would you ever do a clinical study?
Issue #141 (17 Mar) – 20+ jobs with design focus; littering fines increase; support for startups; expose AI fakers; do you feel sexy?
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Programming note #141: Salary Trends Survey going strong ALSO because of great support from other communities and newsletters. A big thank you to everyone supporting the project so far.
New here? Read this short intro.
🌟 Handpicked community
is a place where we meet, share projects and ideas and look for help.
Meet — handpicked events:
Join Grammarly’s engineering experts this Thursday for an insightful talk, "Tackling the Challenges of Cross-Platform Features at Grammarly." They will share insights on building features across platforms—native, web, hybrid—while integrating AI into complex user workflows in the age of LLMs. 👉 Register here.* | Thu, 20/03 18:30 | Grammarly Hub
Laravel User Group Berlin Rides Again | Tue, 18/03 19:00 | Wikimedia Deutschland
WahlheYmat Talks - Newcomers as Entrepreneurs | Wed, 19/03 17:30 | AGB PopUp
Trade Republic does St. Patrick's Day: Data Meetup | Thu, 20/03 19:00 | Trade Republic Office
Berlin language AI meetup #1 | Wed, 19/03 19:00 | Supertext
this could be your event - advertise it
Show cool stuff or Ask for something:
Tech startups! The North Star Pitch Nights by Gitex Europe are coming to Berlin on March 27th at betahaus. You can win a free exhibition booth at GITEX Europe + 3 hotel nights-stay & be part of Supernova All Stars. Apply here.
Project Europe launched. It’s like YC/Thiel’s Fellowship but focused on European founders. You need to be under 25 (why is that exactly?) and can get €200k for 6.6% equity. Let’s go! 🚀
In the same direction… If you're a recently funded startup needing support with talent acquisition, beta user recruitment, employer branding foundations, or creating an engaging newsletter, please reach out. I'd love to offer my expertise and connect you with my audience.
📨 Submit your input for the community here. This section is also featured on LinkedIn in the weekly post.
👀 Handpicked jobs
is a rotating selection of jobs from companies I’d check out.
4️⃣ from the rotation this week: readers submitted
🇩🇪 Instapro Group/ MyHammer - Customer Service Representative
🇩🇪 Perspective.co - 😍 Customer Support Representative (f/m/d) – Remote
The remaining jobs with Design & UX/UI focus are in the Handpicked online database.
Are you looking for new colleagues or work in HR? Submit a job.
✨ Handpicked deals
Your purchase or interest will help sustain this project.
Learn German with SmarterGerman — HANDPICKED11 for 11% discount. Read on how to learn German while working full-time.
💻 Looking for a fixed or flex coworking space or an office for your team? Here is the direct link to all the coworking spaces offering a discount.
💰 Salary Trends 2025 already has 1,023 responses and… needs even MORE women
Thanks to everyone who has already participated or helped spread the news. ❤️ The gender split is currently around 60-40 in favor of men, and I’d love to get more women to respond, so if you can help, please share it.
☕️ Coffee Talk with Sabrina Jeblaoui
is where my guest contributes three links and I write a short bio. Permanent collection.
Sabrina is a portrait & event photographer, a holistic coach and the founder of NachtClubsBerlin (an ongoing documentary about the souls of Berlin). She also runs a newsletter, TheBerlinFlow, and a community SwapYourSkillsGirls. Here is what she prepared for you:
Samer Café – My go-to weekend morning spot! This cozy, community-focused café feels like a second home, where I always bump into familiar faces from the neighborhood. The warm atmosphere and Samer’s friendly presence make it extra special.
Cicala Caffetteria Italiana – The ultimate pistachio croissant that instantly transports me to a holiday in Sicily! A little taste of Italy right in Berlin.
Feel Better Live More (podcast by Dr Rangan Chatterjee) – A must-listen for thought-provoking conversations on health and wellbeing. Each episode explores the science of physical and mental health, featuring medical experts, wellness practitioners, and inspiring individuals who share evidence-based strategies and personal journeys.
🗞 Snippets
is a selection of links focused on Berlin/Germany, career, timeless content and business.
Berlin & Germany, career & timeless
Can you please share the Salary Trends in your Slack/Teams/WhatsApp/FB/Telegram groups? And of course participate yourself. Here is the link.
BVG will be on the third strike this year on Wednesday and Thursday.
