German Degree, Hard Truths

Dear Reader,

Happy Friday!

Starting today, you’ll hear from us each Saturday too, featuring our weekly episode of another one of our podcasts, The Signal Daily. 

At The Core, we cover the core sectors of the Indian economy, from all perspectives. To that end, The Signal Daily covers consumer trends. But, rather than giving hot takes, we deep dive into each story. You’ll hear from consumers like you, as well as experts. 

We relaunched in early May and since then, we’ve covered rising rents across metros, the art market boom, India’s ban on real-money gaming, and options trading, to name a few. 

This week, we address the increasing interest of Indian students in studying in Germany.

I graduated from an American university in 2019, during US president Donald Trump’s first presidency. I remember my classmates were anxious; they worried about their H-1B visa applications, since denial rates had risen. Now, Trump is back. And this time, his administration is tightening the screws further.

In his latest move, on September 19, he signed a proclamation that added a $100,000 fee to new H-1B visa applications. A couple days later, Phillip Ackerman, Germany’s Ambassador to India, put out a video. In it, he compared his country’s migration policy to German cars: “reliable, modern and predictable.”

It instantly reminded me of Shaina, a 28-year-old I recently spoke to. Shaina now works in Germany. Always a bit of a nonconformist genius, she applied there back in 2022, when Germany wasn’t the obvious choice. She landed a Master’s spot at the Technical University of Hamburg. Finding a full-time job took time, but today she says she’s glad she made the leap. German employers actually respect work-life balance, she told me.

Stories like Shaina’s are becoming more common. Education consultancies are also cashing in, pitching Germany’s strong economy and predictable migration rules. 

But the truth, as always, is more complicated. Private universities that agents recommend often rank far below public ones, which are harder to get into. And landing a job isn’t guaranteed: some students describe months of struggle, saying they were forced to return home after running out of savings. Add to that the near-necessity of learning German, especially for client-facing or managerial roles.

So what are the real do’s and don’ts of studying in Germany? We unpack this with students and consultants in today’s episode of The Signal Daily.

At The Signal Daily, we don’t do hot takes. Instead, we bring you deep dives into the how and why behind consumer trends. Listen to The Signal Daily on Youtube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

I’d love to hear what you thought! Write to us at [email protected], or reach me directly on Instagram or Twitter at @thesignaldotco, or via email at [email protected].

Thanks for listening, and have a restful weekend.

Best,
Kudrat
on behalf of The Core

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