You can earn a good amount of money, get practical experience and study at a university at the same time. With a concept called dual studies in Germany, this attractive combination is actually possible. But many people don't even know that this kind of thing exists. So a dual study program is a special type of degree program in Germany. It's a combination of university studies and practical training or work experience in a company. The practical part, so you working in the company, is actually part of the curriculum in the course. So it's possible for you to easily gain professional experience during your studies at companies like BMW, Siemens and many more. And at the same time, you get a full academic degree. This means you can do dual studies for your bachelor's or master's. And in this special type of degree program, you complete your studies at two learning locations. At a university and at a company. In most cases, each part is 50% of the program and you need to commit to one company for the whole duration. So you will sign a work contract with the company because you will have to work a certain number of hours per week. And you can also earn some money, but more on that later in the video. Now you will find a thematic connection between your academic study program and your practical work. If you study engineering, for example, your practical part will also be in something related to engineering. Most of the time, the academic institution has partnered up with a company. Just to give you an example, BMW here in Munich offers a whole bunch of dual study programs and they are actually a partner of my university. You can look up all the different programs on their website. So one of them is a dual study program in computer science. And this one is four and a half years long. And in the end, you will get a bachelor's degree in computer science. And their partner institutions are the University of Applied Sciences in Munich. I attend this one or the Technical University Regensburg, depending on, you know, which BMW location you pick. As you can see, during your studies, you will have periods of practical work at the company and also periods of studying at the university. So the question is who offers dual studies? In general, you can find dual study programs in two main types of institutions. One is the University of Applied Sciences, known as Fachhochschulen in Germany. So Fachhochschulen are compared to classic universities, more practical oriented. So it makes sense that they offer programs that make it possible to gain a lot of practical experience. Universities of Applied Sciences offer both dual and non-dual programs. I also studied one, but I'm enrolled in a non-dual program, Computer Science and Design. Then there are the Universities of Cooperative Education. I feel like they are lesser known in Germany and they go by the name Duale Hochschule. They are exclusively dedicated to dual programs. Now, dual study programs are not limited to educational institutions. Companies also directly offer them. Universities usually have a lot of collaborating companies. So you can directly approach the company and apply there first. Right now, there are about 1600 dual study programs in Germany. And the list is growing every year because this form of education is becoming more and more popular. You will find the largest number of programs in the field of engineering with close to 600 and also about 600 business programs. In total, there are 200 dual programs in Computer Sciences and 170 in the fields of social welfare and social service. For degrees like architecture, transportation, communication and design, This means you cannot pursue dual study programs in every subject. Now, to successfully find a good dual study program, there are a couple of strategies that you can implement. And this part is very important because knowing these approaches will make everything a lot easier. In this case, you can look at online databases and platforms that are dedicated to listing dual study opportunities in Germany. Some good examples I can personally recommend are Azubiyo Wegweiser Duales Studium or Ausbildung.de These ones are pretty good when it comes to filtering programs based on your preferences and requirements. Now, to start off your research, just typing in "Duales Studium" in Google will give you so many search results to browse through. But there is still a question left. What about financing my studies? Now, the amount of money you will earn during your dual studies is different from program to program. But I would say it's comparable to a German apprenticeship salary. On average, I would say you will earn 900 to 1,200 euros per month. The best paid dual study programs are in engineering, computer science, business IT and business administration, in which you can earn more than 1,500 euros. It's also possible to apply for scholarships parallel to your dual studies. Now, you might be asking yourself, is the dual study salary enough to give me financial stability? If you are on the lower end of the salary scale, so between 600 and 900 euros, which is also possible in some fields, The German government calculates that each month students need 850 euros to cover their living costs. And you should keep in mind that some dual study institutions, especially if they are private, charge tuition fees. So it's important to check with your company if they are also willing to cover the tuition fees and sponsor you. Most of the companies will actually do that. Now, if you don't manage to find a company with a decent salary, it's hard to find other ways to finance your studies. I want you to keep that in mind because dual study programs are really demanding. You will have to work and study full time, so So to boost your chances of finding a good company with a good salary, here are some tips from my side. So larger corporations offer larger salaries. It's just the truth. If you secure a position within a big international company, it will definitely increase your earning potential because they have more money available. And also please go for tuition free higher education institutions. As a third tip, understand Germany's salary structures. Depending on the regions and the industries in Germany, there are different income levels. In general, urban areas offer slightly higher salaries compared to cities in the countryside. And on top of that, you can consider selecting lucrative industries. I know money is not everything, but if you're already kind of interested in such a field, for example, business, you will earn more if you complete the practical part in the finance or insurance sector rather than in local event management. So at the moment, more than 100,000 people study in dual study programs. And they are really popular in Germany because you get a lot of benefits from them. One important aspect is that as a student of dual programs, you get to experience the best of both worlds. High quality university education and practical experience. And in most cases, dual students are more qualified than people who just completed a regular degree program. On top of that, you will have a network with a company and a university. And this also means that the job opportunities are going to be very good. And this is very powerful. After you complete a dual study program, you are very likely to have a guaranteed job at the company. And even if they don't hire you, you have a crazy good convincing resume for future employers. But with all these advantages in mind that certainly make dual study programs in Germany very attractive. There are also challenges that I want you to keep in mind because not everything is easy. If you enroll in a dual study program, you will inevitably face a high workload. You know, students of regular programs in Germany, they have long lecture free periods or semester breaks to finish their projects, learn for exams, go on vacations, or simply relax. I mean, in the end, you will have to complete a workload for a study program. So attending lectures and studying for exams and at the same time, also work full time at the company. So it's going to be a little hustle and work. Now in Germany, it's quite common to change degree programs or take a break. And students and regular programs can quite easily do that. For example, I also changed my degree program once, but dual students usually have a big contract with the employer to finish the study program in the standard period of study. And this is definitely the case if the company you work for pays for your tuition fees. So there is also the pressure of having to perform really well. I recommend you to be careful and think through your decision before you sign any contract. Don't forget to enroll in the free Germany Starter Kit course in the video description, download the free studying in Germany guidebook and join our huge Discord community. Love you and stay focused. So the first one, I call it the institution-focused search. And in this case, you first figure out your favorite institution where you would like to complete your dual studies. These can be universities of applied sciences or universities of cooperative education. This approach is really beneficial if you have regional preferences and the institution websites are the best resources to look at. Then there's a program-focused search. And here you directly, and here you directly search for specific programs rather than looking at the location or institution first. In this case, you're better off searching on online databases. And the last and most underrated approach is the company-focused search. If you prioritize certain companies and their environment, you can specifically look for companies offering dual programs and then check with what kind of educational institutions they collaborate with. The best resource here is actually the company website. In addition to these three strategies, in rare cases, you might be able to establish new dual study programs with companies and institutions that were previously unconnected. However, as you might have already guessed, this requires extra effort and negotiation. But imagine how cool that would be if you will be the first one to introduce a company to the concept of a dual study program and actually make it happen. This is a big flex.
