Finding Jobs in Germany: Sector-wise Average Salaries in Germany

While looking for a job in Germany, it’s very important to have a general idea of what kind of salaries you should expect when you come to Germany, based on your profession or the region of the country you are targeting.

So, I tried to compile the last year’s (2020) data published by Stepstone.de and also re-published by ing.de to give you a general idea of the average salaries you can expect when looking for jobs in Germany.

Last year, in the middle of 2020, Stepstone published the Salary report of 2020 for Germany and it can be seen that the average gross annual income of Germany's executives increased significantly and that of the skilled workers has decreased slightly. There are differences in wage levels based on the region of the country and the profession.

The report was published after interviewing 128,000 full-time specialists and who disclosed their income situation to the Stepstone job portal for the 2020 salary report. It was found that the average gross annual salary across all professions and regions in Germany stood at 58,785 euros in 2020. That is an increase of 695 euros compared to the gross annual salary (58,090 euros) of 2019. The average gross salary also includes variable components such as bonuses, bonuses and special payments.

Top earning professions in Germany in 2020

According to the Stepstone salary report, doctors topped the chart with 92,316 euros, followed by, financial experts (76,354 euros), Lawyers (70,042 euros), Banking professionals (65,006 euros) and Engineers (64,541 euros)

If you look at the average salaries of entire industries, the banking sector ranks first. Industry-wise average salaries are – Banking sector (69,703 euros), Pharmaceutical industry (69,515 euros), Vehicle construction and suppliers (68,778 euros), Chemical and petroleum processing industry (66,972 euros), Consumer goods and durables (65,789 euros)

A degree is key

With all the wave of discarding college education and degree in recent time, in Germany it is seen that, having a relevant educational degree definitely pays off in the long term in terms of salary. After just three to five years of professional experience, academics earn an average of 15,000 euros more per year than those without an academic degree (55,985 euros compared to 40,913 euros). After 25 years, this discrepancy is particularly clear: academics receive an average annual gross salary of 94,493 euros, non-academics an average of only 59,544 euros.

The size of a company also matters. From the report, it was seen that the employees in large companies with more than 1,000 employees always have a higher average income than employees of small and medium-sized companies.

There are regional differences in salaries too – Hesse tops the chart with specialists and managers having an average salary of 64,335 euros (2019: 65,296 euros). It is followed by Bavaria with 62,243 euros (2019: 62,172 euros) and Baden-Württemberg with 61,677 euros (2019: 62,375 euros).

Salary breakup based on region:

·        Hesse: 64,335 euros (65,296 euros)

·        Bavaria: 62,243 euros (62,172 euros)

·        Baden-Württemberg: 61,677 euros (62,375 euros)

·        Hamburg: 59,111 euros (60,774 euros)

·        North Rhine-Westphalia: 58,815 euros (58,846 euros)

·        Rhineland-Palatinate: 55,933 euros (55,275 euros)

·        Saarland: 55,692 euros (54,710 euros

·        Bremen: 55,786 euros (57,881 euros)

·        Berlin: 54,392 euros (54,247 euros)

·        Lower Saxony: 54,150 euros (53,545 euros)

·        Schleswig-Holstein: 52,563 euros (52,105 euros)

·        Thuringia: 48,334 euros (44,102 euros)

·        Saxony: 47,292 euros (43,096 euros)

·        Saxony-Anhalt: 46,890 euros (42,340 euros)

·        Brandenburg: 46,575 euros (45,066 euros)

·        Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: 45,135 euros (42,063 euros)

Best German cities to earn more, according to the report –

The city of Frankfurt am Main is at the top position here, same as last year. This is followed by the cities of Munich in Bavaria with 67,425 euros and Stuttgart in Baden-Württemberg with 66,444 euros.

Also, according to Stepstone, a lucrative salary is not the only a decisive factor for an employee to choose a job; even if it’s important but other perks like flexible working hours, work-life balance and other incentives play a crucial role too.

Hope, this article was of some help and gave you a general idea of the average salary expectations in Germany for different professions and different regions.