Chemist salary Germany

What do chemists earn?

Starting salaries for chemists

There is a wide range of salaries for chemists. Chemists are needed everywhere, resulting in a significant diversity of fields within the occupation. Still, even those just starting their careers earn above-average wages.

In most cases, chemist salaries are regulated by collective agreements. The official annual salaries for academic technical and scientific employees in the chemical industry are negotiated by the Association of Executives in the German Chemical Industry (VAA) and the Federal Association of Employers in Chemistry (BAVC). Employees in the public sector are paid according to the TV-L (including state institutions, such as universities) or TVöD (local authorities and federal institutions) pay scales.

The following table provides an overview of starting salaries. Please note, however, that the salaries paid by small and medium-sized companies usually do not follow those set in the collective wage agreements and are generally lower.

It should also be noted that in large companies, there is a greater number of highly paid positions that include additional responsibilities, such as responsibility for managing staff and other personnel issues.

Salaries by region: The money is in the southwest

There are major differences across Germany when it comes to salaries, a fact that applies to chemists as well. Broadly speaking, scientists earn more in the south than in the north (with the exception of Hamburg) and more in the west than in the former East German states. According to the data from gehalt.de, which is based on information submitted by users and not representative surveys, and which also includes the salaries of chemists in training positions, the following picture emerges across Germany. Please note: Chemists with a degree or doctorate earn significantly more than these averages (see above). However, the ratios are likely to be similar.

With salary differences of up to 10,000 euros per year, some German states might at first glance seem more attractive than others. But it is important to keep in mind that the cost of living in southern German cities is far higher than in a medium-sized city in eastern Germany.

Responsibilities and qualifications: continuing education is worth the effort

Chemists aren’t always standing in the laboratory with a lab coat and pipette. Those striving for a high salary are much more likely to wear business attire. In addition to a doctorate, knowledge in the following areas is likely to have a particularly positive effect on annual income:

• management
• sales and distribution
• personnel management
• business administration

Chemists with personnel management responsibilities, in particular, tend to earn more than their peers.

Salaries for chemists with a doctorate 

A doctorate is almost obligatory for chemists. That is especially true for those working in scientific research, but the PhD is also highly valued in the private sector as well. It is, of course, possible to find a job with a bachelor’s or master’s degree, but salaries tend to be significantly lower on average. The difference can often amount to €10,000 less a year in gross salary.

Professional experience and continuing education are important, but management positions are almost exclusively filled by chemists with a doctorate. Those seeking to pursue a career as a chemist, even if they don’t want to have any responsibility for personnel, would still be advised to obtain a doctorate. Due to the very high share of doctorates in this professional group, colleagues without a PhD often have lower chances of landing the really exciting and highly paid jobs.

In the civil service, however, having a doctorate doesn’t make a huge difference. It may be a decisive factor in whether an applicant is offered a job, but it does not automatically mean a higher salary.

Chemist salaries in science: TV-L or TVöD

Salaries in science are also regulated by collective agreements. At universities, the collective agreement of the federal states (TV-L) usually applies; at federal institutions such as non-university research institutions, the collective agreement for the public sector (TVöD) is generally used. The salary of doctoral candidates and postdocs in pay grades E13 and E14 is therefore between around €50,000 (E13, Level 1) and €80,000 (E14, Level 6).

Professors are paid according to the W salary scale; with salaries varying considerably from state to state. The range of professors’ salaries (basic salary without bonuses) is approximately:

• W3 professorships: around €85,000 to €100,000 gross per year
• W2 professorships: around €75,000 to €86,000 gross per year
• W1 professorships: around €58,000 to €66,000 gross per year

Chemist salaries in the public sector (TV-L, TVöD)

The collective agreements of the German federal government (TVöD) or the collective agreement for the public service of the federal states (TV-L) also apply to chemists who are employed in public offices, authorities or administrations. The respective salaries – from those just starting their careers to experienced veterans – are public information. Job advertisements always state the respective pay group, although there is some leeway:

• bachelor’s (BA) or university of applied sciences graduates: salary groups E9 to E12
• chemists with at least a master’s degree (or the now-outmoded “diplom”): pay grades E13 to E15

Salary with a bachelor’s degree: Those working in the public sector can expect to earn a starting salary of just under €40,000 to €44,000 gross per year as a chemist with a bachelor’s degree in 2023/24; at the top of the scale, a salary of around 73,000 euros is possible (E12, Level 6).

Salary with a master’s degree: For chemists with a master’s degree (or equivalent), a starting salary of at least around €52,000 (E13, Level 1) and a maximum salary of up to 87,000 euros (E15, Level 6) can be expected. In contrast to the private sector, a doctorate does not necessarily translate into a higher salary in the public sector.

Prospective salaries for private sector chemists

Chemists can often expect extremely attractive salaries in the private sector. However, to say that all chemists earn top salaries in the private sector would be going too far, because the best salaries are primarily paid by large corporations. They have a correspondingly high number of applicants and the luxury of choosing the best applicants.

Small and medium-sized companies, on the other hand, rarely provide lavish salaries. On the other hand, they offer other interesting features, especially for career starters: broad areas of responsibility, flattened hierarchies and many opportunities to build experience.

In addition to the aforementioned factors, there is another reason for the large differences in salaries in the private sector: The jobs often don’t necessarily require a chemist. Depending on the field of activity, a vacancy can be filled by a traditional chemist or by specialized technical college graduates – chemical engineers, biochemists or food chemists, for example – or by natural scientists from a completely different field, such as materials science, physics, biology, rheology (fluid mechanics, which focuses on the deformation and flow behavior of matter) or process engineering. Given this flexibility, salaries may be correspondingly lower.

The salary for chemists in the private sector is thus a matter of negotiation. But the collective agreements for chemists in the industry can provide some orientation.

Salary according to pay scale: collective agreements for chemists in the private sector

For academically trained employees in technical and scientific professions in the chemical industry, there is a collective agreement that regulates the salary applicable from the second year of employment. For career starters and chemists with professional experience, salaries are negotiable. According to the German Chemical Society (GDCh), the minimum annual salary is:

• €71,250 gross per year for chemists with a bachelor’s or master’s degree.
• €82,825 gross per year for chemists with a doctorate

(Current as of 2023)

These figures were negotiated by the German Federation of Chemical Employers’ Associations (BAVC) and the Association of Executives in the German Chemical Industry (VAA). It is important to note that these rates only apply in companies that are members of the German Chemical Employers’ Association. They rarely apply at small and medium-sized companies, however, meaning that salaries for chemists employed in that sector are usually lower.