Experience vs. degree when looking for a job - Germany

Hi. After more than a year of delays, we'll be heading to Frankfurt in a couple of months. I'm currently half-way through 'Culture Shock Germany', which is managing to terrify me...

I'm keen to return to work after having had children, and it would certainly help our financial position. But the problem is this: no degree. That hasn't been an issue in the UK, where I've worked in fairly senior roles in press relations and corporate communications for a variety of organisations, but I know that qualifications are taken extremely seriously in Germany. My hope is that my experience will at least partly mitigate the lack of formal qualifications. Am I being realistic?

I've started learning German, but realistically I would need to work for one of the English-speaking international organisations. I'm keeping an eye on a couple of English-language job sites, but I'd appreciate any other advice you can give.

Having a degree doesn´t guarantee getting a decent job here either!
I have a BA (hons) degree from England, which simply isn´t recognised here!!

Ouch! You must be even more frustrated than me!

Just realised that I should've posted this in the main forum, rather than the Frankfurt one, so I'll repost there. Still happy to hear any suggestions on this one, though - especially if anyone's looking for an excellent corporate comms person...

A lot of people I know have taken a TEFL or CELTA course along the way (you can even take one here in Germany), and get along by doing teaching and translating work. It might be worth your getting a teaching qualification...

What do you mean "isn't recognised"?

I came here with lots of quals but my degree is not relevant to my field and my prof. qual. does not have equivalence here. I'm self-employed and that was no barrier to getting work by agency or contact (but this was a while back when the economy was much better). What I did was get an internationally recognised qualification for my field that's in demand here. So that might be your most expendient route if you want / need a good qual. If there's not one for PR, there are wider ones like MBA of course. If you already have the experience / knowledge, a qual takes some work but should not be inherently hard, more like "rubber-stamping".

The only barrier I've come across was invariably the need for good German skills, so don't under-estimate that. "International organisations" are not a special thing exclusively for immigrants. You'll be competing against lots of Germans (and also integrated immigrants) with the specific qualifications who speak German, English and maybe at least one more other languages and who are often in a position to play the contacts game (seen enough German family and friends doing it now).

One thing I tend to advise people who want / need a full-time job here to do is try to get one before they come - se what local agencies have to offer etc.

See this thread: Getting by without a degree

Yes, but don't imagine it will be easy. There are some, in fact ever increasing numbers of, organisations (based on anecdotal evidence only) who look beyond the useless tome of irrelevant rubbish in a Bewerbungsmappe and concentrate on personality, capability and experience as determined through an interview. These tend to be international companies in more modern business areas - don't bother applying to insurance companies without that useless tome!

Learing German will help a lot, an internationally recognised course (fees for which can be offset against your tax liability) may help as long as it's a step forwards not just a piece of paper given for relearning what you already know. Good luck.

and if you want to gain a degree or a diploma - don't forget the Open University. I did about ten years' of courses and gained an MA and a BSc. Just for fun.