How long have you been working in your job? And how satisfied are you with the salary development over the course of your career so far? Work experience is an important factor that can significantly increase your income over time. But in which professions is the increase particularly strong? And what role does a degree play in this? We analyzed more than 600,000 records to find this out.
Work experience is an important salary factor
The longer you work in your professional field, the more valuable you become for employers – and not necessarily only when you have supervised new projects or have developed significantly. Because even when completing routine tasks, you become more familiar with your professional field, so that you can complete them faster in the future and thus gain more time for other tasks.
This increases your value for the company and you can ask for more in the next salary negotiation. But how much more you can ask for depends heavily on your degree and your field of work. We looked at the professions in which salaries are developing most explosively. But beware: This does not necessarily mean that there is also a high starting salary here.
Salaries increase the most in finance management
Which professional areas are particularly lucrative depends, among other things, on your degree. But there are professional areas in which your salary increases relatively quickly, regardless of your qualifications. We show you three particularly lucrative areas.
In a comparison of the professional areas, the salary development in financial management is the most lucrative – regardless of your professional training. Career starters receive an average of around €43,400 in the first year. In the second year, the salary can increase to €50,300. In the third to fifth year, the average salary is €60,200. In the last stage of our analysis, after six to ten years in this area, we observe the largest increase: an annual salary of €75,500 means an increase of around 25% compared to the previous stage. Overall, the salary increases by 74% from the beginning of the career to the last level evaluated.
Financial management is a versatile professional field and generally describes the planning and control of all financial resources in the company. This includes areas such as bookkeeping, operational controlling and payroll accounting. Although a degree is often required here, you can also do an apprenticeship, e.g. B. in controlling, start with a lucrative salary.
Would you like to find out exactly how much you should earn with your previous work experience? Then try our salary planner.
Up to 61% more salary in business development
Even in business development, with enough professional experience, you can earn a higher salary quite quickly. The starting salary of €45,100 increases after the first year by only around 8% to €48,800, but the jump between the second and the third to fifth year is much larger. With three to five years of professional experience, you will earn around €61,000. After six to ten years in business development, your salary can even be €72,700. Your income has increased by a total of 61% since the first year of work.
Business development is all about opening up new business areas and keeping your company competitive in the long term. A degree in economics is an advantage here, but many employees also find their way into business development through classic sales training with subsequent further training.
A degree increases your salary by 35%
With a degree, you can increase your chances of rapid salary increases. University graduates earn around 35% more than employees without a degree. The starting salary with a degree is currently around €44,200 across all departments. The credit and insurance industry is one of the most lucrative professions. The starting salary in this area with a university degree is €39,000 in the first year, which is still below the average starting salary for academics, but then increases by 15%: After a year on the job, you would earn around €45,400. With increasing professional experience (three to five years), employed persons receive €54,600. After six to ten years, the salary increases by 28% to around €70,000. As a result, after six to ten years in the profession, you already have a total salary increase of 79%.
In the credit and insurance industry, the profession of bank clerk is particularly common. Here you advise customers on financial products such as investments or insurance. Similarly, real estate agents manage real estate and work with building societies to manage land and office buildings, for example. You can work with a variety of training in this field. However, you only have good chances of above-average salary increases during your first years of work if you have a degree.
High salaries in the mergers and acquisitions industry
In the Mergers & Acquisitions profession, too, salaries rise comparatively quickly with a degree. In the first year, you can look forward to an above-average starting salary of around €55,500. In the second year, it rises slightly to €58,600 before taking the first big jump to €75,200 (a 28% increase) between years three and five. If you stay in the mergers and acquisitions industry for more than six years, your salary can even grow to an average of €99,600. Your salary has increased by 79% since you started working.
Mergers & Acquisitions employees are responsible for company mergers and company sales. When two companies become one, it’s called a “merger” and when it’s taken over, it’s called an “acquisition”. As an M&A manager, you will accompany these processes, conduct purchase contract negotiations with external lawyers and take care of property rights. Therefore, M&A managers are often expected to have a master’s degree in law or economics.
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Rapid salary increases in product management for employees with training
Even without an academic degree, you can significantly increase your salary in the first few years of your career. Especially in product management, things are moving fast for employees without a university degree. After six to ten years in the job, income increases by almost 60% compared to the starting salary. In the first year, employees receive a salary of €36,900. With two years of professional experience, you can already earn an income of €45,300. After three to five years you will receive around €48,300. And finally, after six to ten years, you are already drawing an average of €58,600.
Product managers are usually responsible for a specific product in the company. They plan, market and control the product or service and coordinate different areas of the company that are responsible for it. So far there has been no classic training for the area of product management, but many further training courses are now being offered for this professional profile. You have a good chance of getting started, for example, with an apprenticeship in product management, marketing or project management.
Almost 60% more salary after six to ten years in the SAP software profession
Even if you mainly deal with SAP software professionally, your salary can increase quickly after an apprenticeship. As a newcomer, you will receive an average gross annual salary of €40,700 in the first year. In the second year, the salary increases by 36% to €44,500. If you work in the SAP area for three to five years, you will earn around €54,100. From the sixth to tenth year, the salary increases by an average of 19% (€64,400). So your salary has increased by 58% in total.
The SAP software is one of the leading enterprise software for controlling business processes and is used to process data more effectively. In the SAP profession, you will work, for example, as a SAP consultant or as an IT consultant specializing in SAP software. The way here often leads through a degree, but you can also approach the professional field through IT training.
€15,000 more salary after six to ten years in digital marketing
In digital marketing, employees who have completed their vocational training can increase their salary by a total of around €15,000 after six to ten years. Young professionals start with an entry-level salary of around €32,200. A year later, the average salary increases to €36,500. With three to five years of experience, employees receive €40,200 after training in this area. Professionals with six to ten years of experience receive a salary of €47,800. Overall, the salary has increased by 48%.
Other Salary Factors
Salaries in finance, banking and insurance are traditionally above average. But regardless of the starting salary and degree, income in this professional field grows particularly quickly.
In addition to professional experience, there are many other factors that influence your salary. It makes e.g. For example, there is a big difference in which federal state you work in, how many employees your employer employs or in which industry you work. The numbers in this evaluation give you an orientation and can help you to decide on a career path. You will also find out whether you are on the right (salary) path with your previous professional experience.
Your job wasn’t there? Then try our salary planner now and find out whether your salary is developing in the right direction.
