u/ChillyDinosaur

I visited a friend last weekend and stayed at her place in Charlottenburg. I noticed that the area around the main avenue (with all the stores) kinda resembles Madrid with the small cafés, the architecture, and all the greenery around, which obviously contrasts quite a bit with most other parts of Berlin.

I found it quite interesting and kinda funny/cool too, has anyone else noticed this?

Hi!
I’m currently living and doing my master’s in Germany, and I’ve just finished my second semester. Right now I’m not really sure about my degree anymore. I don’t think the program is very up to date or that it teaches enough practical skills.

I’m also not really vibing with Germany in general and I’m not very happy with my life here.

I originally chose Germany because I wanted to make a professional jump. Before moving here, I worked as a commercial consultant, making around €2k–€2.5k net while working remotely. I wanted to change fields and hopefully move into something with better long-term prospects, but now I’m also starting to feel like the job market here isn’t that great (although apparently that’s the case pretty much everywhere right now).

I used to live in Spain before moving to Germany and I loved it there. I really enjoyed my life there, but I know the working conditions and salary ranges are generally not great :(

So now I’m considering either going back to Spain and studying something else, basically praying that I can eventually find something close to the salary range I used to have, or trying France, which I imagine could be somewhere in the middle between Spain and Germany.

For people who have studied or worked in these countries, how would you compare them?

Hi!
I’m currently living and doing my master’s in Germany, and I’ve just finished my second semester. Right now I’m not really sure about my degree anymore. I don’t think the program is very up to date or that it teaches enough practical skills.

I’m also not really vibing with Germany in general and I’m not very happy with my life here.

I originally chose Germany because I wanted to make a professional jump. Before moving here, I worked as a commercial consultant, making around €2k–€2.5k net while working remotely. I wanted to change fields and hopefully move into something with better long-term prospects, but now I’m also starting to feel like the job market here isn’t that great (although apparently that’s the case pretty much everywhere right now).

I used to live in Spain before moving to Germany and I loved it there. I really enjoyed my life there, but I know the working conditions and salary ranges are generally not great :(

So now I’m considering either going back to Spain and studying something else, basically praying that I can eventually find something close to the salary range I used to have, or trying France, which I imagine could be somewhere in the middle between Spain and Germany.

For people who have studied or worked in these countries, how would you compare them?

I’m planning to go to Else or Renate this weekend, but it looks like it’s going to be super warm and I’ll also be coming by train from Leipzig (so I need to survive the heat on the way there).

My question is if it would be okay to wear shorts? Like dress shorts, either cotton or linen.

Normally I would only go clubbing in shorts for beach clubs or outdoor events but heat wave is heat wave haha

Do you guys think there would be a problem with that at the entrance?

Hi!
I’m currently finishing the first year of my master’s in Sustainable Development and I’m pretty unsure about what I can actually do with it.

For context, I come from a professional background in commercial and sales consulting (5+ years), so I was making around €2k to €2.5k net while working remotely from Mexico. I have a bachelor’s in International Relations and I’m doing my master’s in Leipzig, Germany. Since this is a double degree, I should also graduate with a degree in Management and Innovation from an Austrian university.

My intention with this degree was to change the kind of consulting I was doing because I was getting kind of bored with it. I thought I could connect sustainability with my previous degree and experience, use that as an advantage, and acquire some new skills that would hopefully help me not get devoured by AI in the future.

After one year in the program, I’m pretty disappointed and I’m thinking about dropping out and switching to something else.

We mostly covered economics that felt outdated and very theoretical, some social sciences that had little to no relation with what I was looking for, some management and ESG, but mostly at a very surface level, and the basics of LCA. I did take two optional classes in entrepreneurship and innovation that were actually great, but overall I feel like the program is very superficial.

Now that I’m halfway through, I really don’t know what I can do with this degree. It feels like it doesn’t give me enough technical knowledge to actually land a role, meaning I would probably have to start from scratch and do slave labor with internships and entry-level jobs.

