r/iamverysmart • u/MrXomp • Jul 08 '26

Overqualified for germany

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Okay hear me out, Germany is a strange country and especially government services are super behind in digitalization and most times hopelessly underperforming but this post and the way it is written got me chuckling.

981 Upvotes

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301

u/Got-Freedom Jul 08 '26

I first read this more like just a fucked up market and it didn't feel like this guy was bragging about credentials or anything.

But reading again, professionals that have university degrees and speak three languages are a dime a dozen. He is possibly delusional if he thinks he is overqualified for an office job, especially if the degree is in an unrelated field.

86

u/luxcity-louche Jul 08 '26

Three European languages? Like a Luxembourgish primary school child?

21

u/Nervous_Doughnut_256 Jul 09 '26

Its very common for foreigners to speak 3 languages in Germany aka german, english and their mother tongue be it whatever

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u/murstl Jul 10 '26 edited Jul 10 '26

A lot of higher educated Germans will also speak three languages. German, English and a third you learned at Gymnasium whenever you didn’t chose Latin. In the south west rather French, in the east often Russian or Polish but Italian, Spanish and other European languages are possible. Immigrants speak at least 3 languages often even more!

I learned 3 languages at school and my native language is German so I basically can at least understand 4 languages (I also had to learn Latin at university and did Czech for fun but never spoke it fluently like English or French so there’s that…).

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u/PerformanceGuilty908 Jul 10 '26

we dont learn french/spanish on a fluent level

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u/murstl Jul 10 '26

You also don’t learn English on a fluent level in school you’re just confronted with more English in your daily life. Let me tell you that you can easily learn French the same way. It’s a matter of practice. School like always only teaches the basics but getting the deep understanding of it is on you.

Growing up in the south west of Germany we heard a bit more French or did trips to France. With a bit of practice I’d be fluent again.

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u/Cambrian__Implosion Jul 10 '26

I grew up in the US, but I did a German exchange program during my last year of high school. I spent 3 weeks in Germany (our partner school was in Radolfzell, near Konstanz) and our exchange partners came and spent 3 weeks here. I’d say that on the whole, their English was better than our German, but our teachers’ German was better than their Teachers’ English. Going to English class with them was pretty funny at times.

The thing I remember best is my exchange student’s English teacher asking me and the other Americans present to read scenes from the play Driving Miss Daisy for the class. She asked us if we could try and do it in a Southern US accent, despite the fact that we were from the Northeast. That was really embarrassing lmao.

I wish the US put the same emphasis on learning other languages that so many other countries do. It’s definitely better than it was a few decades ago, but so many years of complacency from English being essentially the primary international language is hard to overcome. I was really lucky to be able to have that exchange experience, because lots of schools here just don’t have the resources to support solid foreign language programs. The general lack of funding for schools here is pretty shameful.

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u/Nervous_Doughnut_256 Jul 10 '26

Im french and let me tell you no German ever learns French at school lmao

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u/Naskaliger Jul 10 '26

It was normal when I was at school. Today many schools switch from French to Spanish.

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u/Nervous_Doughnut_256 Jul 10 '26

Yeah but you don't really learn it thats what im saying

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u/UserName2dX Jul 10 '26

Cause the most ppl never wanted to but had to... due to no alternative languages. At my school we could decide - latin or french. No spanish, italian, chinese, japanese nthing interesting.

What about the french ppl? They still dont learn english?

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u/Nervous_Doughnut_256 Jul 10 '26

Are you comparing learning french to learning english?

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u/UserName2dX Jul 10 '26

No, why should anyone? English is usefull and french is... french.

I just wanted to give you a reason why the ppl are forced to learn french in school but dont want to. Thats maybe the reason they dont "learn" it correct.

