Salary overview: What you can expect as a computer scientist

According to an analysis by the job portal Stepstone, jobs in information technology offer a median gross salary of 58,000 euros. The average gross salary is therefore 62,000 euros. This means that IT specialists earn significantly more than the German median income of 45,800 euros across all professions and the average of 52,300 euros calculated by Stepstone. The median is the average value of a series of figures; in this case, this means that there are an equal number of salaries that are lower and higher than the median salary.

Depending on the job title, there are clear differences in the analysis: IT project managers are at the higher end with 68,500 euros. This is followed by IT consultants at EUR 61,750 and software developers at EUR 57,750. IT system administrators (51,250 euros) and IT specialists (41,500 euros) are at the lower end. Career starters can expect a gross salary of 45,000 euros, with more than ten years of experience it is 68,250 euros and with more than 25 years it is 73,500 euros.

A university degree also pays off – with a median income of 67,250 euros. Without academic qualifications, you would have to make do with 53,500 euros. Personnel responsibility also provides a significant plus at 72,500 euros, without a management position you are more likely to earn 55,500 euros. Gender is also still a factor: men could earn 58,750 euros as an IT specialist, women only 53,500 euros. Stepstone arrives at an adjusted gender pay gap of 6.3 percent less gross pay for women.

In an industry comparison, IT specialists earn the most in the vehicle construction and supply sector (69,250 euros), although the future security of this sector is questionable in view of the crisis in the German automotive industry. In mechanical and plant engineering, the figure is 63,500 euros. Wholesale and retail (55,250 euros) and IT and internet (54,750 euros) pay slightly less.

East Germany earns less

However, salaries are also influenced by other factors: according to the analysis, the larger the company, the higher the salary. In large companies with over 5,000 employees, IT specialists can expect a median of 71,250 euros, while in small companies with fewer than 50 employees, the median is 49,250 euros. The place of residence also has an impact: Median values of between 61,000 and 62,000 euros were determined for the federal states of Hesse, Hamburg, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. In the five eastern German states, you have to be satisfied with significantly less – the values are between 48,250 and 50,000 euros.

Incidentally, the top earners in Stepstone's salary comparison are doctors, who can look forward to median earnings of 98,750 euros. IT specialists are in fifth place in the top group. They are followed by banks and insurance companies in second place with 59,500 euros, engineers (58,500 euros) and management consultants (58,250 euros). Employees in wholesale and retail (37,750 euros) and the hospitality industry (37,250 euros) bring up the rear in the comparison of occupational groups. According to Stepstone, more than one million pieces of salary data were evaluated for the representative survey.

(axk)