For people who have been working in sustainability for a while, is it worth it?
Especially with politics shifting away from sustainability in some places and AI taking over more and more of consulting, I’m wondering if this is still a good field to move into.

I’ve also heard that salaries aren’t that great in the beginning and that it takes a while to reach something decent (let’s say above €3k net, depending on where you are in Europe or LATAM).

Would love to hear from people who actually work in this field. What kind of roles did you end up in? what did you study? do you enjoy it? and do you think the degree was worth it?

Thanks!!!

Hi!

I’m currently doing a Master’s in Sustainable Development in Leipzig and I’m starting to seriously question whether I should finish it or switch to something else.

I’ve just finished my second semester, so I have one more semester of classes and then thesis (I’ll probably need an extra semester anyway because I have to retake an exam, although I could potentially use that time for an internship).

The main thing making me question it is the job market. I keep seeing quite negative opinions about jobs after degrees in sustainability / sustainable development / environmental studies, and I’m wondering how much of that is actually true. (I do know that the market is bad right now, but I come from a commercial consulting background so I am not sure about sustainability)

I’m currently taking a leave semester because I want to use the time to figure out whether I should just finish what I started or look at other Master’s programmes, either in Germany, Spain (highest candidate as I love living there) or France. I’m also not sure I want to stay in Germany long term.

I know the obvious answer is probably “you’re already halfway through, just finish it”, but I’m not completely convinced. If I’m going to spend another 1–2 years on a degree, I’d like to feel reasonably confident that it will actually help me get into an interesting job afterwards.

So I’m curious about people who have already finished a Master’s in sustainability, sustainable development, environmental studies, climate, ESG or something along those lines: Did your degree actually help you find a decent/interesting job?

If you moved to another city/country after graduating, did that make things better or worse for you?

And looking back, would you still choose the same degree if you had to do it again?

Thanks!!! :)

Hi!

I’m currently doing a Master’s in Sustainable Development in Leipzig and I’m starting to seriously question whether I should finish it or switch to something else.

I’ve just finished my second semester, so I have one more semester of classes and then thesis (I’ll probably need an extra semester anyway because I have to retake an exam, although I could potentially use that time for an internship).

The main thing making me question it is the job market. I keep seeing quite negative opinions about jobs after degrees in sustainability / sustainable development / environmental studies, and I’m wondering how much of that is actually true. (I do know that the market is bad right now, but I come from a commercial consulting background so I am not sure about sustainability)

I’m currently taking a leave semester because I want to use the time to figure out whether I should just finish what I started or look at other Master’s programmes, either in Germany, Spain (highest candidate as I love living there) or France. I’m also not sure I want to stay in Germany long term.

I know the obvious answer is probably “you’re already halfway through, just finish it”, but I’m not completely convinced. If I’m going to spend another 1–2 years on a degree, I’d like to feel reasonably confident that it will actually help me get into an interesting job afterwards.

So I’m curious about people who have already finished a Master’s in sustainability, sustainable development, environmental studies, climate, ESG or something along those lines: Did your degree actually help you find a decent/interesting job?

If you moved to another city/country after graduating, did that make things better or worse for you?

And looking back, would you still choose the same degree if you had to do it again?

Thanks!!! :)

Hi!

Has anyone here done the Joint Sustainable Development Masters in Leipzig? I’m trying to figure out if I should actually finish it or just move on to something else.

I’ve been seeing quite a few negative opinions about the job prospects after the degree, and it’s really making me question why I’m putting another 1ish years into it if it’s not really going to help me get anywhere.

I just finished my second semester, so technically I have one more semester of classes and then the thesis (I’ll probably need an extra semester anyway because I have to retake an exam. I guess I could use that extra time to do an internship but I’m not sure yet)

I’m taking a leave semester now because I want to think about whether I should quit and start another degree, either in Germany, Spain (highest candidate as I love living there) or France. I’m also not sure I want to stay in Germany long term. My German is still very basic (went down from B1 to A1 haha) so that’s another thing I’d have to work on if I stay here.

