In Austria, a university degree continues to guarantee a quick start to professional life and a good starting salary. However, salaries vary significantly depending on the level of qualification, field of study, and region, as shown by the Graduate Tracking (ATRACK) study conducted by Statistics Austria and a consortium of universities.
Three years after graduation, the best salaries are in Vorarlberg and Upper Austria, with industrial centers standing out in the individual regions.
According to the survey published on Thursday, university graduates find their first job after an average of just under two months. Three years after graduation, four out of five are working full-time or part-time, with only 2.3 percent registered as unemployed at this point.
Three years after completing a bachelor’s degree, the average monthly salary for full-time employees is €3,500 gross. For master’s or diploma graduates, the average is around €4,200, and for doctoral or PhD graduates, it is almost €5,100.
Medicine and engineering with top salaries
The highest incomes by field of education are in the health and social services sectors, at around €4,700, which includes doctors. The highest earners are also found in engineering, manufacturing, construction, and information and communication technology (ICT), each with around €4,600.
According to ATRACK, academics can expect the highest incomes by state in Vorarlberg (just under €4,300) and Upper Austria (€4,100) and the lowest in Burgenland (€3,800) and Carinthia (€3,900). In the regions, the two industrial centers in eastern Upper Styria and Steyr-Kirchdorf stand out with around 4,400 euros each.
Taking into account region and field of education, ICT graduates in Vorarlberg and Vienna can expect the highest salaries. In contrast, in the fields of engineering, manufacturing, and construction, the most can be earned in Vorarlberg and the industrial states of Upper Austria and Styria. In the health and social services sector, the highest salaries are also paid in Vorarlberg, followed by Tyrol and Burgenland. In the service sector, Salzburg ranks ahead of Vorarlberg and Carinthia.
Two-thirds return home after graduation
In addition to income, the graduate tracking study also examined the migration patterns of academics. It shows that two-thirds of those who were already living in Austria ten years before graduation return to their home region after completing their studies. One-third of academics who are no longer registered in their home region after graduation and change their place of residence move abroad.
Most people moving in from other federal states settle in Vienna, where 14 percent of all graduates are registered ten years before graduation and 28 percent three years after graduation. Significant inflows are also recorded in Graz and Innsbruck, while in western Upper Styria, Liezen, and East Tyrol, a large proportion do not return after graduation.
Of the approximately 23 percent of university graduates who were not registered as residents in Austria ten years before graduation, two-thirds moved abroad again three years after graduation. Of those who remain, Vienna benefits the most: more than half of the newcomers live in the federal capital after graduating.
- source: kurier.at/picture:
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