Thomas Hofbauer

Business Administration (dual)

Thomas Hofbauer still loves to visit the town, which functions as the door to the Bavarian Forest and thinks back to his exciting days as a student with a smile on his face.

Career Development

After graduating from high school, I decided to do a dual course of studies at DIT. In the course of my business administration studies (dual training as Bachelor & Banker) I acquired extensive knowledge of service-specific relationship processes in a regional bank. This also prompted me to develop further in the psychosocial field in addition to my business administration studies, and so I enrolled for a master's degree in business psychology at the FHAM Erding.

At the same time, as head of the e-commerce department at VR-Bank Rottal-Inn eG, I was responsible for the topic of digital sales and innovation and gained a great deal of knowledge in the areas of online marketing, online strategy and social media advertising through my certification as head of online business at the Academy of Bavarian Cooperatives. Since the main focus of my master studies, marketing and coaching, gave me a lot of pleasure, I decided to turn my back on the world of finance and orientate myself elsewhere. Through an assessment centre I acquired the position of deputy press spokesman in the district office of Rottal-Inn and was also responsible for the digital media presence. Since the middle of 2018 I am now office manager of the district administrator of Rottal-Inn. As office manager, I am in charge of the District Administrator's office (e.g. assignment of tasks and personnel management of the employees in the District Administrator's office). As personal assistant to the District Administrator, I am responsible for the coordination of the District Administrator's business and the preparation of appointments for the office management as well as the management function of the management level of the District Administrator's Office. In addition, I coordinate the preparation of the content of the meetings of the District Council and its committees and take part in almost all meetings.

Reminiscing allowed: remember your student days

The time of my studies in Deggendorf was legendary, and I still think back often to that time with a smile on my face. The town of Deggendorf is just the right size, it offers the nightlife of a big city, but you feel safe like in a village, everything is within walking distance. The cultural diversity that the campus offers has broadened my horizon immensely and has enabled me to make many intercultural friendships, some of which still last until today. I still enjoy visiting the city, which is the gateway to the Bavarian Forest, and think back to a unique time of study. Does the phenomenal currywurt still exist at Otto's?

What advice would you give to today's students?

The most important thing during the study time is, besides the lectures, self-organisation and a sensible time management to divide the learning material and to use synergy effects by learning together with fellow students. And above all: do not push exams! That will certainly catch up with you. If you do reach your limit, I can only advise you to seek direct contact with the professors. Especially the professors at DIT are not sitting in an ivory tower, but are there for the students when they need them - I have always appreciated that. And last but not least: even if you miss a mark - don't let yourself down, much more important are the contacts and networks, the experiences as well as internships and projects and these can be built up and maintained very well at DIT.

Peter Pfersdorf

2003 | Business Administration

Career Development

After graduating from high school in 2014, I started studying media technology with a focus on computer science at DIT. This gave me a broad knowledge of different media and technical background. Especially the computer science courses were fun. Thus, I decided to specialise in this direction in the Master's programme.

From 2018 to 2020, I completed the Master's in Applied Computer Science / Infotronics. This is structured in English and is a good mix of programming and engineering topics. It also includes freely selectable modules from the Master's programmes in Electrical Engineering and Media Technology. Meanwhile, I took the opportunity to spend a semester abroad in Finland.

Immediately after my Master's thesis, which I wrote at BMW in Landshut, I started as an IT trainee at Allianz AG (insurance industry) in Munich. Here I was able to try out different roles (e.g. project manager office, deputy manager or project manager) and get to know the insurance world.

Since April 2022, I have been an IT project manager in the Workplace Team at Allianz Technology. In addition, I now have the chance to accompany our team into agilisation as a product owner.

Reminiscing allowed: remember your student days

I have fond memories of my 6 years in Deggendorf. I like both the city and DIT itself very much. There is a family-like environment from which you can take many friendships with you for life. How often did we sit by the Danube and enjoy the sun?

In addition, you can really savour the student life at night. The beer toss at Spontan with the most delicious fries was always legendary.

But the university also has a lot to offer: I like to think back to the sports programme and the MovING programme for female students.

I still feel very connected to the university through the AlumniNet network and like to visit DIT again for one or two seminars.

What advice would you give to today's students?

Enjoy your time as a student, because it goes by far too quickly. Don't put off too many exams, try things out and take as much as you can with you for your life. But don't lose sight of your goal.

For the inquisitive, I can give the tip: Take voluntary AWP language courses and career service seminars. I personally found Business Etiquette the best, but it was always booked up quickly. You can also find some seminars on soft skills here.

If you have the chance to spend a semester abroad, take it. Such experiences are worth their weight in gold.

Jennifer Rigo

2021 | Business Administration

Career Development

I already had 2 different jobs before I started my studies, as I had completed an apprenticeship as a businesswoman for office management. During my studies, I was a trainee in Aftersales at the BMW Group in Munich.
I took business administration with a focus on marketing & sales. After my studies, I worked for the first time in Influencer Marketing at a start-up in Berlin and have now been working for over a year as a Social Media Manager at one of the largest IT companies in the world and am currently even working at European level.
What I would like to emphasise here: I haven't lived in Germany for 3 years. I ended up in Portugal because of Covid and started working with the German team from here, only recently I was upgraded to Europe level.

