The best salaries: in which professions you can earn the most money

2024-01-13T10:29:19.371Z

Highlights: The gap between the salaries of specialists and managers* is still large in Germany. In many professions, Germans earn so poorly that you can barely keep your head above water with your monthly water bill. The number one among the highest-paid professions is the chief physician. The sad spot is occupied by kitchen helpers, which have to make do with an average salary of just 23,454 euros per year. Hairdressers follow closely behind waiters and waiters in third place. The best-paid apprenticeships are also worth taking a look at.

Status: 13.01.2024, 11:13 a.m.

By: Andrea Stettner

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In which jobs are the fattest salaries paid at the moment? If you want to be one of the top earners in Germany, you should choose your profession carefully.

The gap between the salaries of specialists and managers* is still large in Germany.
A study shows which professions are ahead in terms of salary.
It is also worth taking a look at the best-paid apprenticeships and the lowest-paid professions.

In which professions is the highest salary on the payslip? Which job is the highest paid in Germany? This is revealed by a study.

Salary: This is the highest-paid profession in Germany

If you want to earn good money in Germany, you should become a doctor. Because here, the working people not only have a high reputation, but also a full wallet. This is shown by the 2021 salary atlas of the online portal Gehalt.de. In the 2022 salary report, physicians also land at the top position.

The number one among the highest-paid professions is the chief physician. These physicians earn a median* of 196,300 euros gross per year. Right after them, senior physicians take second place, with an equally impressive gross annual salary of 121,700 euros. In comparison, specialists and executives earn just 43,200 euros gross per year (median*).

If you are looking for professional happiness outside of medicine, you will also find considerable salaries in other management positionssuch as sales management (94,800 euros gross) and regional sales management (90,800 euros gross), as you can see here in the overview:

Salary: The highest-paid professions in Germany at a glance

Place	Occupation	Median* salary (gross) per year	Average salary (gross) per year
1	Chief Physician, Physician in Private Practice	EUR 196,251	EUR 212,808
2	Senior Physician	EUR 121,748	EUR 129,697
3	Sales Management / Sales Management	EUR 94,796	EUR 103,836
4	Regional Sales Manager for Capital Goods	EUR 90,812	EUR 96,868
5	Commercial Management	EUR 90,661	EUR 101,900
6	IT Management	EUR 88,610	EUR 96,076

Source: gehalt.de, Salary Atlas 2021

* The median is the value in a series that lies exactly in the middle when the values are sorted by size. The median is therefore more accurate than the average value because it is not affected by individual extremely high or extremely low values.

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For the 2021 Salary Atlas, 220,502 compensation data from the portals gehalt.de, gehaltsvergleich.com and the consulting firm Compensation Partner were evaluated, going back to the last twelve months.

40 percent of these come from female employees and 60 percent from male employees. It is noteworthy that the proportion of employees with personnel responsibility is only seven percent, and 93 percent are skilled workers without personnel responsibility.

Read Also: Salary comparison: How much do Germans earn?

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In which profession does the lowest salary beckon?

Where there is a lot of light, there is naturally also a lot of shadow, as figures from the 2019 Salary Atlas show. In many professions, Germans earn so poorly that you can barely keep your head above water with your monthly salary. The sad "top spot" here is occupied by kitchen helpers, which have to make do with an average of just 23,454 euros per year. Hairdressers follow closely behind in second place and waiters and waiters in third place.

An overview of the lowest-paid occupations (excluding personnel responsibility):

Place	Occupation	Median* salary (gross) per year	Average salary (gross) per year
1	Kitchen Assistant	EUR 21,907	EUR 23,454
2	Hairdresser	EUR 23,202	EUR 24,434
3	Waitress	EUR 23,619	EUR 24,884
4	Call Center Agent	EUR 25,200	EUR 28,101
5	Receptionist	EUR 25,372	EUR 27,282
6	Cashiers	EUR 26,572	EUR 28,363
7	Cook	EUR 27,195	EUR 29,053
8	Dental Assistant	EUR 27,993	EUR 29,461
9	Nursing staff	EUR 28,002	EUR 30,357
10	Professional driver	EUR 28,436	EUR 30,467

Source: gehalt.de, Salary Atlas 2019

Also interesting: Starting salary: Men make that one mistake all the time – and they get it right in the end.

