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Researchers at universities: Salaries from research assistants to professors

At state universities in Germany, research and development salaries for academic employees are determined by the collective civil service agreement in the individual federal states (TV-L). The only exception is Hesse, which is not a member of the tariff union. Here, salaries are determined by the TV-H or, at the Technical University of Darmstadt, by the TV-TUD. At federal universities, the TV枚D Bund pay scale is used.

Depending on the job description, academics are assigned to one of three pay levels 鈥� E13, E14 or E15. Doctoral candidates and postdocs are usually placed in the E13 category and earn between 4,600 and 6,600 euros gross per month (level 6). Research and group leaders with more responsibility on their shoulders will generally find themselves in the E14 or (rarely) E15 category. They can expect to earn gross monthly salaries of between 5,000 and 7,600 euros.

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Professors are paid according to the W salary scale, with precise pay varying from state to state. Professors in the W2 category can expect to earn gross monthly salaries of between 6,700 and 8,000 euros.

The range for W3 professors is between ca. 7,300 to 9,200 gross euros per month (base pay without bonuses). Additional information about professor salaries can be found here.

Research and development salaries in the industrial sector

The majority of R&D personnel work in industry. Salaries here differ depending on experience, branch, German state and company size.

Research and development: Entry-level pay

For those who begin working in research and development right out of university, pay in the industrial sector will depend first and foremost on the degree they have earned. According to the salary information website gehalt.de, graduates who have earned a diploma (a degree roughly equivalent to a master鈥檚 which has been phased out in recent years) in the natural sciences can expect to earn an entry-level salary of 48,000 euros per year. Master鈥檚 graduates earn around 46,000 euros per year at the beginning of their career and bachelor鈥檚 degree holders make around 42,000 per year when they start. Those numbers, however, are nationwide averages. Specific salaries may vary depending on state and employer.

The specific industry is also a significant variable when it comes to R&D salaries. Pharmaceutical research, for example, pays higher salaries than research in the humanities.

Research and development: Salaries by state and region

Because most of the largest employers in technical sectors like automotive, mechanical engineering and electronics are based in southern Germany and employ the largest share of R&D staff, salaries in research and development are also highest in the region.

The nationwide average gross salary for R&D specialists in technical sectors is around 60,000 euros per year, according to the salary comparison website gehaltsvergleich.com.

Research and development salaries by company size

Finally, company size also plays a role in earnings. A look at the salaries paid in technical research and development make the discrepancies clear: In companies with more than 1,000 employees, salaries of R&D personnel are around 18,000 euros per year higher than their counterparts working for companies with fewer than 500 workers.

Large employers like Bosch and VW offer scientists attractive, well-paid positions in R&D. According to the online platform Kununu, research engineers at Bosch, for example, earn a gross salary of around 95,000 euros per year, while the average annual salary for a research group leader working in R&D at Bosch is around 130,000 euros. Development engineers at VW can expect a gross annual salary of 82,000 while R&D team leaders will earn well over 100,000 euros.

The effect of a doctorate on R&D salaries

Numerous studies disprove the widely held belief that a doctorate is only useful to those interested in a career in academia. According to a study by the University of Kassel, holders of a doctorate earn an average of 40 percent more than their colleagues with master鈥檚 degrees one-and-a-half years after earning their degree.

At the time of the survey, 30 percent of the doctorate degree holders were working at a university or a non-university research institute, 17 percent were working in research and development in the private sector and 52 percent were in areas other than R&D. The income boost provided by a doctorate, however, tends to be 8 to 9 percent lower for women.

An overview of academic salaries

Research and development in Germany takes place at universities, universities of applied sciences, non-university research institutes and in private industry. Broadly speaking, R&D is divided between basic research, applied research and experimental development.

When it comes to research and development, universities of applied sciences work particularly closely with private industry, policymakers and partners from society such that theory and practice go hand in hand. These research activities serve as a basis for teaching.

The work conducted by non-university research institutions is also mostly application-oriented 鈥� rooted in results from private industry and focused on future-oriented technologies. A fundamental principle in industry is that growth can only be achieved through the continuous improvement of production technology. As such, R&D plays a key role, particularly in research-intensive industrial sectors.

Ultimately, there are a number of different factors that determine who earns how much, whether at universities, at non-university institutes or in private industry. Beyond the sector itself, personal experience is important, as is the employer鈥檚 geographical location, individual references and the employer itself.

According to the online platform absolventa, research and development engineers earn an average salary of around 62,000 per year across all sectors.