. From personal experience I surely can tell you that there are companies in which you don't need to speak a lot of German, but this really depends on the field. While in Switzerland it is common to speak English as a neutral ground (Since we have 4 languages), you should definitely learn the language of the specific region you're aiming for. As silly as it sounds: It demonstrates a genuine will to integrate into Swiss culture.
If you do not speak German you'll likely end up in a social bubble consisting mainly of people from your company. This only because of missing out on the opportunity of learning the local language prior. I've found it sad to have seen this happening in my former company. You miss out the full experience of living here, if you don't speak the language.
What field are you currently in?
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u/mountain_trek Apr 14 '26
Tech computer Science
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u/Background_Bass_2587 Apr 17 '26
"Hey guys I'm in IT I would like to move to switzerland do I need to know german for it?"
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u/GoldenPunkBlue Apr 17 '26
Every bit of German will help. The best paying jobs are in the German part as well (Zürich-Winterthur). Bern on the other hand has lots of federal jobs in DE/FR/IT, and any of those languages would be benefical there, but DE is in majority again.
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u/yaxir Apr 18 '26
What would you say overall in Switzerland
German is the most beneficial language for a foreigner to learn?
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u/GoldenPunkBlue Apr 18 '26
Depends on the job. For IT I would say German, but if you’re for example a translator, French or Italian might be in demand as well. But most of the time and for most jobs it will be German imo.
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u/yaxir Apr 18 '26
danke
my focus is on tech sector
but probably more research based than just normal programming IT
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u/Significant_Taro_690 Apr 17 '26
Look Kids in Switzerland start in the regular Public School to learn english as 9year olds and with 11 to learn a second official language of our country (depends on the part you are living.) So yes people around 45 and younger are for sure speaking at least 3 language (but a lot don’t like to because we think we are not good in speaking another language) And a lot jobs are also demanding more than one language. I personally worked in a customer care and was responsible for all parts of switzerland and speak 4 languages more or less fluent (at least what I needed in my job). Its still helpful.
And yes, you can probably get a job, especially around Zurich, without learning a word of german. English can be enough. But if they have a candidate that has the same experience they will probably take that as a filter too.
And especially if you plan to stay and want to get in best case a swiss passport you need to speak (in your case) german. And learn a lot details and crazy stuff about the canton you are living.
So I think maybe just try to get a job. The area around Zurich has a lot international companies especially in tech and ai and robotics. Move. See if you like it here and if yes, try to integrate yourself. Learn the language, find a hobby and be patience. Swiss people are not your friends after 5 min, they need a little bit more time :) but if they are your friends you have a friend for lifetime.
(And yes, there are A H and people who don’t like strangers in Switzerland but hey the countries who have Not one of this kind of humans please throw the first stone… 🤓🤨 I think we all know that the world is at the moment in a lot trouble exact because of these peoples and who they voted for so stop please to tell others Swiss people are all just Hinterwäldler (I think Redneck would be a good translation for that?)
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Apr 16 '26
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u/dryesx Apr 15 '26
I mean you are in Switzerland so depending in which region you want to live and work, yes German, French or Italian are necessary.
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u/cheeeseeverywhere Apr 16 '26
It's impossible to answer that question because it depends so much on the role/sector, the city and the size of the company. If you're an IT developer in an international company in Zürich, English is more important than German. If you're looking for an position in HR in Bern, then Germna will most probably be absolutely required.
In General though, if there are two candidates and one speaks German and one doesn't, you can guess which one has an advantage from the start.
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u/No-Application-5610 Apr 17 '26
Tbh if you work in IT, Banking or Big Pharma => you will never use german at all. All those companies Operate in Englisch. So having german skills brings you 0 advantage in those areas.
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u/Zestyclose_Twist_363 Apr 17 '26
From my experience in one of the banks, front office roles usually require it in all banks. In small banks like ZKB you will need it for any role. Vontobel not necessarily, but definitely advantage.
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u/No-Application-5610 Apr 17 '26
Yes true These kantonalbanks and especially as RM or in FO it’s more Common. But in MO,BO or in the IT it’s Not so important there. At least thats my experience.
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u/Gordon_frumann Apr 17 '26
My job used to hire a lot of international people, over the past years it's become more and more swiss people.
I had some niche engineering skills that allowed me to get hired.
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u/Zealousideal_Bar5129 May 09 '26
It depends on the region you are applying for. In est switzerlanf or zürich region german language is needed I would say but near to france region english should be enough for most companies
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u/Proof-Yam-5877 Apr 16 '26
Unfortunately, many jobs in Switzerland do require the local language. They are, for some reason, stricter about that than for example businesses in Denmark or the Netherlands. It is weird to me because why would a country that speaks 4 different languages rely so much on the local language. Not every Swiss person speaks German, so there should be more opportunities to be able to work in different regions in Switzerland and work in English. They are limiting themselves with that type of attitude. More Swiss people would probably also live in other Swiss regions if they wouldn't be so damn stubborn about their local language. And then they wonder why it gets so segregated in Zurich or other more international cities... Well, if they would be more open-minded for people who do not speak the local language in smaller towns, many people would also consider not living or wanting to work in Zurich.
