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JOBS

REVEALED: What are Germany’s top-paying jobs?

Germany's most lucrative professions and sectors have come to light in recent data released by several digital career and recruitment platforms.

Published: 23 October 2023 12:55 CEST
Germany's top paying jobs and sectors have been revealed by online portals Stepstone and kununu.
Germany's top paying jobs and sectors have been revealed by online portals Stepstone and kununu. Photo: Pexels/Ketut Subiyanto

When it comes to choosing a career, there are many factors to take into consideration, but one aspect that often looms largest is potential income.

Though openly talking about what you earn is still something of a taboo in Germany, you now don’t have to ask around to find out different professions earn, thanks to recent research by online job portals, . 

READ ALSO: 7 ways to talk about money like a German

Career website kununu, jobs portal Stepstone and recruitment agency Robert Half have recently released their findings on the top-earning jobs in the country. This is how they break down. 

Germany’s top-paying professions

Career website kununu regularly collects salary data on various professions in Germany, giving them a current database containing over two million salary reports covering 900 different job roles.

Their most recent report has revealed that, on average, Medical advisors are Germany’s highest earners – receiving an average salary of €85,800 per year. Medical advisors are medical-scientific experts who bridge the gap between medical practice and scientific research.

These professionals are closely followed by pilots, who earn an annual average of €85,700, and doctors, with a yearly pay packet of €84,300 on average.

According to the kununu study, these are the top 10 highest-paying jobs in Germany with the average annual salaries: 

  1. Medical advisor – €85,800
  2. Pilot – €85,700
  3. Doctor – €84,300 
  4. Management consultant – €82,500
  5. Program manager – €82,400
  6. Lawyer – €82,400
  7. Software architect – €82,300
  8. Portfolio manager – €80,600 
  9. Legal counsel – €79,700
  10. New channel manager – €78,700

While average earnings are an important factor for job seekers to consider, the potential for salary growth is also an aspect worth thinking about. Potential for salary growth is not only industry-dependent but also relies on an employee’s personal performance and negotiation skills when dealing with employers.

While comprehensive data on salary growth may be limited, the recruitment agency Robert Half has gathered data on more than a thousand salaries, producing insights into 16 professions with the most significant salary growth.

Medical professionals are amongst the highest earners in Germany. Photo: Pexels/Karolina Grabowska

Top of the list are IT Consultants, whose salaries increase by an average of 83 percent from entry-level to top professionals. Tax assistant salaries rise by an average 79 percent throughout their careers, while Scrum master (agile project managers most often working in the IT sector) salaries rise by an average 76 percent. 

Legal counsel positions seem to be an attractive career choice, as they appear in both lists, and offer both high initial salaries and substantial salary growth (72 percent).

The median salaries

Beyond the average salary, which is calculated by adding all salaries and dividing by the number of data records, another vital metric for salary comparison is the median. This is because the average salary can be heavily influenced by extremely high or low earners.

The median, on the other hand, represents the middle value in a dataset. In simpler terms, it’s the point at which half the salaries are lower, and half are higher.

READ ALSO: The words and phrases you need to navigate the German job market

The job portal Stepstone conducted an analysis of over 560,000 salary data sets, revealing an average gross salary of €53,118 and a median of €43,842 for the whole of Germany.

According to Stepstone’s study, doctors continue to rank among the highest earners, with a gross median salary of €93,800 –  more than double the national average. Other well-paid professions include employees in the field of consulting (€54,000 annually), engineering (€52,600), and IT occupations (€52,000).

READ ALSO: Which regions in Germany need foreign engineers?

According to Stepstone, these are the top 10 highest-paying jobs and professional groups in Germany with the average and median annual salaries: 

Profession and professional groups

  1. Doctors: €93,793 (median) €97,983 (average)
  2. Consulting: €53,956 (median) €60,398 (average)
  3. Engineering: €52,577 (median) €58,309 (average)
  4. IT: €52,045 (median)  €58,851 (average)
  5. Marketing & PR: €49,249 (median) €57,400 (average)
  6. Banking, Finance & Insurance: €48,415 (median) €59,997 (average)
  7. Human Resources: €46,738 (median) €56,130 (average)
  8. Sales: €43,605 (median)  €53,419 (average)
  9. Trades: €39,956 (median) €42,578 (average)
  10. Health & Social Services: €38,139 (median) €42,435 (average)

Experience correlates with salary

It’s no secret that beginners in a profession earn less than seasoned veterans. According to the Stepstone figures, on average, there is nearly a €15,000 difference between entry-level employees and experienced workers.

An employee with less than a year of professional experience earns an average of €35,003. In contrast, an employee with 11 to 25 years of experience earns an average annual salary of €49,969. Here’s how the figures for the median salaries break down:

  • Less than one year: €35,003
  • 1–2 years: €36,166
  • 3–5 years: €40,043
  • 6–10 years: €44,374
  • 11–25 years: €49,328

Salary Comparison – Top industries 2023

The Stepstone study also revealed that the best-paid industry in Germany is the banking sector, with an annual gross salary of about €57,631. The aerospace industry takes second place with a median salary of €56,153 per year. These are the top 5 sectors with median and average salaries:

  • Banking: €57,631 (median) €65,950 (average)
  • Aerospace: €56,153 (median) €64,209 (average)
  • Pharma: €54,822 (median) €65,043 (average)
  • Insurance: €53,852 (median) €62,202 (average)
  • Automotive: €52,284 (median) €63,101 (average)

On the flip side, industries like hospitality (€34,195), agriculture and forestry, fishing, and horticulture (€36,141) pay the least annually.

