Description
While some federal and state ministries tend to have administrative focuses in their job profiles, the situation is completely different for other institutes or authorities with their own research departments. Here, specialists with expert status are often sought, which means that the doctorate can take on a much higher significance in the application process. Moreover, the decision to pursue a career in a public authority does not necessarily mean turning away from academia: There is often the possibility of a later transfer to an University of Applied Sciences, where several years of professional experience are usually a prerequisite.
Salary
Salaries in public authorities are based on the civil service collective agreement (TVöD). The exact salary levels can be found in the TVöD remuneration table: www.gew.de/index.php . The grouping depends on the area of employment, experi-ence level and applicable collective agreement.
Fixed-term contract
In federal authorities or forensic institutes, permanent contracts are usually concluded. Research institutes, on the other hand, often hire newcomers for temporary positions that can be made permanent at a later date (e.g. if the project is successful).
Application
For many positions, the doctorate is a decisive factor for recruitment. Especially in federal research institutes, doctorates are in demand due to research and management functions. In forensic institutes, the doctorate is usually required for expert activities, which is also related to external presentation (for example in court cases). As a rule, however, doctorates are recruited directly here.
Federal authorities often rate experience in research at universities very highly. In federal research institutes, there can be a higher emphasis on non-academic work experience, whereby involvement in externally funded projects is perceived very positively here. In federal authorities as well as in federal research institutes, internships during studies or the doctoral phase in the respective authority are strongly recommended; in general, however, other in-ternships can also be decisive. The exact modalities of the application can be found in the job advertisement, which can usually be found on subject-related or public portals.