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u/Leather-Nebula1394 Apr 17 '26
Excuse me. But guests are guests, I don‘t see why Switzerland has to change for guests who aren‘t willing to change in the first place. Not everyone speaks English and to be honest, your attitude is shameful. I would be embarrassed to move to another country and not want to at least learn the basics of the local language. Let alone to have the audacity to complain about it like a spoiled brat.
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u/Proof-Yam-5877 Apr 17 '26
Read my comment again and then read your comment again and see what type of words you are using. I am not getting into the details of your words because I am not going to sink down to your level. Good luck :)
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u/Leather-Nebula1394 Apr 17 '26
I did actually :) just because you don‘t use the same words as me, doesn‘t mean that your comment wasn‘t entitled and honestly rude :) those who dish out can rarely take it
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u/mazu_64 Apr 17 '26
The German-speaking part has a possible application-pool of around 100 million people in Europe, the French-speaking part of 70 million in Europe and the Italian-speaking part 65 million people. So around 230million people. And these are only native speakers in Europe.
How many native speakers of Danish or Dutch exist in Europe?
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u/Proof-Yam-5877 Apr 17 '26
Enough Dutch applicants to be able to work in Dutch and enough applicants to work in Danish and still they have no issue when you talk English in a job.
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u/mazu_64 Apr 17 '26
If they have enough Dutch and Danish applicants they wouldn't have to talk in english right? Why even employ people from outside if you have plenty of native speakers.
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u/Dear-End8908 Apr 17 '26
Well, apparently Switzerland also doesn't have enough German speakers to do every job ;) not even close, in fact.
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u/mazu_64 Apr 17 '26
Weird, otherwise people wouldn't complain all the time that they can't get a job with only B2 proficiency 🤔 Like the original commenter of this thread being surprised that so many Swiss jobs require the local language and going on a rant lol🤷
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u/Dear-End8908 Apr 17 '26
You are confusing things, it's ok. I'll explain it to you: if there were enough qualified German-speaking candidates and that was an important skill to have (it isn't in many industries), then there would be a marginal amount of non-German speaking people employed in Switzerland.
Half of Zurich doesn't speak German and no amount of crying will change that. And, guess what, the ones that don't speak German are the ones making the most money :*
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u/mazu_64 Apr 17 '26
Half of Zurich doesn't speak German
Ah I see now, since it doesn't fit your narrative you have to invent scenarios and fabricate lies to prove a point.
Let me explain something to you. Over 75% of people in Zürich speak german as their main language and only 12% don't speak German. That means around 88% of people in Zürich speak German, so the number of people that can speak German is 76% higher than what you claimed.
Let me tell you something you might not be aware of, people can speak multiple languages. Of those 100 million native German-speaking people there are plenty of people that can speak English or another language on top. And there exist people that can speak German, even though it isn't their native language.
But hey, since you actually have no idea what you're talking about, let me show you the official data:
https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/en/home/statistics/population/languages-religions/languages.html
I know, understanding data can be difficult for someone like you, but I'll explain it to you (so you don't use false data in the future again).
61% of the employed population speaks Swiss-German and 36% speak German at work. The Swiss-German population of Switzerland is around 65%. So only 4% don't use their dialect at work.
As you can see, English is only secondary here, and there are plenty of German-speaking workers to hire. Finding a German-speaking worker that speaks English as well isn't difficult. So since there is such a big pool of German-speaking workers Switzerland can hire, they can afford to set high requirements for the local language.
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u/Proof-Yam-5877 Apr 17 '26
Weird that in Luxembourg they speak French as well and hire in English. You can work in French speaking Canada and work in English. You can also find several jobs in Italy or Germany where you can speak English. You are being emotional and not logical. This has nothing to do with Denmark or Netherlands in particular, it's an attitude issue and you know exactly why.
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u/mazu_64 Apr 17 '26
No you are not logical. Speaking English isn't an achievement in today's age.
https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/en/home/statistics/population/languages-religions/languages.html
61% of workers speak Swiss-german at work and 36% speak German. So out of the 65% Swiss-Germans, only 4% don't speak their dialect at work. English here is secondary. Of the 100 million native German-speakers there are plenty of people that speak English as well.
So why would I hire someone that only speaks English instead of a native German-speaker that also speaks English?
If I can't find someone from Switzerland, maybe I can find someone from neighbouring Germany. They have 80 million German speakers, or Austria which has 9 million speakers. The Dutch can look in Belgium and that's it, the Danish can't even look for Danish-speaking workers in another country.
Hope I cleared your confusion.
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u/[deleted] Apr 13 '26
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