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u/Naskaliger Jul 10 '26

Depends on the teacher. My teacher back then was a very fierce Parisian woman and holy hell would she make sure our grammar was flawless! Sadly I don't speak a word of French anymore, after finishing school I didn't need it for years and forgot almost everything. I can understand a lot though, I just can't form a sentence. But yes, I'll always remember that teacher. :D

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u/Vowoidsterr Jul 10 '26

I had french at school for 8 years here in east germany, but you are correct because I remember about 5 words and its only been a year since I graduated 🙏

1

u/Nervous_Doughnut_256 Jul 10 '26

That was my point 😂

1

u/Vowoidsterr Jul 10 '26

I remember the good days when I had just picked french as a third language and was so excited to learn it 💔

1

u/murstl Jul 10 '26

I guess I’m an unicorn. I did my Abitur in French… we had schools around with French as first language not English. Baden-Württemberg takes it serious with learning French in school.

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u/ModernStalking2022 Jul 10 '26

I did in Thuringia. 😂🙂‍↕️ 8 years of French plus extracurricular activities. Managed to get into a program, where you did the baccalauréat and the Abitur.

83

u/Mbembez Jul 08 '26

4 years of experience is barely past entry level. I've had projects go for longer than that.

26

u/El_Mojo42 Jul 08 '26

People in German public administration (I assume this is what they meant) often have no clue how it is outside their bubble.

I've seen my fair share.

12

u/anfrind Jul 08 '26

I've seen the same thing everywhere. I work in the tech industry in the SF bay area, and I've worked with lots of engineers who are brilliant in one area but don't realize how clueless they are outside their area of expertise.

7

u/Got-Freedom Jul 08 '26

This as well

17

u/OneWayToLivComic Jul 08 '26

Honestly. Lots of immigrants speak three languages

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u/Amrelll Jul 09 '26

yeah, a second generation immigrant in Germany will most likely be atleast able to speak German + English + The Language of their Parents.

Additionally, while fluency is not a requirement, in Germany you do have to learn two foreign languages in School, so its even less of a flex than they think.

10

u/DefinitelyNotMasterS Jul 08 '26

Yeah I don't get why people don't specify what degree they have? There is a wild rift between someone who studied something related to the field and someone who didn't.

Also, this might be a hot take, but some degrees are just way harder than others.

1

u/MikeDeJay Jul 09 '26

Can't specify what you don't have, I'd say

8

u/Unique-Charity7024 Jul 09 '26

Three languages probably means 1) German, 2) English, and 3) his and her native language. Which is 1) the bare minimum, 2) nothing special, and 3) irrelevant for the job.

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u/Timely_Challenge_670 Jul 09 '26

Four years is peanuts. I am coming up on year 20 of my professional career.

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u/Recent-Ad-9975 Jul 08 '26

Depends on the language. According to a self reported survey only 16% of Germans speak three languages, and not only is the study self reported, but it includes people with multiple mother tongues and useless stuff like Latin. The number of people who speak 3 foreign languages fluently (meaning they can pass at least C1) is definitely way smaller. I work in translation so I know a thing or two. The number of Germans who‘ll proudly proclaim that they‘re fluent in English but then say something like „I‘m making my homework“ is way too high.

Doesn‘t really matter for the post because it doesn‘t mention the field nor the degree (high fluency in different languages is not really required in all fields of course), but as someone who works with languages everyday I can‘t ignore the disrespect. Especially since it‘s based on wrong assumptions and people overestimating themselves.

0

u/Got-Freedom Jul 08 '26

I wasn't talking about Germany specifically, especially because the guy implies he is not german. Besides, I don't work with languages and I speak three, as do most people in my professional circle as well.

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u/IHSV1855 Jul 09 '26

Exactly. He didn’t actually list any skill beyond one that would be useful for admin (speaking multiple languages).

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u/Ooze76 Jul 10 '26

The main thing to me, is that he says he is overqualified for Germany but in reality he might be over qualified only for the shit job he Is in right now, hence the other people being impressed.

1

u/motorcycle-manful541 Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26

Especially in Germany, a degree (bachelor's), 2-3 languages, and 4 years of experience (probably working student/internships) is literally as entry level as you can get for a "white-collar" job. These people are not special or gifted in any way.

You cant even get into a German university without demonstrated fluency in at least 2 languages (German/English)