Courtesy of Adriana Stein
- Adriana Stein moved to Germany in 2016 to pursue a free master's degree.
- After studying for 6 months, she failed a German language test and lost her student visa.
- The loss motivated her to become a freelancer and eventually launch a marketing agency in Germany.
College in the US can seem like a never-ending financial black hole. In 2016, I got a bachelor's degree in English and anthropology from Portland State University. That degree came with quite a large load of student debt.
It wasn't until I studied abroad in Spain and explored Hamburg, Germany as part of a 3-month solo backpacking trip, that I realized the whole world didn't have to go into debt to get an education like some of us do in the US. In fact, in Germany, college education is not only free for Germans, it's free for anyone who wants to move there and study.
The prospect of a master's degree in a foreign country was a tantalizing one. After graduating from college, I left my home in Eastern Oregon and moved to Hamburg where I've been living for nearly eight years. My decision to venture to Germany ultimately led me to a profession I cherish and I believe that it has been a stronger financial decision than staying in the US.
As part of the application process, I was required to pass a specific German language test
Before moving, I researched various universities in Hamburg and found an anthropology master's program at the University of Hamburg. When I visited in 2015, the professors were very friendly and helped me complete the online application process, before I graduated from PSU.
I got accepted into the anthropology master's program, which was a bilingual program, but as part of the application process I was required to pass a German language test that was scheduled shortly after classes started. I moved to Hamburg in April 2016 and tried my best to settle into a completely new and complex culture and language.
I found an apartment on my own and financed everything with my own savings that I'd built up through working during my time in undergrad. I spent six months learning German from scratch at an in-person German language school.
I failed the language test and learned first hand how strict rules could be in Germany
Everything felt set. I'd learned a ton of new rules about German life: like how to meticulously split up the recycling, which you can receive a fine for if done wrong. I also learned how to deal with the difficult bureaucracy surrounding the legally mandated health insurance and my visa at the German foreigner's office. I went to expat group meetups to try to learn more about how things worked here and find some friends — by no means was any of this an easy feat.
It seemed like I was getting to the mountaintop when everything turned. The University of Hamburg's test was solely for its programs that involved German language skills. It also covered things like understanding data and calculating statistics — by no means anything I'd ever learned in language school, nor was it at all relevant to my degree.
After taking the test, I got a letter in the mail that showed I failed by three stupid points. That's when I discovered, first hand, how strict German culture and bureaucratic systems could be. I tried to seek help with a letter from the top professor in the department asking the admissions to let me continue the program, since the three points didn't truly matter — I'd already obtained my student visa and had been studying in class for 2 weeks.
Despite my professor's best efforts, the admissions department rejected me, because "rules are rules." I had to quit studying — and with that my student visa flew out the window.
I had two weeks to find three clients or be deported
Since my language learning visa — which typically allows 6 months worth of short-term stay in Germany — was ending and my US degree wasn't recognized, the foreigner's office (Ausländerbehorde in German) told me I had two weeks to find freelance work with German businesses or leave.
I spent a good 24 hours crying my eyes out and feeling like a total failure. Then, knowing how little time I had, I jumped into action. The pressure of possibly being deported ignited something in me. I reached out to a German and English-speaking friend who studied something similar to me and asked her what to do. She pointed me towards a German website, similar to Craigslist in the US, where I could place small ads promoting my skills.
This piece of advice literally saved me. As a native English-speaker, I quickly found various types of small and medium businesses in Hamburg who had marketing departments that needed my help. I found work writing content in English and German-to-English translations on an hourly basis. As time went on, my freelance venture became so successful that I scaled into a marketing agency.
There's no one straight path to finding work in Germany and it got very lonely
Despite my luck, I don't think finding freelance work in Germany is always this easy for everyone. Success can depend on your citizenship, educational background, language skills, and the technical skills related to your preferred career. Since freelancing was my only option, it's what I had to focus on.
It was incredibly difficult and stressful to meet the freelancing requirements and set up things like health insurance, which differs depending on your visa type and the type of work you do. It was also hard to find a German tax advisor —a must here with the complex tax system. Those times were very lonely.
But I was always driven by the thought that I'd spent so much time and money here, it would feel like a failure to give up.
After putting my heart and soul into finding my way in Germany, I couldn't go back to the US and start over again
Within mere weeks, I went from being a student to being thrown into the full-time working world and that made me grow up incredibly fast. Germany nearly slamming the door in my face was one of the best things that ever happened to me. I discovered my newfound love for content marketing and SEO.
I now manage my agency, AS Marketing, where my team of 30 and I help large companies expand in international markets. I still live in Hamburg, Germany with my husband, who I met here. Though my family in the US hasn't visited me, I've been able to go back a few times —it's a very long trek to the middle of nowhere Eastern Oregon.
I miss a ton about the US, especially the friendliness and freedom to do things your own way
I feel as though Germany's a country where you really have to change a lot about yourself and rigidly follow the rules in order to integrate — especially in Hamburg, people can be quite cold.
I also miss the vast forests of Oregon and wide open spaces to drive through. Maybe someday I'll go back, but for now I can appreciate the financial stability and good health insurance that Germany offers.
Either way, I'd suggest for anyone who wants to move to Germany to talk with other expats and hear how they handled things. Don't spend so much time doing online research, as a lot of it is incorrect and won't apply to your case. Go directly to the foreigner's office and see what your options are. That'll give you the most accurate answer for how to fulfill their requirements.
For me, every unexpected turn in life can be a test of resilience and adaptability. Failing the German language test and being rejected from my master's program was tough, but the resilience that blossomed has been worth it.