What’s up folks,
do you know the feeling when things always take more time than you initially expected? Me too. But I still managed to push through and think that the 4th edition of the Berlin Salary Trends survey is the best-ever.
I improved the experience and am very happy that this year’s survey is supported by Ravio, our benchmarking partner. With their additional data and a couple of new questions (did anyone mention perks and AI?), we will be able to get even more useful insights to help you better negotiate your future salaries.
Last year we had almost 2000 responses, and I’d love us to top this. So help by participating. It’s 4 minutes:
After you are done, it would be great if you could share it. You are the best ❤️
🗞 Berlin & Germany
A subscriber from Turkey recommended a Turkish restaurant. An ideal case for my overly-pinned Berlin map. So I went, and now, I also can totally recommend Müşterek Meyhane. It's small, cosy, the staff are very nice, and they serve a good variety of meze. An excellent opportunity to share some great food with your friends. Of course, with rakı for the ones who drink.
Which are the best German movies? I asked Leo, a film buff, about his top 3. Here you go (links to Letterboxd): Das Weisse Band, Victoria and Gegen die Wand. Great for improving your German. You can join the discussion in the comments: I will be making a summary soon.
We had the second BVG strike last weekend. What are they striking for? Last year, five strikes ended after a 20% pay raise was settled. This year, it’s about working conditions: more vacation days, shorter hours, and better allowances. Verdi has 17 demands, including 3 extra vacation days (to 33 total), a 35-hour work week with full pay by 2027, shorter shifts, higher allowances, and revised break times at terminal stations. BVG estimates the total cost at €150 million, requiring 1,330 new employees.
The route of the 1st of May parade is planned to pass by Görlitzer Park, which will be closed on the evenings starting 1st of March. The likelihood of the fence making it to the 2nd of May is… low?
Good news, the SCHUFA black box is soon gone! Starting mid-March 2026, SCHUFA is rolling out a completely transparent score. For the first time, you'll be able to see exactly how your score is calculated, broken down into 12 criteria with an explanation tool. But you will need an ID with an online ID functionality.
Four clubs on Berlin's RAW-Gelände in Friedrichshain (Cassiopeia, Weißer Hase, Crack Bellmer, Zum schmutzigen Hobby) face immediate closure after the site's owner, the Kurth Group, banned operations over missing fire safety documents. The main problem is a decade-long fight between the developer, who wants to build a 100-meter office tower, and the district, which was delaying the approvals ("no club protections, no development plan"). The investor wanted to add 20% residential use, but that would require a new planning process and noise assessments.
A Bitkom survey of 133 German tech startups shows a split mood: 35% say things improved last year, 30% say they got worse. 9% fear insolvency within 12 months. Only half of the founders would choose to start their company in Germany again (only 7% would go for the US and 5% would not start a company again).
Spring seems to also be coming for the German economy: the ifo Business Climate Index rose to 88.6 from 87.6 in January. Companies report greater satisfaction with current operations and brighter future expectations. Let’s hope it’s a sign of economic recovery.
Berlinale 2026 was extremely controversial because of Palestine. It escalated after Syrian-Palestinian director Abdallah Alkhatib called out the German government as "a partner in genocide in Gaza" at the awards ceremony. CDU/CSU called for big changes in the organisation, while Greens, SPD, and Linke rejected them, warning against political interference in artistic freedom. The situation continues to be tense, and even Kanzler Merz got involved.
We need to talk about money, so don’t forget to participate in the 2026 Salary Trends survey. If you can, please share it with your friends and colleagues - you can get some inspiration here. Transparency is great and will help you and others make better data-informed decisions.
A reader highlighted the Smart Cooperative, which is offering the freelancer-as-employee model. It’s co-owned by its members who elect the board and decide on profits. They've been especially helpful for people who moved to Berlin from abroad, enabling access to public health insurance through their model.
Stats: Berlin's trams lost 89 hours/day to red lights at just six intersections in 2025 (in 2024 it was 48h/day). It was mainly due to construction sites and damaged tracks. Punctuality dropped to 86.7%, and average speed fell to 17.4 km/h.
