Berlín is not specially good for finding jobs, but maybe your particular case is easier due to design and media industry is better placed in Berlín than other industries.
Any other way, the city is a wonderful place to spend some years of your life.

Good luck.
Cheers.

I’ll pile some gloom on top of Jorge’s.

Not only is it impossible to find work in this city, your being a foreigner just compounds it. You’d have to prove that you could do your job better than any German could, or that there are compelling reasons to hire you over a German. If that sounds brutal, consider that it would be almost impossible for you to get a job in the States if you were a German who didn’t speak good English. Your ability to get a work-permit here is dependent on your unique talents, and with all due respect, you’re probably not there yet.

And that’s just assuming you could find a job! This city is 60 billion Euros in debt, and one reason young bohos like it so much is that this has resulted in everything being cheap. Visiting is one thing; living in the middle of it is quite another thing, and can be inutterably depressing, particularly in the winter.

If you’re still determined to try this out, I recommend a three-month visit - which is as long as your tourist visa’s good for - to check out the job scene. Talk with designers, check out design houses. (There aren’t many, but there are some). I think you’ll come to the same conclusions I have about your chances. You’ll find that most of the young bohos here are scrambling to make ends meet by teaching English (a seriously underpaid and unrewarding profession), doing freelance translating (ditto), or living off their savings.

As to the drivers license, you really don’t need one if you live in Berlin, because the transportation infrastructure is so good. There are way too many cars on Berlin’s torn-up streets, driven by way too many bad drivers. But if you insist on changing over, it depends on which state your current one is from; some states are a simple one-for-one exchange, but most states aren’t recognized as having the same high standards as Germany, and you’ll be forced to go through driver’s training at a cost of approximately $4000.

I moved here, basiclly because its one of the best cities in the world to live and I’m loving it… but its true, no jobs and eveyone I know is broke (and I know a dozen or so German graphic designers).

You could do what i do and get your work from external sources OS. I’ve gotten a few jobs here but only after 6 months and though contacts and not official. Its nto what you know here…

I make a blog post listing what I love and don’t love about Berlin. Short and sweet.

berlin is definitely cheaper than the other major cities, especially when it comes to getting food. its easier to live on a paupers budget there, so if you handle your money well, that bit is probably the least of all concerns.
and the economy there is probably a little greyer, but the arts scene has an edgy vibe and life; theres a real sense of underground artists trying to make it there. i guess being an artist, youd enjoy it there.

also, i agree being able to speak german well would overcome alot of obstacles for you. -and you dont really need a car there! transport is uber efficient, and wellconnected.

either way, good luck with that great adventure :)

Well, contrary to all the negative comments about getting a job in Berlin, I was fortunate to get on the green-card giveaway in 2001. I heard about a GC giveaway going on where IT workers could get a free GC if they could find a job, due to the low population of tech workers in Berlin.

I didn’t really know any German, but the company I was hired by threw me into the Goethe Institute off alteschoenhauser allee. I was there for a month and a half learning German hardcore, and then was thrown into contracting. It was beautiful and freaky and frustrating all at once. I managed to work for three years and then had reasons to return home, which I get sad about often. I loved it there and I can’t believe I gave it up.

Now, I did know SEVERAL friends who were struggling to find employment. I had friends who had gone to Technische and could not find a programming job for the life of them. One of my friends was out of work for a few years until he landed a job at the new eBay in the deep west side near Potsdamm, but he finally got a job. I had friends who taught ESL and scrimped by on almost nothing. They would have employment and then it would go away for a long time. They lived like squirrels, scrimping and saving. As a result, they couldn’t do a whole lot, but Berlin’s a great place for poor people! Lots going on is free.

Yes, it may be nearly impossible for you to find a job. Yes, Berlin is cheap. Yes, German is difficult to learn. But it is possible! My advice: Don’t let all this negative advice discourage you. Go for it and don’t give up. If you end up with a design job in Berlin, you’re in one of the most creative places in the world right now and you’ll love it. If you don’t, well, at least you gave it your best.

Try http://jobpilot.de. That’s where I found my job.