Many university graduates misjudge their starting salary - often with consequences.
A study shows what salaries young professionals expect and how high they actually turn out in the end.
University graduates often overestimate the level of starting salary that awaits them after graduation.
Men in particular like to be wrong - with consequences.
In some areas, there are clear differences in the assessment of the starting salary.
Earning your first own money at last - this is what many university graduates dream of.
But many estimate the starting salary * completely wrong after successfully completing their studies, as a study shows.
Men in particular often overshoot.
Starting salary: University graduates overestimate themselves
As the job platform StepStone found out in cooperation with the consulting firm Universum,
university graduates expect
an average of around 44,700 euros
for their first salary.
However, the actual starting salary is lower, at around 42,500 euros on average.
There are definitely
differences between the disciplines
: While economists and industrial engineers generally expect a higher starting salary (around 4,000 to 5,000 euros more per year), graduates in psychology and natural sciences even earn more than they would have expected.
Graduates - major | avg. Gross starting salary | expected gross starting salary |
psychology | 41,000 euros | approx. 37,700 euros |
Natural sciences | 46,600 euros | approx. 43,900 euros |
Economics | 40,700 euros | approx. 45,100 euros |
industrial engineering | 46,800 euros | approx. 52,000 euros |
all disciplines | 42,500 euros | 44,700 euros |
Also read:
Salary after training: These are the top and flop professions.
Men shoot over the target - and earn more in the end
However, the greatest differences are found between men and women.
As the study shows, female students expect around 9,200 euros less than their male fellow students.
And that with serious consequences for the entire salary development: "For
many, the
real
wage gap between women and men already arises with the salary expectations when applying
for their first job - and this often remains permanent," says Tina Smetana, Country Manager Germany at Universum .
For example, men expect an impressive 5,000 euros more than their actual starting salary when they get their first job - and in
the end they earn around 5,600 euros more than women
.
"The fact that the salary expectations are sometimes so different is also due to the fact that young professionals often simply do not know which salaries are common in the various industries and occupational groups," says André Schaefer, salary expert at StepStone.
"More transparency, also on the part of employers, would reduce this gap right from the start."
(As) * Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen digital editorial network.
Also interesting:
Starting salary: This is where you earn the most after graduation.
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