[StefanBatory]

For us in Poland we have normal high schools, technikum - which is similar, but year longer and you are trained in a job, and zawodówka - which is vocational.

And issue with them is not the school itself, but the type of teenagers that attend them. As much as it pains me, for zawodówka schools - you will get the most demotivated people. And even if you really just want to be trained, you will get into an environment that will destroy you.

I wonder how Germans are faring with this.

[macbr]

A Fachhochschule (Wikipedia calls them "university of applied sciences") in Germany is very similar to a university but as they're less research oriented and usually (with some notable exceptions) don't have the ability to grant doctoral degrees. AFAIK none have the permission to grant the ability to become professor (Habilitation). They also usually have a limited selection of subjects.

There are also Technische Universitäten (Technical University) which are "proper" universities with the ability to grant doctorates and the ability to become professor.

So Fachhochschulen are a separate thing from both Berufsschule (vocational school) and universities.

[StefanBatory]

Sorry, I wrote it in a confusing way because I thought of something else - so that's on me for confusion.

I was thinking of high school, not uni itself. I'm myself also from a technical university equivalent in Poland.