After returning to Liverpool from my year abroad in Würzburg, I knew I wanted to go back to Germany in the future. Back to recycling plastic bottles for Pfand (deposit), not crossing at the red Ampelmann (red light man), cultural differences that I’ve learnt to love.
In September 2023, I began studying at the Julius-Maximilians-Universität (Würzburg), which was initially a challenge with all the lectures and classes being in German, but turned out to be one of the best years of my degree. When I returned to Liverpool for my final year of studying, I immediately started researching potential future jobs and any possible way of living in Germany post-Brexit.
After a lot of searching, I found out about the British Council Language Assistant (BCLA) programme at the University careers fair, as well as hearing about several of my classmates doing the programme on their year abroad. Teaching had always been in the back of my mind as a potential career path, as I grew up with both parents teaching and even used to make fake PowerPoint lessons as a child for my younger sister. I’ve also worked twice before in Germany as an au-pair, where I looked after children of various ages and taught them English in fun and memorable ways, which sparked my interest in teaching languages. The BCLA programme seemed perfect, offering the opportunity to combine my love of languages, my love for Germany, and my growing passion for teaching. I applied in January and crossed my fingers while completing countless essays, my dissertation and lots of exam revision.
Now fast forward to July 2025, and I’ve just graduated with a First Class in BA Sociology and German, with a distinction in spoken German! Enter the post-graduation blues and “What are you going to do after university?” questions. Luckily, I had heard back from the British Council in June that I had been accepted, and would be moving to Munich in September to teach English!
I can’t wait to start the placement and live in a city I’ve visited several times and thoroughly enjoyed, as well as having the free time to explore more of Germany and wider Europe. Getting a job in Germany post-Brexit is certainly not easy, especially for graduates like me who didn’t get to vote in the referendum. However, this doesn’t mean it is impossible, opportunities to live and work in the EU still exist!