Berlin-related headlines
The escalator problems at Berlin Hauptbahnhof continue. At least half of the affected escalators have been running again since the weekend. When all units will be repaired remains unclear. [read]
Poverty risk in Berlin has risen significantly [read]
Zoning plan for the area at Berlin's Gleisdreieck approved [read]
Snowiest winter in the region since 2012 [read]
How the Koka36 insolvency is affecting Berlin's cultural scene [read]
Handpicked Careers - are you in or out?
Thursday newsletter is coming… soon. Maybe this week, maybe next week. But it’s coming.
If you missed it last week, I decided to shorten the newsletter and split it into two. You are reading Handpicked Berlin, and will automatically get the Thursday edition, a new home for Jobs, Coffee Talk, funded startups, events, community and career content.
But, if you think Monday is enough, you can opt out by voting in this poll:
(You only need to vote once; the poll is the same as last week, and your vote has already been recorded. You can always unsubscribe later.)
🎉 Thursday edition — are you in?
🌿 Worth your time
We are well into 2026, but it’s not too late to have a look at which 12 distractions you can leave behind. I am totally on board with most of them already, and turning off notifications and just doing stuff without any background noise are among my top ones.
A very motivating video from Casey Neistat. What’s your excuse?
📌 Briefly
Block (US, fintech) laid off 4000 employees, half of its headcount. Its founder said it’s because of AI, but Dorsey said many things before. Block’s stock is -69% since its IPO. I remember it from the days when it was still called Square, doing mostly POS terminals.
BrewDog is closing its Frankfurter Tor location.
Who would have thought: Trump's administration has ordered US diplomats to lobby against attempts to regulate US tech companies' handling of foreigners' data. [more]
eBay is reportedly planning a global layoff wave affecting around 800 positions or 6% of its workforce. also in Germany. [more]
OpenAI raised $110B at a $730B valuation. (AGI must be imminent. /s) Anthropic recently raised $30B at a $380B valuation. For comparison, the market cap of SAP is around €200B.
Related, can OpenAI make it: the most grounded analysis I’ve seen so far by Benedict Evans. Worth a read. [more]
JP Morgan is, according to MM, close to launching its Chase banking app in Germany this spring after more than three years of preparation. The US bank already employs 160 people in Germany. [more] I’ve previously featured them extensively in the jobs but also in the content sections.
Helsing and Stark Defence received a €540M Bundeswehr combat drone order, though parliament cut the planned budget and imposed approval requirements for follow-up orders up to €1B per company. [more]
Puma (Bavaria, athletic apparel) reported its worst result in company history with a loss of €644M. Revenue declined 8% to €7.3B. Layoffs are planned. [more]
AUTO1 Group (Berlin, used cars and parts) achieved record results in 2025 with vehicle sales increasing 22.1% to 842,271 units, with adjusted EBITDA growing 80.8% to €197.5M. [more]
Check24 can no longer force energy providers to offer their best prices exclusively on its platform. Germany's antitrust office ruled the practice anti-competitive. [more]
Glovo (Delivery Hero’s subsidiary) was placed under judicial supervision in Italy for paying drivers ~€2.50 per delivery (in some cases over 75% below the poverty line). The company must now prove it pays fair wages. [more]
dm is being sued for launching an online pharmacy. [more] The Wettbewerbszentrale is arguing that mixing pharmacy-only medicines with drugstore products online is illegal.
😅 Meanwhile
software as a service died
Weekly social and outside interests
Reddit: Discussion on racial profiling in town. I’ve never had my bags checked, but when I was still a student, a cashier at Kaiser's (now Rewe) accused me of stealing cigarettes. It wasn’t nice. I do feel sorry for everyone who is enduring this regularly.
LinkedIn: remember kids, this is what happens when you ask your AI a stupid question.
Web: Toy Stories is an excellent project by Gabriele Galimberti where kids around the world share their toys.
Don’t miss
Need help with finding a flat, insurance, have problems at work or are you lost in career or life? Talk to our Handpicked Experts.
Handpicked Community talking about money.
How to learn German? Three very hands-on articles.
Handpicked recs: a growing archive of recommendations.