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I've been invited for a job interview in a service company in Germany (Dienstleistungsunternehmen in German) for a data scientist position. As I learned, they receive projects from other industrial companies. I don't know yet if I'll be send to other companies for a long stay or if it'd be only occasional short-stay business trips.

Regardless of that, I've heard that having a record of working for service companies doesn't look good in the CV compared to regular companies. Does it mean that other employers consider it as a 2nd rate professional experience, especially for the field of data science and similar?

Thank you

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    First I've ever heard of there being a perception that service companies were somehow less than others - sounds like a local cultural thing, which may be true in some specific region or social group, but it is not universally shared. – BrianH Aug 27 '19 at 15:32
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    Is there a difference between "Dienstleistungsunternehmen" and "Unternehmensberatung"? Because the latter is quite common in Germany and there are some really big ones in the field that would be nice names to drop in an interview or to have on a CV (e.g. McKinsey). – Dirk Aug 28 '19 at 14:03
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I am not a data scientist, but a software developer in Germany. At least in software development, in house developers usually earn way more, than developers at service companies or lended workers (Arbeitnehmerüberlassung). That is why there is the impression of first and second class jobs, because why would you take a job which pays considerable less?

However I know a bunch of people who are skilled, but just didnt get the opportunity to an in house developer job. So they first worked at a service company and waited for their opportunity.

That being sad, in my experience, it is not a blow out to work at a service company or regarded as bad work experience. It is just more impressive working as a developer at a big DAX company. It is however much better to take on any job related to your field than not to work.

Edit due to comments: If they are willing to pay a competitive salary, they are pretty likely not a company, who is just used to outsource certain tasks because they are cheaper. They are much more likely a company with certain knowledge/skills which have a market value.

In my opinion, you dont ruin your CV, no matter what job you take (as long at it is field related and matches your skill level). If you have some good reasons to take the job (e.g. commute as you mentioned), then I do not think that a potential future employer will look down on you. Just make sure, they have projects which match your interests.

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  • In fact, I already have a job related to my field, but this company is much closer to my living place. However, I'm not that desperate to sacrifice my resume over it. – Bob Aug 27 '19 at 16:41
  • Is it just the salary which makes the difference? What if we agree on an appropriate salary based on my resume? – Bob Aug 27 '19 at 16:43
  • Updated my answer – QEDemonstrandum Aug 28 '19 at 10:25

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