I know the sunk cost argument points to "I should probably just finish since I’m already halfway through", but at the same time, spending another year or two on something I’m not convinced about doesn’t feel great either. Especially when there are other 1 year programmes or programmes where the second year is basically an internship + thesis.

So for anyone who actually finished this Masters: did it help you get a decent/interesting job afterwards? Did employers actually care about the degree, or did you feel like you could have done something else and gotten the same result?

And if you moved to another city/country after graduating, did that make things better or worse for you?

I’m mainly looking for real experiences from people who finished it, rather than the usual “it depends” answer; thanks!!!

Hi!

I'm thinking about applying to the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management (MSc) at TU Darmstadt, but I haven't been able to find many student experiences online.

If you've taken the program (or are currently enrolled), I'd really appreciate hearing your thoughts. How did you find it? Was it more practical or theory leaning? Did you feel like it prepared you well for finding a job afterwards?

I'd also love to know about your student experience and if you could go back, would you choose the program again?

Thanks! :)

Hi!

I'm thinking about applying to the International Marketing & Sales (MA) at FH Münster, but I haven't been able to find many student experiences online.

If you've taken the program (or are currently enrolled), I'd really appreciate hearing your thoughts. How did you find it? Was it more practical or theory leaning? Did you feel like it prepared you well for finding a job afterwards?

I'd also love to know about your student experience and if you could go back, would you choose the program again?

Thanks! :)

Hi!

I'm thinking about applying to the Digital and International Marketing (MSc) at Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen, but I haven't been able to find many student experiences online.

If you've taken the program (or are currently enrolled), I'd really appreciate hearing your thoughts. How did you find it? Was it more practical or theory leaning? Did you feel like it prepared you well for finding a job afterwards?

I'd also love to know about your student experience and if you could go back, would you choose the program again?

Thanks! :)

Hi!

I'm currently living and studying in Leipzig, but tbh I'm pretty dissatisfied with both my studies and my life here.

I'm taking a gap semester, and after that I'd like to give Germany one more shot before deciding whether it's just not for me. Mainz is one of the cities I'm considering, so I'd love to hear from people who know it well.

Some of the things I don't like about Leipzig, and that are important to me when choosing where to live:

• Being a foreigner: This is probably the biggest one for me. As a Mexican and a POC, I've had more racist incidents and microaggressions than I can count. I know that can happen anywhere, but I'd like to live somewhere that feels more international and where people are generally more open.
• Things to do: One thing I've struggled with is feeling like there's not much happening. I enjoy concerts, events, some partying, green spaces, cafés, bars, and just feeling like the city has energy and it's alive.
• Career opportunities: Before my master's I worked in commercial consulting, and I'm now trying to switch fields. A city with a stronger job market is definitely something I'm looking for. Being closer to Frankfurt I could assume there are more possibilities or at least shots at internships in interesting companies/firms.
• Aesthetics: This might sound superficial, but it's important to me. I like cities that feel well-kept, interesting and I also appreciate places where people generally put some effort into how they dress and present themselves.
• Social life: I'd like to live somewhere where people are a bit more social and approachable. It doesn't have to be over the top, but somewhere that feels a little less closed off and that you can see life on the streets.

For those of you who live in Mainz (or strangely have lived in both cities), do you think it would be a good fit based on what I'm looking for? Or am I likely to run into the same things I don't enjoy about Leipzig?

Hi!

I'm currently living and studying in Leipzig, but tbh I'm pretty dissatisfied with both my studies and my life here.

I'm taking a gap semester, and after that I'd like to give Germany one more shot before deciding whether it's just not for me. After spending a weekend in Köln I'm wondering if it might be a better fit.

