postdoc salaries in germany

postdoc salaries in germany

A post-doctoral salary is much lower than the salary for a job in the free economy. The annual gross salary is between approx. 48,000 Euro and approx. 76,000 Euro and depends on the function and work experience.

  • The tariff structure for the salary of scientists is regulated very transparently in Germany. If a postdoc is a researcher at a state university or research institution, he/she is automatically a public sector employee and his/her salary is therefore regulated by a collective agreement.
  • Depending on the institution, this is either the Collective Agreement for the Public Sector (TVöD) or the Collective Agreement for the Public Sector of the Länder (TV-L). These collective agreements are renegotiated every one or two years.
  • All state universities, universities of applied sciences and research institutes thus pay comparable wages. As government-funded research organisations, the Max Planck Society, the Fraunhofer Society and the Helmholtz Association also follow the regulations of the collective agreement for the public sector with regard to employment, pay and social benefits.
  • Postdocs are usually classified in the lowest salary group E13 for scientists. Since salary group 13 has a very wide range (from newly started doctoral students to experienced postdocs), the salary groups are differentiated according to experience levels. Since 2018, all public sector wage agreements have differentiated between six experience levels, each with increasing duration. Level 1 is reserved for newcomers to the respective pay category. Since the time spent as a doctoral student is counted, level 1 is rather rare for postdocs, who usually enter level 3-4. Normally, academic staff are hired on a fixed-term contract; under current German law, the maximum duration of a fixed-term appointment at a university is 12 years, and up to 15 years in the medical field of a university.
  • Very experienced postdocs with more responsibility can also be classified in salary group E14.
  • Employed postdocs receive a special annual payment like all their colleagues in the public sector. The amount of this special payment depends on which collective agreement applies and whether you are employed in the old or new federal states.



Postdoc salaries in euros according to collective agreements and salary groups, July 2020

the salaries are based on 100% employment

Collective agreement pay group 13 pay group 14
TVöD 4,056.62 - 5,899.26 ¤ 4,401.04 - 6,355.34 ¤
TV-L 4,002.26 - 5,798.14 ¤ 4,340.78 - 6,178.72 ¤



Source: academics.de, public service.info


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