NEOMA Alumni Mag - N°29 - Décembre 2021 - 39

2,500
LinkedIn members are
C
NEOMA Alumni living in
Germany
ontrary to France where most of the
economic activity is concentrated in Paris, Germany
is a decentralised country, with several middle
size cities that offer well paid employment
opportunities says Victor Morel (PGE 04), Strategic
Projects Lead for Google Cloud: " The job market
is really dynamic. As the German population is
aging, the country needs immigrants, so it is not
difficult to find a position, especially in the technology
sector " . Overall, the strongest European economy
offers opportunities in a lot of different
industries: " Hamburg is known as the city for trade
and media, Frankfurt for finance, Munich for technology
and auto manufacturing and Berlin for service-related
start-ups " he adds. Moreover, says
Petra Beer-Michaud (CESEM 98), an independent
marketing beauty consultant, you should
expect to move inside the country during your
career: " In cosmetics for example, a lot of companies
are to be found in Düsseldorf, but Munich is
also a big hub " remarks the founder of The Beauty
Brand DoctorTM
. In terms of salaries, most alumni
say they tend to be 15-to-20% higher than in
France, though one should prepare for high taxes.
In Berlin, the biggest city in Germany with 3 million
inhabitants, André Pitié (PGE 01), chief marketing
officer of Elo Games, and Animator of the German
Tribe of NEOMA Alumni, describes a " vibrant
start-up scene " in need of skilled workers. The
founder of trombi.com came to Berlin in 2006
when the German branch of the American website
classmates.com purchased his company. Overtime,
he came to enjoy the Berlin atmosphere so much
that he became a German citizen: " I am gay and
out and I feel much safer and respected here than
in Paris. Big start-ups are very active on the topic
of diversity, and monthly meetings are organized
for LGBTs called Unicorns in Tech " he says.
A MORE TRADITIONAL APPROACH TO
MOTHERHOOD
One thing for families to consider is the childcare
system, less developed than in France and unavailable
in most places until the first year of the infant:
" In France if you have a child and find yourself not
working, people think you are lazy, but in Germany
people consider that mothers should be working
part time " summarizes Petra Beer-Michaud. Even
after children enter primary school, they need to
be picked up much earlier than in France, around
3 pm. The positive side: the possibility to take a
one-to-three-years parental leave, paid at 65% of
the salary after tax, for up to 1800 euros. " For me
it was great because I wanted to combine work
and family life " says Bénédicte Winter (PGE 09),
a senior Manager for Germany Trade & Invest. The
working mother took nine months off to look after
her first child and one year for the second, and is
now working part time, an arrangement many
companies offer. " A lot of women in Germany
switch to part time after they become mothers "
confirms Victor Morel. " My wife went back to work
full time after our child turned a year old, but she
was the exception in our Kita, the German kindergarten "
he adds. However, the situation is slowly
changing, especially in more liberal cities like Berlin
or Hamburg. The objective: to support working
mothers while also creating incentives to increase
the fertility rate, one of the lowest in Europe. The
situation has already improved a lot from what it
was 25 years ago, from 1.25 children per woman to
1.54. The opening of the country to immigrants,
Turkish and more recently Syrians, has also contributed
to increase this figure.
❱❱❱
1,000+
alumni enrolled on events of
the German Tribe of NEOMA
Alumni last year
NEOMA ALUMNI mag DÉCEMBRE 2021 - 39 -
http://www.trombi.com http://www.classmates.com
NEOMA Alumni Mag - N°29 - Décembre 2021

Table des matières de la publication NEOMA Alumni Mag - N°29 - Décembre 2021
