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Driving a taxi is a popular job among students
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Taxi Driver or Waiter?
"Why do students get up at six? Because the supermarkets close at half-past six." There's no shortage of jokes about students being lazy, but they really don't say much about the reality of student life today. Modern students don't just go shopping in the supermarket - they often work there, too. Two thirds of all students in Germany have to work to make ends meet. If they don't get money from their parents, or don't qualify for government-sponsored student loans (known as BAFöG), a student job is the only solution, for example as a waiter, a babysitter, or delivering pizzas. Often a student job is related to the student's field of study - music students work as bar pianists, business students get part time jobs in banks, medical students work as porters in hospitals.
Students are sought-after employees. As long as they do not work more than 19.5 hours per week, employers are not required to pay social insurance contributions for them, which makes them cheaper than "ordinary workers."
The classic student job in Germany is taxi driver - an occupation that quite a few students find themselves pursuing even after they graduate. It's not unusual for taxi passengers to discover their driver has a doctorate in history or modern languages. But it's a student job with a noble tradition - even the former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer was once a student taxi driver.
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| Further Information
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The Employment Agency's website contains a lot of information, advice and tips on such topics as education and training, choosing the right job or degree course, and on job and training vacancies.
www.arbeitsagentur.de
Fit For Europe – Practical Training (Jobs, Placements, Au pair, European Voluntary Service)
www.fit-for-europe.info/...
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