Some of the things I don't like about Leipzig, and where I feel Köln might be different:

• Racism/being a foreigner: This is probably the biggest one for me. Leipzigers will often defend the city as this left wing, open, welcoming place where everyone belongs. That just hasn't been my experience. As a Mexican and a POC, I've had more racist incidents and microaggressions than I can count. In Köln, the atmosphere felt much more international and relaxed (someone actually smiled at me on the SBahn!)
• Things to do: I didn't have as much time as I would've liked, but just by being a bigger city it felt like there was so much more going on. I also noticed there are concerts, festivals and events happening all the time.
• Career opportunities: Before my master's I worked in commercial consulting. I'm trying to switch fields now, but it seems like regardless of the industry, Köln has a much stronger job market than Leipzig.
• Aesthetics: Köln itself is kind of a rollercoaster aesthetically, there are beautiful areas and there are not so beautiful ones. But I did notice that people seemed to put more effort into how they dressed and presented themselves. That might sound superficial, but it's something that's important to me.
• Social life: People seemed much more social. I saw more people outside, cafés and bars were full, and I felt like people were actually interacting with each other instead of just keeping to themselves.

Am I just looking at the the city through "weekend/tourist glasses" or does it actually can offer a pretty different experience from Leipzig?

I spent a couple of days traveling through Munich, Frankfurt, Cologne and Düsseldorf and every time I told people I was living in Leipzig, they would almost look at me with pain in their eyes and say things like "Oh I'm sorry," "Hope it's not too bad," or "I wish your first impression of Germany had been somewhere else"

It made me realize there seems to be very strong perceptions of Leipzig and east Germany in general

Some of the things I kept hearing or at least the impressions I got were:

• People aren't friendly
• People are racist
• People don't really work or build wealth there, and the east lives off the west's taxes
• People are less educated
• People don't really care about their appearance
• Politics are much more extreme, either left or right
• The region doesn't really have a culture or identity of its own

I'm not saying I agree or disagree with any of these. I'm just curious because I kept hearing the same things over and over again

How true do you think these statements actually are? And why do you think people from western and southern Germany tend to have such a negative perception of the east (even when it's kinda getting modernized)?

I just got back from a short trip there, and I really had a great time.

For context, I live in Leipzig and spend about half my time in Berlin. I’ve also been to Munich and Hamburg, so I’m mostly comparing it to Germany’s bigger cities.

I’d always heard people talking negatively about Frankfurt, whether it was about the city itself or the people so I wasn’t expecting much. But I ended up being pleasantly surprised.

For the first time since moving to Germany, I felt like I was in an actual cosmopolitan city. There were people from everywhere, lots of different neighborhoods, cool outfits, cool cars, and just a much more international vibe overall.

The city felt alive. You had people working in the financial district, kids playing in the fountains, people doing sports along the river, teenagers hanging out, cafés full, and it felt like things were happening.

Like any big city, it has its rough areas, but unless you’re specifically looking for them, they’re pretty easy to avoid.

Maybe I just caught Frankfurt on a good weekend, but I had such a good time that it definitely gained a new fan (I even got the city jersey)

I’m curious why it gets so much hate, because my experience was almost the complete opposite.

This is long so thanks if you read it all!

I want to rant a little because I don't really know how to take all this rage out of me, and I also want to hear other points of view.

Almost a year ago I moved to Germany. Before that I spent a year in Spain, and before that I had been traveling as a digital nomad for three years.

Life was good. I was making good money, I had friends all over the world, I was seeing my family every four months or so, and life felt like it was moving in the right direction. I was growing, and I could see a lot of opportunities on the horizon.

After all that movement, I wanted to find a place where I could start building something more permanent, kind of my own home. I also wanted to get out of the kind of consulting I was doing, so I decided to go for a master's. At the time I was choosing between Spain, Ireland, and Germany.

Germany won because of how cheap it was to live here, and because I had German friends and friends from back home in Mx already living here.

From there everything started going downhill.

I didn't really like the city I was living in (Leipzig). It felt like a punk town with a teenage mentality. No one wanted to do anything, no one wanted to build anything, it just felt like a raw, cheap version of hobo Berlin. The aesthetics weren't there, neither were the people. Saxony is one of the most racist places you can be in Germany, and because of the size of the city there just wasn't that much to do. It simply wasn't my crowd.

