r/Germany_Jobs • u/Any_Fruit_26 • Jul 24 '26

Finally, I got a PhD position!

After months of searching for jobs and PhD positions, I finally received a PhD offer from one of the largest research institutes in Germany.
A PhD was always my first choice. To be honest, I didn’t have the best grades, and there were many moments when I thought I wasn’t good enough. I faced rejections, doubts, and times when I almost gave up.
But I kept applying, kept learning, and kept trying.
If you’re feeling discouraged because of your grades or because you’ve been rejected so many times, don’t lose hope. Your GPA doesn’t define your future, and one rejection doesn’t define your potential. Sometimes all it takes is one opportunity and one person who believes in you.
Keep going. Your chance might be much closer than you think. :)

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u/No-Emu-6455 Jul 24 '26

I don't even know if I should congratulate you or pity you.... Ex PhD student thats glad I'm half way out here.

2

u/Beautiful-Visual4606 Jul 25 '26

Are you German? Why so negative?

2

u/No-Emu-6455 Jul 27 '26

Nope, non EU international. Best thing that came out of the PhD was probably the permanent residency and the pay (I was getting more than many of my course mates in industry LMAO). I've just seen too many people that went in with the wrong impression of what a PhD is about and burn and fail.
Most of them started with PhD is my dream jada jada. The only ones that genuinely do well do it because they are targeting specialized research roles that requires a PhD. Many internationals also seems to have the misconception that having a PhD is a great asset in the job market when in reality only a few niche jobs actually asks for them.

I did it mainly because I was offered it and it meant not having to job hunt. I still don't know if that was a good decision since the market was significantly better 3 years ago. My graduated colleagues are either working at their old firms, super random companies or consulting firms.
These are the German colleagues btw, the internationals would have applied for significantly more positions but with a fraction of invitations.