Reminiscing allowed: remember your student days

I really enjoyed studying at DIT, especially the fact that I was able to take something from the most diverse fields of business administration, which helps me to this day to have an all-embracing understanding of complex corporate structures.

My professors encouraged me along the way and actively supported me until the end. Especially in Covid times, when I couldn't be on site, they made it possible for me to complete my studies. DIT offers really great opportunities not only locally, but also internationally. The university is very well networked, which not only makes semesters abroad possible, but also participation in events in other countries and universities. In 2019, I had the opportunity to attend the "Global Entrepreneurship Week in Rotterdam" and expand my network and perspective immensely in just one week. Furthermore, in 2020 I also got to do a semester abroad in Budapest, which was mostly online due to Covid, but I still got to take away many new and helpful impressions.

What advice would you give to today's students?

Keep your minds open to all possibilities. A lot of things will be new and you are often still closed to trying new and unknown things. Use your studies to jump over your shadow, as soon as you do that you start to get to know yourself, your possibilities and your strengths. And you get a little closer to your dream job or your dream career. Very few people know from the start where they want to go, so don't be afraid, trust in the unknown and try it out.

Vanessa Wong

2020 | Business Administration

Career Development

When I graduated, I was lucky to have a job lined up for me and ended up in Talent Management which is the fancy term for Recruiting. It's a long story on how this was possible but of course relevant to everything I'm writing here. 

My first internship was in Recruiting at FlixBus in Munich. I initially wanted to land an internship in Marketing but was constantly overlooked/rejected as I didn't have any prior experience in the field. Since people and culture were an interest of mine at the time as well, I thought, "hey, let's give this job a try" and it paved the rest of my career for me. Quite literally. 

Initially my focus during the internship was to learn as much as possible in hopes that I could transfer anything I learnt in Recruiting into a career in Marketing. But as I finished my first month at FlixBus and was given more responsibilities outside of Recruiting, that was when I discovered Employer Branding, which is the best of both worlds. I was able to create content, go to career fairs and even host events/Stammtisch for the interns in my cohort.

When my internship was about to end, my Manager at the time took notice of me and offered me a Working Student job with them. Which I'm am eternally grateful for as fast-forward 6 months, I ended up in limehome as a Working Student in People and Employer Branding with her when she left FlixBus. After graduation she/they offered me a full time role as a Junior in the company in the same department allowing me to continue building my knowledge in Employer Branding and People.

Then... COVID strook, we all moved to home office and like others this was when the thoughts in my brain started to chatter. Do I want to stay in Recruiting, do I still want to pursue something in Marketing. Don't get me wrong, I was happy at the time at limehome cause my colleagues were great. I was also doing cool tasks like, branding materials for the employees, content for our LinkedIn page and I even got a chance to design the company job site. But something about the many lockdowns just got me thinking. 

Fast forward again to 2021, HubSpot found me on LinkedIn and I gave them a shot because like they say, never say never. Which leads to my current role now as a Program Manager. Where I'm no longer recruiting and I'm responsible for university events and partnership. Sharing real life experiences with students like you so that you know what to expect when you graduate. Which was a direction that helped me shift away from recruiting and move more towards Employer Branding. 

Moral of the story is, no matter what your major is or what you decide to study, your career can look completely different and do a 360 flip without your consent. Just keep an open mind wherever you end up.  

Reminiscing allowed: remember your student days

Something I really enjoyed about studying at DIT is the community you'll have. Being someone who moved to Germany, had to learn German and studied completely in German (mostly Bavarian/bairisch ;) ) , I managed to make a home for myself in Deggendorf during my studies. There were no regrets from my side choosing a German course, as that allowed me to interact with the locals. I was also involved in and did many extracurricular activities which allowed me to mix and mingle with international/exchange students that came to DIT. 

I even took advantage of the fact that DIT had many partner universities all around the world and did an exchange semester in Seoul (Kookmin University) where I met friends from all over, the Nordics, US, Canada, and we're still in touch even to this day. Needless to say, I always have a place to stay whenever I travel to these countries which is a huge bonus for me since I love travelling. 

Doing a German Bachelors helped me maintain great German speaking skills (yes, I'm patting myself on the back but it's to make a point!) which opened doors for me and helped me land the jobs I mentioned above. Which is why I highly encourage international students who are contemplating between an English or German Course to take a risk and go towards BWL instead of studying IM. It was a struggle for me, even with C1 German but I can promise you, it's worth it if you want a future business career in Germany. 

What advice would you give to today's students?

There's always 3 main things I share with students whenever I do my events. 

1. Network, network, network: I mean, hey, I'm a shy kiddult (kid addult) too but my statement above already proves why it's important to start networking now and building your community. Be genuine when reaching out to people, don't just connect because you need something. Say hello, congratulate people for their achievements, you never know what doors you could open!

2. Trial and error: Don't be afraid to make mistakes in life. For me, I deal with mistakes and failures by seeing them as learnings. Because without making them, you would never learn and never grow, which is not helpful when it comes to working life or life in general.

3. Follow your passion, not money: Yes, money is important but keep in mind after uni, you'll most likely be working for 40 years or more - in case you're planning to work until retirement of course. You don't want to be stuck doing something you dislike even if it's for good money because trust me when I say, it will drain your soul and your personality - wow that's a bit deep, sorry peeps. If you can find both, way to go you!

And a bonus! - It's never too late to do/start something new. So get off your bottom and flush that fear/concerns away and try something new ;).