To all of that, add the German winter and how fucking difficult it is to find a mental health practitioner. I needed someone to continue prescribing my ADHD medication, and I never found one.

While I was living there I got a girlfriend who honestly helped me get through that time. She became one of my biggest pillars.

During my second semester I was supposed to spend a semester in Austria, and honestly that only made my image of Germany even worse. Everything there felt more polished, nicer, people were friendlier, and things just seemed to work. By the beginning of summer it was already very clear that I hated living in Germany.

Long story short, I asked for a gap semester, broke up with my girlfriend because the lack of stability in my life was hurting her too much, and now I'll be spending six months back at my parents' house trying to recover my sanity.

Now all I can think about is that this country took my mental health. I feel far away from my friends, I lost a lot of money (I only managed to keep my job during the first semester, and my master's actually had tuition fees), I can't find a job anywhere close to what I used to earn, and I honestly feel like I lost a year of my life. I also feel like I lost the positive attitude I used to have.

Maybe Germany just wasn't for me. Maybe I chose the wrong city. Maybe I should have put more effort I don't know.

What I do know is that this has been one of the worst years of my life.

¿Cuál ha sido el país que más les ha gustado para vivir? ¿En cuál han tenido sus mejores y peores experiencias y por qué?

Pregunto porque actualmente estoy viviendo en Alemania y no me ha gustado la experiencia :(

Me gustaría escuchar las vivencias de otros mexicanos que hayan vivido en distintos países.

¿Qué país les sorprendió para bien? ¿Cuál los decepcionó? Si pudieran empezar de nuevo, ¿en dónde elegirían vivir?

This is long so thanks if you read it all!

I want to rant a little because I don't really know how to take all this rage out of me, and I also want to hear other points of view.

Almost a year ago I moved to Germany. Before that I spent a year in Spain, and before that I had been traveling as a digital nomad for three years.

Life was good. I was making good money, I had friends all over the world, I was seeing my family every four months or so, and life felt like it was moving in the right direction. I was growing, and I could see a lot of opportunities on the horizon.

After all that movement, I wanted to find a place where I could start building something more permanent, kind of my own home. I also wanted to get out of the kind of consulting I was doing, so I decided to go for a master's. At the time I was choosing between Spain, Ireland, and Germany.

Germany won because of how cheap it was to live here, and because I had German friends and friends from back home in Mx already living here.

From there everything started going downhill.

I didn't really like the city I was living in (Leipzig). It felt like a punk town with a teenage mentality. No one wanted to do anything, no one wanted to build anything, it just felt like a raw, cheap version of hobo Berlin. The aesthetics weren't there, neither were the people. Saxony is one of the most racist places you can be in Germany, and because of the size of the city there just wasn't that much to do. It simply wasn't my crowd.

To all of that, add the German winter and how fucking difficult it is to find a mental health practitioner. I needed someone to continue prescribing my ADHD medication, and I never found one.

While I was living there I got a girlfriend who honestly helped me get through that time. She became one of my biggest pillars.

During my second semester I was supposed to spend a semester in Austria, and honestly that only made my image of Germany even worse. Everything there felt more polished, nicer, people were friendlier, and things just seemed to work. By the beginning of summer it was already very clear that I hated living in Germany.

Long story short, I asked for a gap semester, broke up with my girlfriend because the lack of stability in my life was hurting her too much, and now I'll be spending six months back at my parents' house trying to recover my sanity.

Now all I can think about is that this country took my mental health. I feel far away from my friends, I lost a lot of money (I only managed to keep my job during the first semester, and my master's actually had tuition fees), I can't find a job anywhere close to what I used to earn, and I honestly feel like I lost a year of my life. I also feel like I lost the positive attitude I used to have.

Maybe Germany just wasn't for me. Maybe I chose the wrong city. Maybe I should have put more effort I don't know.

What I do know is that this has been one of the worst years of my life.

So yeah fuck you Germany.

Hi!

I’m visiting this weekend from Madrid and looking for cool events, ideally during the day to catch some sun! :)