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Starting salaries are not the same everywhere - in Frankfurt am Main, for example, you earn particularly well
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How high the starting salary is after graduation depends heavily on the region in which career starters work.
This is shown by the current salary report from the Stepstone job platform.
In Baden-Württemberg, for example, they earn an average of 9,000 euros more than in Saxony.
Regional differences
According to the study, Baden-Württemberg takes the top spot in the federal state rankings with an annual gross of EUR 47,800, followed by Bavaria (EUR 47,400) and Hesse (EUR 46,400).
In contrast, in addition to Saxony (38,400 euros), Saxony-Anhalt (39,400 euros) and Thuringia (40,100 euros) are well below the national average of 45,400 euros.
According to the report, there are clear differences not only between the federal states, but also when comparing cities.
Of the ten most populous German cities, Stuttgart is the one with the highest starting salaries: On average, graduates here earn 49,400 euros gross annually.
In second place is Munich with 48,400 euros, and in third place is Frankfurt am Main with 47,600 euros.
The gap between first and last place in this list is even larger than in the national comparison: in the bottom of Leipzig, the gross salary of young professionals is 38,300 euros, i.e. 11,100 euros less than in Stuttgart.
However, there are also regional differences in the cost of living: A career starter in Leipzig may earn less, but can still afford an apartment of the same size as the fellow student who moved to Munich.
The most lucrative industries
The differences cannot be explained solely by the geographical location of the first job.
This is shown by the analysis by industry, which the Stepstone report also contains.
According to this, there are top salaries above all at vehicle manufacturers and suppliers, in the aerospace industry, the chemical and petroleum processing industry, as well as at banks and in the pharmaceutical industry.
It is therefore not surprising that the technology and research standpoint of Baden-Württemberg or the banking stronghold of Frankfurt boast high average salaries.
The comparison of salaries among universities also fits this: the highest starting salary of 53,000 euros goes to the University of Stuttgart graduates, followed by four technical universities.
Where graduates move to
However, the data collected by Stepstone also show that earning opportunities are apparently only one of many factors according to which young professionals choose the center of their life.
For SPIEGEL, Stepstone has exclusively evaluated where graduates from the 15 largest university locations are drawn to after graduation.
The result: Basically there is a tendency to stay in the university town, in 13 of the 15 towns this is the most frequently mentioned place of work after graduation.
This is especially true for the largest cities: of the people who studied in Berlin, 72 percent stay in the capital, for example, while the proportion is similar in Hamburg and Munich.
Half of the students still live in Frankfurt am Main after they graduate, and 44 percent in Cologne.
And even if the graduates leave their place of study, they are not necessarily drawn to the cities, which offer particularly high income opportunities.
Instead, her first job is mostly either in Berlin, Hamburg or Munich - or in a large city near her place of study.
Those who studied in Münster would rather work in nearby Düsseldorf than in far-away Frankfurt am Main.
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