Top salaries for young professionals
You can earn a lot of money in these professions even without studying
Young skilled workers with training can also earn very well
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Even without a degree, you can earn well at a young age. An evaluation shows in which apprenticeships skilled workers under 30 years of age achieve top salaries.
As a rule, studying increases the chances of finding a well-paid job on the labor market. But even with a non-academic education, skilled workers can earn good money from a young age. In some professions, the salary is even well above what many academics earn, as an evaluation of the Institute of the German Economy (IW Cologne) shows.
The economists of the employer-related research institute have determined the most lucrative professions for young skilled workers under the age of 30 on the basis of data from the employment agency. Professions for skilled workers are those for which (dual) training is required. They are differentiated from the “specialists” (master craftsman, technician or bachelor’s degree) and the “experts” (master’s degree, diploma or similar).
Salaries over 4000 euros
In five skilled occupations, the average gross monthly salary (median) for full-time employees is therefore above 4,000 euros. Young professionals in technical production planning and control earn the most at around 4,300 euros. Occupations in aerospace technology, insurance and financial service providers, chemical and pharmaceutical technology and fire protection (see table) also cost more than 4,000 euros. A look at the 20 most lucrative professions also shows that half come from the metal and electrical sectors.
In all 20 top-earning professions, the median salary is over 3500 euros. For comparison: In less well-paid training occupations, the gross monthly wage is around 2000 euros or even less. Hairdressers are paid particularly poorly (1,666 euros). For all employees under the age of 30 who are subject to social insurance – from unskilled to university graduates – the statistics show a mean gross salary of 2900 euros.
Table: The 20 most lucrative occupational groups for skilled workers under 30 years of age
job | Monthly salary * |
Technical production planning and control | 4307 euros |
Aerospace Engineering | 4195 euros |
Insurance and financial services | 4141 euros |
Chemical and pharmaceutical technology | 4038 euros |
Fire protection | 4018 euros |
Surgical / medical technology assistance | 3937 euros |
Energy and power plant technology | 3928 euros |
Mining and open pit mining | 3836 euros |
Metallurgy | 3730 euros |
Mechanical engineering and industrial engineering | 3696 euros |
Insurance salesmen | 3650 euros |
Metal forming | 3639 euros |
Papermaking | 3637 euros |
Electrical operating technology | 3635 euros |
Bank clerks | 3605 euros |
Mechanical and industrial engineering | 3588 euros |
Automation technology | 3552 euros |
Social administration and insurance | 3550 euros |
Paint laboratory | 3541 euros |
Technical service staff in maintenance and repair | 3515 euros |
* Median value for gross full-time salary; Source: IW Cologne
Different good employment opportunities
It is interesting that high pay does not always go hand in hand with good employment opportunities. In addition to the salary, the IW researchers also looked at the number of vacancies and the unemployed. The result is very different for the 20 top earning professions. There are very good employment opportunities, for example, in electrical operating and automation technology or in fire protection. By contrast, there are significantly more unemployed than vacancies in the aerospace technology sector and with financial service providers and bankers.