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WORKING IN GERMANY

Five things to know about salaries in Germany

Finding a job is typically a top priority when planning a move to Germany. The country boasts the third largest economy in the world and a continuing need for skilled professionals. 

Published: 2 May 2024 12:26 CEST
Five things to know about salaries in Germany

If you are moving to Germany, you might soon start looking for a job in the country. However, like many other aspects of living abroad, there are several cultural differences and specificities when it comes to job hunting in Germany – especially when it comes to salaries.

Here are five things to know about salaries in Germany.

There is a minimum wage in Germany

Germany’s minimum wage of €12.41 per hour, pre-tax came into effect at the start of this year. This amounts to a monthly salary of €2,054 which ranks ninth in the world. The minimum wage will rise again in 2025 to €12.82 per hour before tax deductions.

There have been calls recently to hike the salary up higher to €14 per hour.

READ ALSO: Millions of workers in Germany ‘earning less than €14 per hour’

Find out salary expectations

Germany does not require companies to list salary ranges for listed positions. But that may be changing soon. The EU parliament passed a wage transparency law to require companies to publish annual reports detailing wage and wage discrepancy information. The rules, which are set to go into effect in 2027, are intended to help close the gender pay gap. 

In the meantime, employees can utilise online resources to find industry averages and expectations for different roles:

  • Gehalt.de offers users access to salary information on more than 800 professions
  • Online platform, Kununu provides compensation information and employer reviews to users in the DACH region  
  • Berlin residents can utilise REDSOFA’s salary survey for an overview of salary averages in the country’s capital city

As of April 2023 the average gross monthly salary was €4,323 according to Germany’s Federal Statistical Office.

Two-thirds of full time workers make less than this average monthly salary and one-third of workers earn more than this average monthly salary.

While wages after deductions may be less than similar roles in other countries, it is also important to take into consideration what other benefits come with a salary. Paid holiday leave, pension contributions, long notice periods and annual bonuses can help make up some of that difference. 

READ ALSO: How much do employees in Germany typically earn?

Check your payment schedule

Internationals can usually expect their salary once a month when working in Germany. Many German companies choose to pay employees either on the 1st or 15th of the month. It is also important to note that most employees can expect to receive their first pay check within 30 or 45 days of starting. 

For positions that offer yearly bonuses, these payments are included in a 13th pay check which are subject to income tax.  

A person works on a laptop.

A person works on a laptop. Image by Bartek Zakrzewski from Pixabay

How many hours do you work?

When looking for a job, don’t forget to check how many hours you can expect. Job descriptions will include expectations for time commitments. 

Mini-jobs, as expected from the name, are limited in hours and pay. Employees can expect up to €538 per month. Mini-jobs do not provide social security because they do not require social security contributions. Employees are also not automatically covered by health and nursing care insurance. 

Teilzeit, or part time jobs, are defined as any job where working hours are less than a full time position.

A common misconception is that part-time work requires working 20 hours or less a week. But an employee working five days a week for 30 hours, at a position that is typically 40 hours when full time can also be defined as a part time worker. 

READ ALSO: The rules in Germany around ‘mini’ and ‘midi jobs’

In fact, Germany has a term for workers who work between 28 and 36 hours a week. Vollzeitnahe Teilzeit, or nearly full time part time workers, can be a popular choice for some people, including parents. These positions can give employees more flexibility to balance work and family responsibilities. It is important to note that these workers are paid according to their time worked, so it will still amount to less than full time.

Depending on the work schedule, part time employees can earn the same amount of vacation as their full-time counterparts. That’s because holiday leave is calculated based on days worked, not hours. If a part time worker comes in five days a week, they will be eligible for at least 20 days of holiday. If that same part time worker comes in three days a week, they will be legally entitled to twelve days of vacation, even if they worked the same hours as the other employee. 

In most companies, weekly working hours between 35 and 40 hours are considered full-time employment or Vollzeitbeschäftigung. 

Watch out for the gross v. net difference

Before you sign the dotted line, it will be important to check how much of your gross salary you’ll be able to keep come pay day. Companies that include salary expectations in descriptions include gross salary (Bruttoeinkommen) – not the net income after taxes and deductions (Nettoeinkommen). The amount deducted will depend on how much you earn, the tax class you’re in and on other factors such as how much you’re paying for healthcare but it is usually around 40 percent. 

Salaried employees can find information on the deductions on their pay slip. Some to expect to see include:

  • Taxes are deducted directly from the gross pay. The amount is based on the tax bracket your salary falls within 
  • A percentage of your gross salary is also deducted for your pension / retirement contributions
  • Church taxes between eight and nine percent of your salary will also be due if you are affiliated with a religion
  • Unemployment insurance amounts to a 2.5 percent deduction from your gross salary. It is important to note that the insurance covers a salary up to €90,600 
  • Health insurance contribution rates are typically split between employers and employees. The rate depends on the provider. In 2024, the TK contribution rate to health insurance is 15.8 percent of the gross income

READ ALSO: What you need to know about your payslip in Germany 

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