Job Hunting - Pro/Con

As this is not going to be a total holiday and needing paid work as soon as I arrive getting a job ASAP is THE IMPORTANT THING. As I am only qualified formally (and all my extra skills have been gained on the job) in one very specific area and do not have a university degree my options are quite limited. As a non German speaker I can not find work in my current field thus I will have to adapt. I do have one thing going for me though, I am a woman, making me less threatening and able to use this talent to my advantage.

There are a few options for work:

Aupair/Nanny

A grate website to use is Aupair World that can put you in contact with families before you arrive so you can already establish a relationship with them before you start

Pro:

There are many family's that are looking for someone who can look after the children on a full/part time basis with taking them to school, looking after them at home and teaching them English. You can pick up German easier as you do everyday tasks. You can also gain local knowledge by talking with the family and the children's teachers that you wouldn't get if you where not in contact with locals.

Con:

This can be exploited. You can be made to be more of a maid than someone who is primarily there to look after the children. They are not your own children and being frustrated can be ten times worse when you don't speak the same language. They can sometimes want long hours or in house Aupair.

English Teaching

There are many recruitment sites out there but you must also have a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language)

Pro:

As a native speaker there is a clear advantage going but there is also an opportunity to expand your own English skills as your students learn from you in the lessons. The classes will have many people from many different countries to meet. A very well paid job of about 2,000 euros a month.

Con:

You already have to have a very good understanding of English which is very hard for someone with dyslexia like my self who already has difficulty with the language. You also have a lot of unpaid lesson preparation before every class and as the students are not learning through language immersion your teaching can be made harder.

A lot more job looking is still to be done