Computer Science is Informatik in Germany. Prior to the Bachelor/Master system it was a Magister study meaning you'd usually have to take a second major and a minor or two minors alongside it. Typically you'd either study Wirtschaftsinformatik (business computer science), which was focussed on computer science applied to business processes, Technische Informatik (technically used to be a Diplom study I think), which was more focussed on interacting with hardware, or Theoretische Informatik, which is more similar to the pure abstract computer science and more concerned with higher mathematics than applying the knowledge to build real software.
There is also a recognized trade called Fachinformatiker (I think there's another one called Anwendungsinformatiker which is more similar to Technische Informatik) which is a job training of applied computer science, involving a mix of classes in English, computer science, mathematics, business and other subjects. This still exists and IMO it's the best way to build a foundation for a career path as an application developer.
The university studies are more useful for specialist jobs or larger corporations that insist on university degrees. If you have broad knowledge despite having a university degree rather than the job qualification, it's mostly because of things you did outside the university track itself.
There is no apprenticeship track I'm aware of like there is for traditional trades that have an apprentice/journeyman/master (Lehrling/Geselle/Meister) distinction, e.g. carpentry, mechanics, hairdressing.
The two specializations for Fachinformatiker are FI/AE (Fachinformatiker Anwendungsentwicklerung, i.e. software development) and FI/SI (Fachinformatiker Systemintegration, that is as you already guessed system integration).
> There is no apprenticeship track I'm aware of like there is for traditional trades that have an apprentice/journeyman/master (Lehrling/Geselle/Meister) distinction, e.g. carpentry, mechanics, hairdressing.
Something like this kind of exists in Switzerland, even in two forms:
One track goes like:
normal Lehre -> EFZ, as a Geselle -> eidgenössischer Fachausweise and later -> eidgenössisches Diplom (Meister)
or in case of a Lehre with Berufsmatura: Lehre -> EFZ + BM -> Bachelor FH -> Master FH (Meister)
It depended on the focus, I think. But I think you're right: I believe Theoretische Informatik was a Diplom study at my university, but there was a related study that used Magister (computational linguistics and humanities computer science, which of course had overlaps with the respective general fields).
Computer Science is Informatik in Germany. Prior to the Bachelor/Master system it was a Magister study meaning you'd usually have to take a second major and a minor or two minors alongside it. Typically you'd either study Wirtschaftsinformatik (business computer science), which was focussed on computer science applied to business processes, Technische Informatik (technically used to be a Diplom study I think), which was more focussed on interacting with hardware, or Theoretische Informatik, which is more similar to the pure abstract computer science and more concerned with higher mathematics than applying the knowledge to build real software.
There is also a recognized trade called Fachinformatiker (I think there's another one called Anwendungsinformatiker which is more similar to Technische Informatik) which is a job training of applied computer science, involving a mix of classes in English, computer science, mathematics, business and other subjects. This still exists and IMO it's the best way to build a foundation for a career path as an application developer.
The university studies are more useful for specialist jobs or larger corporations that insist on university degrees. If you have broad knowledge despite having a university degree rather than the job qualification, it's mostly because of things you did outside the university track itself.
There is no apprenticeship track I'm aware of like there is for traditional trades that have an apprentice/journeyman/master (Lehrling/Geselle/Meister) distinction, e.g. carpentry, mechanics, hairdressing.