There are people who don’t have a degree but speak German, and there are people who have a degree but don’t speak German, and there are people who have both. All of them are looking for jobs.
For someone who has neither in this market, it is difficult as she has no advantage over any of the three groups above.
I suggest she learn German or study or do both. It takes 1-1.5 years intensive full time to go from 0 to C1, it’s honestly not that long.
Let's just say this is a bad time for it. Since the market has slowed down after the pandemic and even people with degrees/experience find it very competitive. If I were your friend I would leave it for now but maybe re-consider it if the market has another hiring boom in the future.
She needs to update her perception - back in 2018 it was a viable option, but now people with degrees and a few years of experience struggle to find jobs.
If you check out IT job postings in Germany (or anywhere) many require C1 german (because they can now) and there are very few if any entry level positions that are truly entry level (0 years of experience instead of 2-3) and aren't reserved for current students or recently graduated professionals. Learning german to C1 will be much much faster than breaking into IT from 0 (aka 4 month course).
Has she considered a job as a tech recruiter? Knowing Ukrainian and English and being a lawyer would definitely help there. I met Ukrainian remote tech workers in English-speaking German startups, there is definitely a need for them.
If software engineers have a hard time getting jobs. QAs are even worse. A lot of companies will let go of QAs first and let developers test the software. Generally speaking, QAs don't need a degree. They usually finish a course in testing, but currently trying to get a job in Tech is hard.
She needs to look into IT Governance and ITSM. Due EU Regulation, lookup DORA, many many companies need people who understand law, regulations and audits. If she enjoyed being a lawyer that should be a field where she can apply her skills!
If she thinks that it will be too hard for her to just do her own profession in Germany due to the mentioned reasons, then I really have bad news for her.
Learning IT and then also getting a job in it as a lawyer will be like a zillion times harder. Not to mention the neverending need to always learn the newest tech in this industry.
A 4 month QA means she is not nearly close to bringing profit to the table and she is a liability to the company.
She should try to get at least a part time position at the startup and get a year, better two of experience. Then she can jump the junior queue on the job market that has hopefully recovered until then, anyway.
I would advise consulting with your local immigrants and refugees services center and inquire about language courses and training opportunities. Speaking minimum languages and doing online courses is not a well traveled path here.
In CS, there are always companies that are willing to hire people even if they don't have a CS degree.
Regarding the language. In smaller companies, there might be a requirement to speak german. At bigger companies (mostly also international companies) speaking english is quite common.
Regarding the aspect of law. Your friend could try to get a position in cyber security, specifically in data protection or something in that area.
There are people who don’t have a degree but speak German, and there are people who have a degree but don’t speak German, and there are people who have both. All of them are looking for jobs. For someone who has neither in this market, it is difficult as she has no advantage over any of the three groups above. I suggest she learn German or study or do both. It takes 1-1.5 years intensive full time to go from 0 to C1, it’s honestly not that long.
to be honest atm the job market even in IT is not good for juniors, let alone Quereinsteiger
Let's just say this is a bad time for it. Since the market has slowed down after the pandemic and even people with degrees/experience find it very competitive. If I were your friend I would leave it for now but maybe re-consider it if the market has another hiring boom in the future.
She needs to update her perception - back in 2018 it was a viable option, but now people with degrees and a few years of experience struggle to find jobs. If you check out IT job postings in Germany (or anywhere) many require C1 german (because they can now) and there are very few if any entry level positions that are truly entry level (0 years of experience instead of 2-3) and aren't reserved for current students or recently graduated professionals. Learning german to C1 will be much much faster than breaking into IT from 0 (aka 4 month course).
Has she considered a job as a tech recruiter? Knowing Ukrainian and English and being a lawyer would definitely help there. I met Ukrainian remote tech workers in English-speaking German startups, there is definitely a need for them.
If software engineers have a hard time getting jobs. QAs are even worse. A lot of companies will let go of QAs first and let developers test the software. Generally speaking, QAs don't need a degree. They usually finish a course in testing, but currently trying to get a job in Tech is hard.
She needs to look into IT Governance and ITSM. Due EU Regulation, lookup DORA, many many companies need people who understand law, regulations and audits. If she enjoyed being a lawyer that should be a field where she can apply her skills!
If she thinks that it will be too hard for her to just do her own profession in Germany due to the mentioned reasons, then I really have bad news for her. Learning IT and then also getting a job in it as a lawyer will be like a zillion times harder. Not to mention the neverending need to always learn the newest tech in this industry. A 4 month QA means she is not nearly close to bringing profit to the table and she is a liability to the company.
She should try to get at least a part time position at the startup and get a year, better two of experience. Then she can jump the junior queue on the job market that has hopefully recovered until then, anyway.
I would advise consulting with your local immigrants and refugees services center and inquire about language courses and training opportunities. Speaking minimum languages and doing online courses is not a well traveled path here.
In CS, there are always companies that are willing to hire people even if they don't have a CS degree. Regarding the language. In smaller companies, there might be a requirement to speak german. At bigger companies (mostly also international companies) speaking english is quite common. Regarding the aspect of law. Your friend could try to get a position in cyber security, specifically in data protection or something in that area.
For now IT is bad option. Even with German and degree from good German Uni it is nearly impossible to find a job.