priests have a status similar to that of . These are not, however, employed by the state but by the churches in their capacity as corporations of public law. Becoming a A prospective must be a national of the Federal Republic of Germany or of a member state of the European Union (although there are now multiple exceptions), and must generally achieve the status by the age of 35. There are four professional tracks for , depending on their education: (simple or lower service), mainly for positions of menial work, which has mostly fallen out of use. Similar to enlisted ranks excluding non-commissioned officers. (middle service), mainly for positions requiring roughly the equivalent of a completed apprenticeship. Similar to non-commissioned officers. (upper service), mainly for positions requiring a bachelor's degree or its equivalent. This bachelor's degree is often obtained whilst studying at a public institute of higher education provided, and working as a trainee . Similar to commissioned officer (who however in many cases obtain a master's degree before taking up a troop post). (senior service), restricted to graduates holding a master's degree or its equivalent. Similar to military officers of rank major and above, and to all judges. Teachers of primary and II and III class secondary schools have a position unofficially between upper and senior service (to which latter the I class secondary school teachers belong, as they begin their service in the highest pay grade of upper service and can by promotion reach senior service (yet in the case of primary teachers, promotion is practically restricted to the principal). Conferral of the status of does not involve any contract, but letters of appointment (). The new first task is to swear his oath of office, including a pledge to uphold federal laws and the constitution (), and – where the employing entity is not the federal government – the constitution and laws of the respective state. There are typically three steps involved in becoming a with full tenure for life: For all four career tracks (lower, middle, upper and senior civil service) there are specially-designed training schemes lasting one year (lower service), two years (middle service) or three years (senior and upper service), including oral and written exams as well as a dissertation. There are exceptions for highly technical tasks. Trainee usually have the title , preceded by the official term of the position, e.g. (Trainee Government