u/Immediate-Manner6721

Hey everyone,

I’m currently a 3rd-year Computer Engineering undergrad at HKUST in Hong Kong focusing on AI. My long-term goal is to move to Germany, do an English-taught Master's (Applied Sciences preferably and in AI/DS), and settle down there.

My plan is to take a 1-year gap year working full-time in HK right after graduation to build my portfolio, and aggressively grind German before making the move.

By the time I move, I'll have:

• A BEng in CompEng + AI ✅
• 2-3 AI/LLM development internships ✅
• 1 year of full-time ML engineering experience (hopefully)
• A couple of local hackathon wins and some cloud certs (AWS/Oracle) ✅
• Aiming to clear C2 as i already cleared A1, and prepping for A2

I want to know if this strategy makes sense to people actually working in the German tech scene right now:

1. How much does 1 year of full-time HK tech experience matter? Will German employers value it for Werkstudent (working student) roles while I do my Master's, or should I just move sooner?
2. How brutal is the AI/ML market right now even for German speakers?
3. Generative AI vs. Core Dev: My internship background is heavily in LLMs and ML. Given the current market in Germany, should I double down on that during my gap year, or focus on general Software/Data Engineering to be safe?

Would love any brutal honesty or advice on what I should focus on during my gap year. Thanks!