Master’s vs. Bachelor’s in Austria: New Data Reveal Salary Gap Shrinks to €200

The earning levels of people holding a Bachelor’s degree are approaching those of Master’s degree holders, according to a study by Statistics Austria.

The gross salary of Master’s graduates in full-time job positions one year after graduation has shifted from €3,100 to €3,300 between the 2008/09 to 2020/21 academic years, Erudera.com reports.

On the other hand, the monthly gross median income of people holding a Bachelor’s degree increased from the 2012/13 academic year and beyond. It increased from €2,653 per month one year after graduation to €2,986 by 2020/21.

That means that in comparison, the starting salary of Master’s graduates has reduced from only under €600 in the graduation year 2008/09 to about €200 in the 2020/21 academic year.

“A degree is still a guarantee for a quick entry into professional life and a good starting salary. One year after a Masterʼs degree, the median salary is just over 3,000 euros gross per month. Additionally, starting salaries after a Bachelorʼs degree in the healthcare or social sector have increased significantly over the past ten years,” Statistics Austria Director General Tobias Thomas said.

A disparity has been observed between men and women with academic degrees. According to the analysis, within one year of obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in the 2020/21 academic year, men earned about the same amount as women with a Master’s degree.

“This difference can be partly attributed to gender-specific differences in the choice of degree programme. For example, men are overrepresented in the fields of computer science and communication technology as well as engineering, manufacturing and construction – two fields of study with relatively high median incomes,” the report by Statistics Austria points out.

The same states that women are more represented in fields that are paid less, such as social sciences, journalism and information, as well as humanities and arts. Men, on the other hand, are overrepresented in fields with high median incomes, such as computer science and communication technology, etc.

Findings revealed an increase in starting salaries of Bachelor’s graduates based on fields, especially in health, social work, and education.

Students in health and social work received €3,263 in 2020/21 twelve months after completing a Bachelorʼs degree, an increase from €2,742 in 2008/09.

Education graduates also received starting salaries from €2,683 per month in the graduation year 2008/09 to €2,915 in 2020/21.

On average, Bachelor’s students land their first job about two months after graduating. Differently, Master’s graduates could find jobs in less than one month.

For those who completed a Bachelor’s degree in the 2008/09 academic year, 77.3 percent were employed one year later, whereas, in 2020/21, this figure rose to 81.8 percent.

A similar trend was noticed in Master’s degree holders, with 84.3 percent working a year after graduation in 2008/09, and 87.3 percent by 2020/21.

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