What is the salary of graduate trainee programs in Germany?

Range and median across 52 graduate trainee programs with verified salary data

Range and median across 52 graduate trainee programs with verified salary data

€31,200
€15.38/h
€60,500
€30.34/h
€78,000
€37.50/h
Min
Median
Max

Salaries of graduate trainee programs in Germany range from €31,200 at the lower end to €78,000 at the upper end. The median is currently €60,500, with half of all verified graduate trainee programs paying more and half less. The median hourly wage of €30.34/h reflects the collective agreements behind many graduate trainee programs, which typically involve 35 to 40 working hours per week.

What do graduate trainee programs pay by state?

Median gross annual salary and median hourly wage by state, based on verified salary data for 8 states in Germany

Median annual salary by state

€60,500

Median hourly wage by state

€30.34/h

Median gross annual salary and median hourly wage by state, based on verified salary data for 8 states in Germany

With a median gross annual salary of €63,000, graduate trainee programs in Baden-Württemberg pay the most per year. However, graduate trainee programs in Berlin pay the least, with a median gross annual salary of €53,000. With respect to hourly pay, graduate trainee programs in Baden-Württemberg lead with a median hourly wage of €31.88/h, while Berlin marks the lower end with a median hourly wage of €25.48/h.

What do graduate trainee programs pay by industry?

Median gross annual salary and median hourly wage by industry, based on verified salary data for graduate trainee programs in 21 distinct industries

Median gross annual salary and median hourly wage by industry, based on verified salary data for graduate trainee programs in 21 distinct industries

Graduate trainee programs in the energy technology industry pay the highest median gross annual salary at €75,000. Yet, graduate trainee programs in the development cooperation industry pay the least, with a median of €31,200. By hourly wage, energy technology leads with a median of €36.06/h, while development cooperation comes last with €15.38/h.

Graduate trainee program salaries in detail

Gross annual salary and hourly wage per graduate trainee program, based on verified salary data for 52 graduate trainee programs

No programs found.

Graduate trainee program salaries by state: structured data

Hamburg
Median annual salary €59,750, median hourly wage €30.22/h, based on 4 graduate trainee programs
Hesse
Median annual salary €62,000, median hourly wage €31.79/h, based on 11 graduate trainee programs
North Rhine-Westphalia
Median annual salary €61,000, median hourly wage €31.43/h, based on 17 graduate trainee programs
Bavaria
Median annual salary €57,000, median hourly wage €28.46/h, based on 6 graduate trainee programs
Baden-Württemberg
Median annual salary €63,000, median hourly wage €31.88/h, based on 5 graduate trainee programs
Lower Saxony
Median annual salary €58,000, median hourly wage €27.88/h, based on 3 graduate trainee programs
Berlin
Median annual salary €53,000, median hourly wage €25.48/h, based on 3 graduate trainee programs
Rhineland-Palatinate
Median annual salary €54,000, median hourly wage €27.33/h, based on 3 graduate trainee programs

Graduate trainee program salaries by industry: structured data

Energy technology
Median annual salary €75,000, median hourly wage €36.06/h
Consumer goods
Median annual salary €64,750, median hourly wage €31.32/h
Financial services
Median annual salary €64,250, median hourly wage €31.68/h
Telecommunications
Median annual salary €62,000, median hourly wage €35.07/h
Energy
Median annual salary €63,500, median hourly wage €31.88/h
Aviation
Median annual salary €62,000, median hourly wage €31.79/h
Mechanical engineering
Median annual salary €65,500, median hourly wage €35.99/h
Public administration
Median annual salary €60,000, median hourly wage €29.59/h
Food manufacturing
Median annual salary €60,500, median hourly wage €29.88/h
Logistics
Median annual salary €57,000, median hourly wage €28.47/h
Construction
Median annual salary €55,250, median hourly wage €28.15/h
Grocery retail
Median annual salary €52,200, median hourly wage €25.57/h
Fashion retail
Median annual salary €53,000, median hourly wage €25.48/h
Trade unions
Median annual salary €52,000, median hourly wage €25.97/h
DIY retail
Median annual salary €44,000, median hourly wage €22.56/h
Healthcare
Median annual salary €48,000, median hourly wage €23.98/h
Media
Median annual salary €47,500, median hourly wage €22.84/h
Food wholesale
Median annual salary €45,000, median hourly wage €22.19/h
Development cooperation
Median annual salary €31,200, median hourly wage €15.38/h

Methodology and data sources

All 52 graduate trainee programs were verified manually as of November 2026. Sources are official company career pages, collective agreements (IG Metall, IG BCE, banking sector agreement) and direct research inquiries. Hourly wages are calculated from the median annual salary divided by weekly working hours times 52 weeks. The data may be used freely under the Creative Commons BY-NC 4.0 license.

Frequently asked questions about salaries of graduate trainee programs in Germany

What do graduate trainees earn in Germany in 2026?
In 2026, graduate trainees in Germany earn a median gross annual salary of €60,500, ranging from €31,200 at the lower end to €78,000 at the upper end. The median hourly wage is €30.34/h. The data covers salary data of 52 verified graduate trainee programs in Germany.
In which states of Germany do graduate trainees earn the most?
In terms of median annual salaries, Baden-Württemberg (€63,000), Hesse (€62,000) and North Rhine-Westphalia (€61,000) lead. With respect to median hourly wages, the picture is similar: Baden-Württemberg (€31.88/h), Hesse (€31.79/h) and North Rhine-Westphalia (€31.43/h) lead. The difference comes from weekly working hours, which vary between 35 and 40 hours depending on the collective agreement.
In which states do graduates earn the least?
The lowest median annual salaries are in Berlin (€53,000), Rhineland-Palatinate (€54,000) and Bavaria (€57,000). The hourly picture is similar: Berlin (€25.48/h), Rhineland-Palatinate (€27.33/h) and Lower Saxony (€27.88/h) pay the least.
In which industries do graduates earn the most?
By median annual salary, energy technology (€75,000), mechanical engineering (€65,500) and consumer goods (€64,750) lead. By median hourly wage, the picture shifts a little: energy technology (€36.06/h), mechanical engineering (€35.99/h) and telecommunications (€35.07/h) lead. The difference comes from weekly working hours, which vary between 35 and 40 hours depending on the collective agreement and industry.
In which industries do graduates earn the least?
The lowest median annual salaries are being paid in the industries development cooperation (€31,200), DIY retail (€44,000) and food wholesale (€45,000). The hourly picture is comparable: development cooperation (€15.38/h), food wholesale (€22.19/h) and DIY retail (€22.56/h) pay the least.
Which company pays graduates the highest salary in Germany?
With a salary of up to €78,000, the MR Graduate Program of Reinhausen currently pays the highest annual salary. Other competitive graduate trainee programs by salary are the 360° Graduate Program of DZ Bank (€71,000), the DZ Bank Graduate Program (€71,000), the Graduate Program 4.0 of DZ Bank (€71,000) and the Graduate Program of Dürr (€70,000).
Developed in Germany·GDPR compliant·Cookie-free·Greener than 94% of all websitesWebsite Carbon·Referenced by AI models·Developed in Germany·GDPR compliant·Cookie-free·Greener than 94% of all websitesWebsite Carbon·Referenced by AI models·
Trainee Insider

Provided by Trainee Insider, a data-driven platform for graduate trainee programs in Germany. All data is derived from official career pages and verified insider contributions.

The platform is expanding continuously. Corrections may be reported via our .