Employers need to do more because German worker engagement hit a record low: the percentage of highly motivated employees, ready to go the extra mile, dropped from 14% to 9%. 78% now work "by the book" (up from 67%), only half plan to stay with employers beyond one year, and just over a third for more than three years, according to Gallup's 2024 study. (HB, 🇩🇪)
Finally! Fines for illegal trash disposal will significantly increase: for example, dog sh*t (€55→€80), bulky waste (€150→€4,000; €500→€8,000 for larger amounts), and cigarette littering (€55→€250).
But in a typical Berlin manner, it is not clear yet when. In addition, who will be going after the people dropping fags?As expected, future Kanzler Merz found a compromise with the Greens: defense spending exempt from the debt brake when exceeding 1% of GDP; German states allowed collective borrowing of 0.35% of GDP (€16B) and €500B special fund for infrastructure investments over 12 years.
The German car industry is in trouble. VW’s profit is down 30.6%, and dividend cut for a third. They sold almost 9M cars and, no joke, 8.5M famous VW curry sausages, apparently aiming to make them available in supermarkets. (FAZ, 🇩🇪) Meanwhile,
💎 On repeat: Index, all or most of the exhibitions in Berlin.
💎 Have you ever considered participating in a clinical study? Here are your chances: Charité, Emovis, Velocity CR and Parexel.
Career: Another good thread on Hacker news about how to find freelance 6-9 months work or projects. The advice works for anything, not just developers. It’s cringy at first, then you get used to it, and then suddenly you don’t need to do it anymore.
Career: A useful document and partially paywalled article by Pragmatic Engineer on how to expose AI fakers in your interviews? Especially great for all the HR, managers and others who regularly interview candidates. The “please put your hand in front of your face” trick will work for any catfish out there.
Career: Ghosting isn't just a Hinge & Co. phenomenon. According to Greenhouse (🇩🇪, data from 2024), in Germany, the three most common phases when candidates are ghosted are after an interview with the hiring manager (33%), after completing a take-home test (28%), and after the initial conversation with a recruiter (25%). Wild and really a lot of LUFT NACH OBEN with the HR processes.
Timeless: Your phone is why you don't feel sexy… includes this beautiful sentence: “In the digital age, we often neglect our bodies entirely, and use them merely as a way to transport our heads to meetings.”
Briefly
Bad news: Cariad (-1600/5900 by the end of the year).
Stats: 6,000 Syrians work as doctors in Germany. Some are now understandably between staying and leaving.
Klarna filed for IPO last Friday (KLAR on NYSE). Revenue in ‘24 increased 24% to $2.8B. Congrats to all the employees. Related (on the pre-IPO AI hype).
TikTok Shop is launching in Germany. Users will be able to shop directly in the app.
Deutsche Bahn is in a deep hole. They paid out almost €200M to passengers in 2024 because of delays, up from €132M in 2023.
Deliveroo exited Hong Kong, transferring selected assets to Delivery Hero's foodpanda.
UniCredit is set to receive ECB approval to acquire up to 29.9% of Commerzbank.
MoveAgain (CH) acquired Berlin-based Movinga (moving company).
Insolvent Volocopter (airtaxis) was acquired by Austrian Diamond Aircraft, owned by Chinese Wanfeng.Northvolt, a former EU battery hope, has now also filed for insolvency in Sweden.
Vivid Money (fintech, Berlin) will exit the B2C business and focus on B2B. (MM)
Dance (see funded section): aims for EBITDA profitability in 2025 with 10,000+ customers and 80+ corporate clients. Revenue in 2023 grew to €6.2M (from €3.2M), while losses decreased to €17.2M (from €21.3M). (deutsche-startups)
Redcare Pharmacy: revenue up 32% to €2.4B in 2024; active customers grew by 1.7M to 12.5M; adjusted EBITDA at €33M (1.4% margin); forecasts 25%+ growth in 2025 with 2-2.5% positive EBITDA margin.
Weekly social
Reddit: What are the reasons for all the ghost roadworks in town? Yes, it’s the governance.
Practical life tips: I tried it with 3x tomato concentrate and it works.
Instagram: The story behind Post-Its.
💸 Funded in Berlin & Germany
is a list of companies that received funding over €1M.
Dance | Berlin | E-mobility subscription service | €12M | Careers.
LipoCheck | Berlin | AI-powered lipedema clinic | €2.5M Seed | Careers.
TastyUrban | Berlin | Restaurant kitchen optimization | €6.5M Series A | No careers.
Vantis | Munich | Digital chronic care solutions | €10M+ Series A | Careers.
Reshape Energy | Munich | Comprehensive energy services | €5M | Careers.
Vytal | Cologne | Reusable packaging solution | €14.2M | Careers.
Elea | Hamburg | AI-powered pathology operating system | €4M Seed | Careers.
😅 Meanwhile
everything’s computer
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