These are the best-paid apprenticeships in Germany

Which apprenticeships are paid the best in Germany? According to a ranking of Gehalt.de (as of 2014), prospective air traffic controllers earn the best. Here, salaries of 3,000 to 4,500 euros await in the second year of training. In the third year of training, according to an evaluation by Ausbildung.de, it is even up to 5,900 euros.

However, they also bear a great deal of responsibility for this: air traffic controllers issue take-off and landing permits and navigate aircraft - and are thus responsible for many human lives. You can read more about the 15 best-paid apprenticeships in Germany here.

Other well-paid apprenticeships at a glance:

Place	Training	Monthly gross salary over the entire apprenticeship period
1	Air traffic controller	3,000 to 4,500 euros
2	Inland waterway boater	800 to 1,100 euros
3	Insurance clerk	650 to 1,000 euros
4	Banker	650 to 1,000 euros
5	Mechatronics technician	800 to 1,000 euros (3.5 years of apprenticeship)
6	Technical draughtsman	700 to 1,000 euros
7	Police officer	up to 1,100 euros
8	IT specialist	700 to 900 Euro
9	Administrative Assistant	700 to 800 Euro
10	Bricklayer	550 to 1,200 euros

Source: gehalt.de (as of 2014)

Read Also: Salary of craftsmen: This is how much bricklayers, roofers & Co. earn.

What is the salary of teachers in Germany?

Regardless of whether they are in primary school, secondary school or grammar school, teachers are usually among the highest earners in Germany – especially if they are civil servants. However, prospective teachers should choose the type of school very carefully, because primary school teachers complain about lower salaries than teachers at grammar schools or vocational schools. You can find out exactly how much teachers in Germany earn in this article.

What is the salary of educators in Germany?

Educators in crèches, kindergartens or other institutions often earn relatively little compared to their long training and the mental and physical strain. How high the salary of educators really is, you can read in this article.

What is the salary of engineers?

Regardless of whether you are a mechanical, electrical or civil engineer, the salaries for engineers in Germany usually look quite decent. But as is so often the case, the industry plays a major role in payment. Here you can find out in which industries the big salaries await for engineers.

Salary: How much do you earn at Aldi and Lidl?

Aldi and Lidl offer groceries at reasonable prices. But do employees have to cut back on salaries for this? How much do discount store employees make each month? Find out here.

How much do geriatric caregivers make?

Geriatric nurses work in a social profession that requires a lot of strength and empathy. This profession is enormously important for our society – but what is the salary? You can find out how much geriatric caregivers earn in public, private and church institutions in this article.

What is the salary of nurses?

Many nurses work in their dream job. But no matter how fulfilling the most beautiful profession can be, if the salary is too little, frustration quickly sets in. In this article, you will learn how much nurses really earn.

What do doctors earn in clinics and practices?

Doctors are among the best-paid professions in Germany. But how much they really earn depends not least on the department, the professional experience and the place of work. This is because doctors in private practice are often affected by the often enormously high costs for personnel and equipment. This overview shows how high the salary of clinic and practice physicians is in the different specialist areas.

What salaries are paid in the public sector?

Employees of the public sector work for institutions of municipalities, federal and state governments. These include, for example, tax officials, educators in municipal kindergartens, professors at universities, registrars or even employees of the fire brigade. They are paid according to the tariff (TVöD).

How much is gained for the individual depends on the occupational and employment group and the corresponding classification. You can find out how much public sector employees can earn in this article.

What salary do you earn as an office clerk?

Office clerks are sought-after professions - even if the training is now called something else. But again, applicants need to pay attention to the industry if they want to earn well. You can find out how high the salary of office clerks is here.