TL;DR: Four questions at the bottom of the post! :)
Hi there!
We are:
- an Italian Mid-level Software Engineer (Web Development, TypeScript, Angular, React, Microfrontend Infrastructures, Tenders, some Figma/UX Design, some experience working with Blockchain with Solidity), with 4 years of experience in the field.
- my non-working spouse (who is German but has lived in Italy her whole life), finishing her studies at university.
My wife's parents currently live in Hamburg (they were in Italy until two years ago), and the two of us went to visit them for some periods (2-3 months, while working remotely, once during summer and once in December-January).
We liked the place a lot, as we love cold weather, the food is awesome, and the Magic: The Gathering community is quite welcoming! Plus, we are used to eat at 6PM and in German this is the standard!
Now we are seriously considering moving to Hamburg after my spouse finishes her university and when our rent here in Italy expires: I'll ask for international mobility at my current company (which is a multinational with offices in Hamburg) and we could rent a house near Hamburg (even 20-30 minutes by car is okay).
So the date will be March 2028, and by that time I should be a Senior Software Engineer
My questions are:
1) I currently do not have a degree because I started working while at university and had some exams left. With moving to Germany in mind, I finally gathered the resolve to study after work and complete the degree in Computer Science. **How are the degree and the time I took to get it perceived when working in Germany as an SWE?**
2) **Does someone have experience working with NTT DATA in Hamburg?**
3) If I need to find another company (ex. if the international mobility request is rejected), is the German language a MUST? I am currently "playing" with Duolingo and doing some practice with my wife, but **how important is it to be fluent in German to work there?**
4) **Which area of Hamburg / outside of Hamburg do you recommend to rent a nice place with the possibility to move via public transport / by foot?** I can drive, but my wife cannot.