Day 168 of 185

Day 168: A Doctorate or a Salary?

During office hours at the University of Bayreuth, Paulina Seidl (A), a materials science student finishing her master's, comes to see her lecturer, Dr Helena Hofmann (B).

How to study this lesson 3 steps
  1. Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
  2. Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense. Point at (or tap) a German word to see what it means.
  3. Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native German, for example from the Resources page. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.

Dialogue

Audio recordings are on the way. For now, each lesson is the dialogue with its English translation.

Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day · point at a word to see its meaning

  1. A

    Frau Hofmann, ich muss mich bis Monatsende entscheiden: Promotion hier am Lehrstuhl oder eine Stelle bei einer Firma in Nürnberg.

    Dr Hofmann, I have to decide by the end of the month: a doctorate here in the department or a job with a company in Nuremberg.

  2. B

    Keine leichte Wahl. Und was sagt Ihr Bauchgefühl, ganz ehrlich?

    Not an easy choice. And what does your gut tell you, honestly?

  3. A

    Wenn ich das wüsste. Während meine Freunde in der Industrie längst gut verdienen, hätte ich noch jahrelang befristete Verträge.

    If only I knew. While my friends in industry have long been earning good money, I'd still be on fixed-term contracts for years.

  4. B

    Darf ich Ihnen sagen, was mir damals keiner gesagt hat? Promovieren Sie nur über etwas, wofür Sie wirklich brennen.

    May I tell you what nobody told me back then? Only do a doctorate on something you're really fired up about.

  5. A

    Im Moment brenne ich vor allem Keramikproben, und die bekommen ständig Risse. Aber ich glaube, ich habe das Rätsel bald geknackt.

    At the moment the only thing I'm firing is ceramic samples, and they keep cracking. But I think I've nearly cracked the puzzle.

  6. B

    Merken Sie was? Von allem, woran Sie gerade verzweifeln, erzählen Sie mit leuchtenden Augen.

    Notice something? You talk about everything that's driving you to despair right now with your eyes shining.

  7. A

    Oh. Dann sage ich der Firma in Nürnberg wohl besser heute noch ab.

    Oh. Then I'd better turn down the company in Nuremberg today.

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