Meet Christian Manthey, a 35-year-old IT professional originally from Hanover. Christian is currently based in Gothenburg, Sweden, where he has been working as a software developer for five years. He completed his master’s thesis at the University of Gothenburg, and moved there in order to gain experience abroad.
After finishing his apprenticeship as an IT clerk, Christian went to study in Flensburg and subsequently pursued a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics. During this time, he worked as a software developer. Christian realized that his passion was in software development, as opposed to mathematical proofs.
Christian started his first job as a software developer in Gothenburg working for a software company. He found data analytics to be particularly interesting, and enjoyed tasks involving data processing and graphing. After three years of working for the software company, Christian joined an IT consulting company. Currently, he is working in a project at Volvo trucks in diagnostics.
Christian has a lot of flexibility with regards to his work. He can work from his sailboat in the summer and from the mountains when skiing in the winter. He is also able to work from wherever he wants without having to ask for permission.
In Sweden, there is a lot of consideration given to one’s individual needs. The hierarchies are flat and people are trained to work independently. Christian finds this approach to work beneficial as there is less control and more trust. The Jante Sweden’s law, which is a code of conduct for social rules in the Scandinavian cultural area, is practiced throughout the country, making Swedes modest. Christian has picked up the language and is now fluent in Swedish.
While the cost of living may be higher in Sweden compared to Germany, Christian finds that the country has a lot to offer. Sweden is one of the most innovative countries in Europe in terms of IT, and is a pioneer in digitization. The IT landscape in Gothenburg is large, providing many interesting tasks for people in the field. Christian works approximately 40 hours a week with trust working hours and flextime.
One of the biggest challenges Christian faced when moving to Sweden was housing. With commercial landlords, individuals must apply and are placed on a waiting list. The apartments are awarded to those with the most points after a two-year waiting period. Christian often lived in rented apartments when the tenants were on holiday or out on an island in the Gothenburg archipelago.
Despite these challenges, Christian enjoys living in Sweden. The impressive nature, low population density, and advanced digitization make life easy. Christian is currently considering staying in Sweden permanently.
