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I've been considering moving to Germany (or the Swiss) for quite some time. I've been studying and now working in the UK for a while as a developer, and am Originally from Easter EU. My question is: is it possible to find a job as a Computer Developer(Programmer), where knowing German is not a requirement? I know it's possible to do so at home, and I've seen such job postings, but home is not an option. Obviously knowing the language is a must, and I'm learning it, I just will not be knowing it as good as I'd like, as fast as I'd like and might need to move (uk's sinking faster than Titanic).

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    You could first apply to jobs marketed to English speakers (written in English).
    – Brandin
    Commented Jun 26, 2016 at 1:30

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I'm German and I don't think there will be a huge problem.

Today, most employees speak English anyway (at least to a degree where you can get what they want). I work as a software developer and asked my boss once if non-German speaking employees are considered just as foreign ones are and he said: It doesen't matter that much. However, they have to be able to read some of the internal documents about processes etc. This can be mostly translated to English using some translation tool or a dictionary.

(Medium sized company, <200 employees, Bavaria, City)

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I knew at least three foreign developers living in Berlin and working in small and mid sized IT companies. Some of them started without knowing any notion of the language, yet all took German courses at some point.

I can't say for sure, but those people seem to demonstrate that it's not a problem there to find a job without initially knowing the language. Note that this may apply just to Berlin, no idea about other areas. Though I'd say it's pretty common nowadays that you can work outside without knowing the language at first. In my company (not in DE) some employees are foreign and speak the language little to none, just English for now.

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I am a German, working as a software engineer for a US company's subsidiary located in Cologne.

Our office's working language is English and roundabout half of my colleagues do not have German roots, making it also the common ground for chit-chatting. I am not aware of many other companies in my area that have this kind of culture, but they definitely exist. You might want to look for subsidiaries of multinationals.

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