Moving to Berlin Germany, need to know the job climate for copier techs

[TayTayTheTechnician]

Hello everyone! I am a copier tech and have been for 7 years in America. I spent 5 years with Ricoh and the last 2 years working on Ricoh, Sharp, Konica, Xerox, HP, and pretty much every popular make in America. As my husband prepares to accept a promotion in Berlin Germany, I need to know what the job climate is like over there. I cant imagine that it is saturated or anything, but i need to know that i will be making a livable wage. I also need to know what companies are good to work with. I am a female tech and kind of expect that is much more normal in Berlin than America, but what do i know? I would appreciate any information regarding this. In all honesty I have only googled the topic briefly as this is news to me, but i am very excited and figured the best place to start is to post on my favorite copier tech resource site, copytechnet!

[GhostInTheMachine]

Re: Moving to Berlin Germany, need to know the job climate for copier techs

Ricoh has just fired 200 technicians in Germany. Otherwise, the career prospects are not bad. Many dealers are looking for good technicians, but some computer and network skills are almost always required.
Typically you will have a six month probation period. After this time in most companies you will get a company car (also for private use) and 24 - 30 days of paid holidays a year.

How important is it to be fluent in German? Would it be possible to get a job as an English speaker with some basic German?

[TayTayTheTechnician]

Re: Moving to Berlin Germany, need to know the job climate for copier techs

I would like insight on this as well. Im learning now but it would be nice to know.

Sent from my LG-LS777 using Tapatalk

[Rvale]

Re: Moving to Berlin Germany, need to know the job climate for copier techs

Hey there,

The costumers are usually the biggest difference, Konica Minolta, Canon, Sharp and Kyocera are the most seen around, Ricoh is sort of a plus device, wich may be a good thing, language is a must, have seen some dudes coming around and not being accepted, they sort of need you so you have the job but will never be part of the team, so the language helps soften the things out.

otherwise the income on the northern side is lower then south, around 20 to 30%. girls make also less so be hard with the deal, they need you more then you`ll be told.


good luck anyway.

[Armisael]

Re: Moving to Berlin Germany, need to know the job climate for copier techs

I am thinking of moving in with my girlfriend, do you think it's a good idea?

[Rvale]

[BEZERKER]

Re: Moving to Berlin Germany, need to know the job climate for copier techs

Hi! I am really happy for you! Germany is an awesome country, and I am sure you'll like it a lot. I hope your move will pass smoothly, without any problems. Sometimes it is a torment because of a lot of time, damaged things, etc. I moved to Germany using https://loparemovals.com, and I liked it so much! By the way, I don't think you'll have any problems with language. People know English here. After a while, you'll learn German, so everything will be cool with that. The technicians are quite valuable here, so you'll easily find a job. Good luck to you!

[DontStopmeNow11]

Re: Moving to Berlin Germany, need to know the job climate for copier techs

Since you are both qualified specialists, I think you will not have any problems while you live in Berlin, because they love smart and diligent people there.

[techsxge]

Re: Moving to Berlin Germany, need to know the job climate for copier techs

It realy depend on who you will work for. Copier Techs will be in demant for the next 10-20 years for sure, germany is still heavily depending on printed documents.

You'll need basic knowledge in IT:
- How to open Ports in Firewalls
- How to configure a Router (Most of the time Fritzbox Routers)
- How to set up Scan Methods on Servers
- How to secure Installations of Printers.

In Germany, most People are able to speak atleast a few Words for basic communication in English. The first few Words for a good appearance would be to say Hello in German and then the "normal" copier parts. So for example to give you a few Words:
- Drum Unit = Trommeleinheit
- Transfer Unit = Transfereinheit
- Transfer belt = Transferband
- Fusing Unit = Heizungseinheit
- Toner = Toner
- Developer Unit = Developer (Einheit)
You may notice that most of those words are sounding similiar to the English version. Should make it easier for you to learn these words and makes it easier for the Customer to understand the Problem which comes to my next Point:
You often need to explain the Problem and what you did to solve the Problem to someone. While it is most of the time enough to say: "I changed the Drum Unit because it reached the end of life and made those lines on the paper", some customers can be annyoing and want details what made you come to this conclusion and demant a detailed explaination. This often is a sign that they dont want to pay the bill. That is when the tech needs to speak fluently and describe details.

But you'll have a quite secure Job. Copiers are still very dominant in Germany. I have not seen many Ricoh in Germany though. I service KM, Olivetti (German Offbrand of KM), Kyocera, HP, Samsung and Develop most of the time.


I wish you the best of luck in Germany. IF you need any help, i am willing to help out but only remote because i live in Hamburg

[Gift]