{"id":634,"date":"2025-10-19T15:16:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T15:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saiht.de\/blog\/?p=634"},"modified":"2025-12-20T01:06:18","modified_gmt":"2025-12-20T01:06:18","slug":"12-years-down-four-more-years-to-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saiht.de\/blog\/2025\/10\/19\/12-years-down-four-more-years-to-go\/","title":{"rendered":"12 years down – four more years to go"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s puzzling to realize how much time I spent to get an education. By 2025 I used 12 years<\/strong> of my life to get professional training, in addition to my 10 years of regular school<\/strong> attendance. That\u2019s right, I don\u2019t have a high school diploma (Abitur in Germany). But I taught high school kids and helped them improve their grades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kommunikationselektroniker – 3 years<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

My first professional education is from vocational training at the Deutsche Telekom AG<\/strong>, Niederlassung Potsdam on the Telegrafenberg. It usually requires 3.5 years, but I could shorten it with 4 other students to just 3 years. The official description is Kommunikationseletroniker Fachrichtung Fernmeldetechnik<\/strong> (communication electronics technician, specialized in telecommunication).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Diplom-Physiker – 7.5 years<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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I started to study physics at the Humboldt Universit\u00e4t zu Berlin<\/strong> in 2000. This is before the bachelor and masters degree were introduced in Europe following the Bologna process<\/a><\/em>. The diploma I received is now considered equal to a masters degree<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The regular study time (Regelstudienzeit) for physiks is 5 years. But I spent 2 semester at the MSU – Moscow State University<\/strong> (\u041c\u0413\u0423 \u041c\u043e\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0301\u0432\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0439 \u0433\u043e\u0441\u0443\u0434\u0430\u0301\u0440\u0441\u0442\u0432\u0435\u043d\u043d\u044b\u0439 \u0443\u043d\u0438\u0432\u0435\u0440\u0441\u0438\u0442\u0435\u0301\u0442 \u0438\u0301\u043c\u0435\u043d\u0438 \u041c. \u0412. \u041b\u043e\u043c\u043e\u043d\u043e\u0301\u0441\u043e\u0432\u0430) in Russia. And I invested 1.5 years into the investigation of HgCdTe Narrow-Gap Semiconductors<\/strong> at the HU and BESSY<\/a> (Elektronenspeicherring-Gesellschaft f\u00fcr Synchrotronstrahlung mbH). The work is reflected in my diploma thesis \u201cElektronische Eigenschaften von CdxHg1-xTe mit 0.07 < x < 0.4\u201d<\/em> (here a link<\/a> to the document on my personal university homepage<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The diploma system does not have a major and minor part. You are only required to study an additional subject for one semester. I chose physical chemistry<\/strong> (Physikalische Chemie) by Prof. Rademann in 2001 with a practice (many experiments and lab reports) over the summer break. This was really fun!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This degree allowed me to teach Math, Physics, Chemistry and Computer Science at public schools in Germany. In 2012 I finally decided to officially become a teacher<\/strong> and get a teaching license.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oberstufenlehrer f\u00fcr Mathematik und Physik im Nieders\u00e4chsischen Schuldienst – 1.5 years<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Teachers in Germany study for a master of education<\/strong> at universities. But that is only the first step, therefore called Erstes Staatsexamen<\/strong> (first state exam). To qualify as a teacher you also need to pass your Zweites Staatsexamen<\/strong> (second state exam), which usually requires an additional 2 year<\/strong> training period called Referendariat<\/strong> with a teaching obligation of 10 hours per week and lectures at a specialized institute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I started my \u2018Referendariat\u2019 at the Studienseminar Stade<\/strong> in Lower Saxony. To save costs the state had reduced the training time to 1.5 years. While living in Hofkoh<\/a>, I was travelling to the Studienseminar Lehramt an Gymnasien<\/a> (45 kilometers), continued to the Gymnasium Warstade<\/a> in Hemmoor (another 29 kilometers) and after a day of work with frequent visits to my lectures traveled the 56 kilometers back home on most days of the week. It was a stressful time 2012\/08 – 2014\/01.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Above the start on August 1st, 2012; Mathe Leistungskurs 12 in Hemmoor 2013 and finally the graduation on January 19th, 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In summer 2015 at the Didacta I realized that there are more then 200 International German Schools around the world! It took a while to make up my mind and collect information, but in February 2016 I started applying for several schools around the globe. Here is the list until April 2016:<\/p>\n\n\n\n