Hello Fodorites,
I was wondering if any one out there has lived or worked in Germany and knows about any job opportunities or how easy it would be to find work. Perhaps near the American AirForce base, which is near Frankfurt..........my friend will be living there for four years. I only know Italian and English but have an EU passport and five years in the wine industry here in California if that helps

Would you consider a government job on-base?

http://tinyurl.com/39jjkm

My husband and I currently live and work near Ramstein Air Base, about 1.5 hours from Frankfurt. Is that the Air Force Base that you mean? Spangdahlem Air Base is also in the general vicinity, about 2 hours from Frankfurt. Since the closing of Rhein Main airbase, there is no Air Force base in the immediate vicinity of Frankfurt.

Anyway, without speaking any German, it may be difficult to find a good job on the German economy. In our area there are some businesses that cater almost exclusively to Americans, so they might be a possibility. These are generally car dealerships (selling American spec cars), some specific shops, or private American schools.

Of course, there are jobs on base too, either with the U.S. government or with a defense contractor. Contractor jobs are generally easier to get. Professional government jobs here are highly competitive, and unless you qualify for a hiring preference (as a veteran or a military spouse) its extremely difficult to get selected. Hourly jobs with the Morale, Welfare and Recreation Dept. or AAFES are a somewhat less competitive.

I'm not sure if any of this is what you're looking for. If you have any specific questions, I'll be happy to try to answer them.

Mindy,
thanks for the information. it definitely gives me an idea of some of the options.
Yes I would consider a government job (in answer to the previous post) but as you say, it may be highly competitive. what exactly goes into getting a 'contracted' job?
Also,
I believe it is Ramstein, I'll double check though and let you know

mindy,
oops one more thing. do you have any links to the AAEFS or to the other departments you mentioned? for example, would they have employment listed on their website or do they have a general email I could contact to get more detailed information...

You said you have an EU passport. If you don't have a US passport, it can be difficult to get a job on one of the US bases - not impossible, but certainly more challenging. The area near Ramstein is a very big wine region, perhaps you could do something with one of the vineyards?

celticdreams-
exactly my thoughts! However, I think I'd have to take some intensive German courses for that BTW I also have an American Passport....

winesaavy-

Sorry I wasn't more prompt in my response, but if you're still reading:

AAFES job openings:
https://jobs.quickhire.com/scripts/aafes.exe

Local bases here are Ramstein, Vogelweh, Landstuhl, or Sembach

A contractor job is just basically a job with a private company that has a contract to provide services for the US Government. These can be anything from IT jobs to medical services to military intelligence. Two big contractors here that I know of are SAIC and Titan.

www.titan.com
www.saic.com

Here's another link, too. This is for Non-Appropriated Funds jobs. If you're interested, contact them and they can tell you exactly what they require.

http://tinyurl.com/2fnbmj

Let me know if I can give anymore info.

Good luck!