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<p>I hear from friends of mine (doctoral candidates in engineering) that TAs in Germany are much better paid than PhD students teaching in the US. In fact, a German professor from Darmstadt once told me that the TA/RA salary he pays his students is competitive with engineering salaries in industry. Could that be true ?</p>
<p>thanks tobiz. how much do you think rent will run me per month?</p>
<p>Well if you live in a community-style “Wohngemeinschaft” (you have you own room but share the flat with other students, which is fun but gets pretty wild), you’ll be looking at something around 300-350€ a month (usually including utilities), depending on the proximity to the city center.
If you rent a room/apartment by yourself you will pay around 10€/m² (without utilities and unfurnished).</p>
<p>Remember that energy here is pretty expensive and utilities will be a nice portion of the overall cost. As a point of reference: I just paid the equivalent of 7.2$/gallon for gasoline to fill my car. So try to save energy as much as possible.</p>
<p>So I’d advise you to try and find a shared flat as long as you dont have a problem with alcohol and general chaos around you. If you do try looking at suburbs that are closer to the university and more distant from the trendy areas.</p>
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It will vary by field and location. Engineering has more funding sources than, say, math or sociology, because they can consult for industry and government agencies. There is also a huge difference between funding from an advisor and funding from the university. </p>
<p>A lot of Germans go to the US for their PhD - partly for the cultural experience, partly for the quality of education, and partly for funding reasons.</p>