A German teacher does not go straight from university to a classroom of their own. First comes the Referendariat, a preparatory service at a school. It usually lasts 18 months. In Hesse it lasts 21 months, in Bavaria 24, and in Brandenburg only 12. The sequence is fixed: Hospitation, Ausbildungsunterricht, eigenständiger Unterricht. The trainee first observes lessons, then teaches under supervision, and finally teaches alone. Trainers visit lessons along the way and give advice. The service ends with the Second State Examination. Lawyers go through the same kind of preparatory service, which lasts two years.