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WORKING IN SWITZERLAND

How your salary in Switzerland could depend on where you studied

Swiss wages are generally higher than elsewhere in Europe, but how much you earn in a given field can depend on which schools you graduate from.

Published: 5 October 2023 15:26 CEST
How your salary in Switzerland could depend on where you studied
Technical skills generate higher salaries than arts. Image by Christian Reil from Pixabay

In Switzerland, between 40 and 60 percent of students  who finish their compulsory schooling (at about age 16), choose not to pursue higher education but opt instead for the so called “Vocational Education and Training” (VET) — a very common career path in the country (read more about this below).

The others continue their schooling, aiming for either the ‘gymnasium’ or ‘specialised’ maturity certificate. The former diploma paves the way toward general universities and polytechnic institutes (HEU), while the latter gives access to specialised higher education institutions (HES).  

The difference between the two is that the HEUs mostly involve theoretical learning, while HESs combine theory with practice.

Who earns more?

A study, which the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), released on Wednesday, found that, generally speaking, specialised diploma / HES graduates have a higher earning power during the first nine years after graduation.

That’s because HES studies are typically shorter and graduates start working (and earning money) earlier, while HEP students often continue towards their master’s degrees and therefore start their professional lives later.

After nine years, however “the evolution of salaries is very different,” according to FSO.

HEP graduates not only ‘catch up’ with their HES counterparts in terms of wages, but also surpass them.

For instance, while HES graduates earn on average 63,282 francs a year, HEPs have a salary of over 79,811francs, FSO found.

Depending on the chosen field, general university grads can go on to earn upwards of 100,000 francs a year.

READ ALSO: What are Switzerland’s highest paying jobs?

What about HES graduates?
 
Much depends on what specialised field they choose, FSO said.

For example, over the long term, technical and economic fields pay the most: a median salary of 72,859 francs for those who specialised in physics and mathematics, and 69,280 for economy and law.
 
On the other hand, those who studied arts, music, or philosophy, will earn, on average, between 55,153 and 60,272 francs annually nine years after graduation. 

What about students who opt for vocational training (apprenticeship) instead of higher education?

Overall, the average salary five years after completing their training is 5,270 francs a month (around 63,000 a year), according to OFS.

In the IT sector, the salary is 1,100 francs above this average, while in sales, the monthly income is less than 5,000 francs.

The second-highest gross median income for full-time employment is that of nurses.

With an average of 6,060 francs per month after five years of employment, they are followed by apprentices with degrees in “electricity and mechanical construction” (5,445 francs), “architecture and construction” (5,425 francs), “accounting, marketing and secretariat ”(5,367 francs) and “the social sector ”(5,349 francs).

Lowest wages — below 5,000 a month — are in the retail and “personal services” sector.

READ ALSO: Which jobs pay the most and least after a Swiss apprenticeship?

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WORKING IN SWITZERLAND

The pitfalls of Switzerland’s social security system you need to avoid

In most cases, Switzerland’s social benefits system functions well. But there are also some loopholes you should know about.

Published: 24 April 2024 13:37 CEST
The pitfalls of Switzerland's social security system you need to avoid

The Swiss social security system has several branches: old-age, survivors’ and disability insurance; health and accident insurance; unemployment benefits, and family allowances.

This is a pretty comprehensive package, which covers everyone who pays into the scheme for a wide variety of ‘what ifs’.

As the government explains it, “people living and working in Switzerland benefit from a tightly woven network of social insurance schemes designed to safeguard them against risks that would otherwise overwhelm them financially.” 

But while most residents of Switzerland are able to benefit, at least to some extent, from this system, others don’t.

What is happening?

If someone becomes ill or has an accident, Switzerland’s compulsory health insurance and / or accident insurance will cover the costs.

However, a prolonged absence from work can become costly.

That is especially the case of people employed by companies that don’t have a collective labour agreement (CLA), a contract negotiated between Switzerland’s trade unions and employers or employer organisations that covers a wide range of workers’ rights. 

READ ALSO: What is a Swiss collective bargaining agreement — and how could it benefit you?

It is estimated that roughly half of Switzerland’s workforce of about 5 million people are not covered by a CLA.

If you just happen to work for a company without a CLA, your employer is not required to pay your salary if your illness is long.

You will receive money for a minimum of three weeks – longer, depending on seniority — but certainly not for the long-haul.

You may think that once your wages stop, the disability insurance (DI) will kick in.

But that’s not the case.

The reason is that DI can be paid only after a year after the wages stop. In practice, however, it sometimes takes several years of investigations and verifications to make sure the person is actually eligible to collect these benefits, rather than just pretending to be sick. 

In the meantime, these people have to use their savings to live on.

What about ‘daily allowance insurance’?

Many companies (especially those covered by a CLA) take out this insurance, so they can pay wages to their sick employees for longer periods of time.

However, this insurance is optional for employers without a CLA is place.

As a result, small companies forego it because it is too much of a financial burden for them.

And people who are self-employed face a problem in this area as well: insurance carriers can (and often do) refuse to cover people they deem to be ‘too risky’ in terms of their age or health status.

Critics are calling the two situations —the length of time it takes for the disability insurance to kick in and gaps in the daily allowance insurance—”perhaps the biggest failures of the social security system.”

Is anything being done to remedy this situation?

Given numerous complaints about the unfairness of the current system, the Social Security and Public Health Commission of the Council of States (CSSS-E) will look into the “consequences of shortcomings and numerous dysfunctions in long-term illness insurance.”

But not everyone in Switzerland sees a problem in the current situation.

According to the Swiss Insurance Association (SIA), for instance, “making daily sickness allowance insurance compulsory for employers would not have the desired effect. Due to false incentives, it would only exacerbate the upward trend in costs and premiums.”

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