Overview of Working in Austria
There are different ways to earn income, different ways to work, find a job, get a job, earn as a foreigner living in Austria. Working in Austria as a foreigner is a topic that requires personal experience to speak on confidently.
After going through the job market looking for things tailored to a student for the past few months, there is now personal experience when it comes to the job market in Austria.
Five Ways to Work as a Foreigner
The Study and Jobseeker Visas
There are five different ways a foreigner can work in Austria. The first is through the study visa. You can work while being on a study visa. The second way is through the jobseeker visa. For the jobseeker visa you are given 6 months to come to Austria. For that 6 months you look for a job and if you’re able to get a company that is willing to sponsor your work visa then voila. The third way is the red white red card which is a work visa. If you get a high paying job in Austria the company applies on your behalf, you do some documentation, and you get a work visa and come into Austria as a working class.
Blue Cards and Dependent Visas
The fourth way is through the EU blue card. If you are a European national, you come from a European country, you are allowed automatically to work in Austria. The fifth one is the dependent visa. For example, your spouse or your parents, anyone who is living in Austria or who has an Austrian passport or is living in Austria on a work visa or on a student visa and you’re dependent on that person, you are also allowed to work depending on some conditions. These are the five different ways. If you’re an international student, here are the things you need to know about working in Austria.
Rules for International Students
Work Hours and Potential Earnings
During the semester, while school is going on, you’re only allowed to work for 20 hours a week. During the summer period on holidays, you’re allowed to work full-time. Working 20 hours a week means that you would earn less than someone who is normally in the job market, someone who is working full-time. For working part-time as a student, you’re going to be earning between €500 to €1,000 a month, depending on how many hours you choose to work. You can work from 20 hours and below. If you work the full 20 hours, most times your salary range would fall within €800 to €1,000 a month depending on where you choose to work.
Admission and Visa Requirements
There are some requirements in order to do this work. You have to have an admission from a university. Doing a German course is not an admission. If you are studying a German course with Go Institute or OSD that is not an admission. You have to have an admission from a university in Austria. You need your student ID card and your student visa. Those are the basic requirements. Also if you’re from a third country you have to go through AMS — Arbeitsmarktservice — which is the job market service for Austria.
The AMS Job Permit Process
When you get a job and an employer offers you an employment contract for 20 hours a week, this employer then goes through AMS and applies for you to have a job permit, a working permit. You do not work without this AMS process. If not, you are going to be fined for it. These are legal terms you have to go through as a student to avoid problems with the authority. There are typical jobs that students usually work as part-time.
Typical Part-Time Jobs
Hospitality and Cleaning Roles
There are jobs in hospitality, tourism, restaurants, working as a waitress, salesperson, and cleaning jobs. There are also delivery service and post service jobs. You can also work as a research assistant to your professor in the university, which is also an option, or do internships with big companies, tech companies, international companies. They usually offer students internships if you’re qualified — 20 hours a week — and this is important because you could have the possibility to be retained after these internships.
Salary Deductions and Taxes
For taxes, most students don’t pay taxes because they fall below the income bracket of those who pay taxes. For your salary, there is a distinction between gross and net income. Your health insurance and other deductions are taken from your gross income and at the end of the day what you go home with is not exactly what the employer promised. For example, if you get a job where you are to be paid €1,000, at the end of the day you might be going home with €900 and something because your health insurance is deducted from this salary.
Finding Part-Time Jobs
Online Platforms and Websites
To find these part-time jobs, for research assistant jobs, you go through your university’s website where you can see job opportunities and apply. For hospitality or other site jobs, there are different websites to check: hokify.at, willhaben.at, indeed.com, stepstone.com, and karriere.at. On these websites you can always find different jobs, or you can type in a Google search, for example, “waitress job Vienna 2026” and you’ll see a list of jobs listed.
Supermarket and Company Websites
Most companies like to receive their applications online, so most of them are online. You can apply through the company’s website. For supermarkets, if you want to work as a salesperson, go to Billa or Lidl or whatever — just go to their website, go to jobs or career, and you will see the list of job opportunities they offer and can apply for any one of them. A lot of people have also noted that finding a job is difficult. One thing that works is timing — knowing the seasons where you apply for a job.
Seasonal Opportunities and Summer Hiring
It is more difficult to get a job during the normal seasons of the year. During summer there are a lot of job opportunities because a lot of people go on holidays and companies need to replace these people temporarily. This is an opportunity to take advantage of those people going on holidays, to take over their place, and if you do well enough you can be retained. A month before summer like the end of May or June is a very hot period to do applications for jobs.
Applying in Person and Event Work
That’s when jobs are doing interviews and hiring people, so it is a good time to apply and get job interviews. Something else that works is going to these companies in person, though some of them will tell you they don’t accept applications in person and to apply online, as their human resources team would scan and verify if you are suitable for the job. But in some other cases, in smaller companies and small businesses, it works when you go in person.
Summer Events and Facebook Groups
In smaller companies they can see the person applying and know that you are willing, capable, and suitable for the job. During the summer, there are also events, a lot of events happening like fairs and parties which is also an opportunity that especially foreign students take advantage of, because in these events they need people to take care of food, cleaning, stage building, selling tickets, and security. These events happen in summer. You can apply for them, work there part time during the summer, make your money and move on.
Human Resource and Event Companies
Some of these things you can find on Facebook groups, or through human resource companies. There are companies who take care of events, event companies that hire people, connecting the employers and the employees together. They put you in their database and when they have a company holding an event that is suitable to you, they connect the two of you together. That’s another option. For cities to work and study, for example, if you get an admission to study in Tyrol, it is worth knowing how easy it is to penetrate into the job market there.
Major Cities to Work and Study
Vienna and Graz
There are four to five major cities where it will be easier. Number one is Vienna because Vienna is the capital city, it is big, highly populated, with a lot of companies and a lot of opportunities, but there is also a lot of competition because people are qualified. There are a lot of diverse people there, but there are opportunities. Vienna is number one. Number two is Graz. Graz is also a good hub especially for foreigners who are into tech and technology. If you’re interested in IT, Graz is a good place for you to work and study at the same time.
Linz, Salzburg, and Wels
Linz has a lot of industrial opportunities when it comes to working in industries. Salzburg is good for tourism and hospitality, so if you studied something related to tourism and hospitality, Salzburg is a good place for you. Wels is also a good place. It is foreigner friendly and a good place to work and earn as a student in Austria. You might not be a millionaire in the first few years, but there are opportunities, and once you are qualified you will definitely find something that suits you.
The Importance of German Language
Language Skills and Job Opportunities
Working part-time especially as a foreign student helps you build your language skills. Speaking good German is very important when it comes to the job market in Austria. Most of the job offers, especially the highly paid ones, require German. They will tell you that you need to have at least B2 level of German. Speaking German is a requirement. it is very, very important. Working especially in tourism and hospitality where you speak to a lot of people will help you train your language skills.
Building References and Experience
It gives you references, local experience, local job experience, and you can use it to grow into your roles and build your experience, especially when you have graduated and you’re looking for something more permanent. Everything can be confusing at first. Translating a CV from English to German and noting your German language level — such as B1 or B2 — is something to keep in mind when entering the job market.