frieda22

I qualified as FIAE in June 2023 and still work at the company where I did my internship. 
 
My experiences were similar to that of Spunkee. The Umschulung teaches the basics of being a Fachinformatiker and concentrates mainly on preparing for the exams, by doing exam after exam of previous years. The first 2 months were a complete waste of time, we did a “Computer Führerschein” which was the very basics of using a computer and some Office programs. It was pretty shocking to see how some people had been given a place on the course, yet seemingly had never used a computer in their life. 
 
There are then people on the course that are there because they have been sent by the job centre and have to be there. They aren’t really interested in learning that much in the class and have no interest in then learning at home, which in my opinion is necessary during the Umschulung.
The people that are self motivated and have some experience with computers will find an internship place easier and will also have a far better chance of getting a job within the industry once the Umschulung is completed. 
 
The internship is in my opinion the most important part of the Umschulung. I learnt so much in mine. Unfortunately, this is down to chance if you get into a good company or not. I had a class mate that was self motivated, getting really good grades but ended up in a bad company and learnt next to nothing in the internship. They didn’t find a job after the Umschulung. 
 
I’m so happy and grateful that I got the chance to re-train and work in a field that I really enjoy now. I would therefore advise anybody that has the opportunity to do an Umschulung to take it, but only if they’re committed, motivated and prepared to sacrifice some free time in the evenings/weekends.