More than 10 years ago, my work experience and education qualified me in the category of the most demanded jobs in Germany.
As a result, it was pretty easy for me to find a job when I decided to immigrate in 2010.
Even though the number of available jobs was not as high as it is today.
In this article I want to help you understand the current job situation in Germany.
That’s why I have compiled several lists from different sources so you can learn more about the jobs in Germany that are in demand.
Key takeaways
- There are 820,000 open positions, most of which can’t be filled by the available workforce in Germany.
- Below you will learn more about jobs in high demand and the jobs with the highest salaries in Germany.
- Doctors have led that list for many years. Because health sector always needs good doctors and qualified health and social workers.
- Want to better understand how industries and society in Germany are changing? Then take a closer look at the most popular jobs in Germany today.
- Historically, IT and engineering jobs in Germany are among the safest ones in the whole country.
- In IT, the salary expectations are significantly higher than other professions.
- Beside IT and engineering jobs, there are many other different job opportunities in Germany.
Most demanded jobs in Germany >>
Jobs with the highest salary in Germany >>
Most popular jobs in Germany >>
Are most demanded jobs in Germany easy >>
Best paid IT jobs in Germany >>
Best paid engineer jobs in Germany >>
Most demanded jobs in Germany
In Germany, there are currently more than 820,000 open positions (Statista).
For that reason, Germany does need immigrants that come to Germany to work in this country.
According to Linkedin, there are specific professions in high demand in Germany.
Here is a list of the 25 most in-demand professions in Germany:
Consultant for the public sector (Berater / Beraterin für den öffentlichen Sektor)
Product analyst (Produktanalyst / Produktanalystin)
Business development employees (Mitarbeiter / Mitarbeiterin Geschäftsentwicklung)
Sustainability manager (Nachhaltigkeitsmanager / Nachhaltigkeitsmanagerin)
Cyber security specialist (Cyber Security Spezialist)
Developer for machine learning (Entwickler für maschinelles Lernen)
User experience researcher
Specialist for real estate financing (Spezialist / Spezialistin für Immobilienfinanzierung)
Head of public affairs (Leiter / Leiterin Public Affairs)
Information security officer (Beauftragter für Informationssicherheit)
Talent acquisition specialist (Spezialist / Spezialistin für Talentakquise)
Expansion manager (Expansionsmanager / Expansionsmanagerin)
Test engineer (Prüfingenieur / Prüfingenieurin)
Marketing staff (Marketingmitarbeiter / Marketingmitarbeiterin)
Data engineer (Dateningenieur / Dateningenieurin)
Recruiting manager (Personalreferent / Personalreferentin Recruiting)
Strategic partnership manager (Manager / Managerin Strategische Partnerschaften)
Head of software development (Leiter / Leiterin Softwareentwicklung)
Data science specialist (Data Science Spezialist / Spezialistin)
Robotics engineer (Robotik-Ingenieur / Ingenieurin)
Investment associates (Investmentmitarbeiter / Investmentmitarbeiterin)
Chief information security officer (Chief Information Security Officer)
Strategic sales manager (Manager / Managerin im strategischen Vertrieb)
Manager of communications (Kommunikationsmanager / Kommunikationsmanagerin)
Medical specialist author (Fachautor / Fachautorin Medizin)
This ranking is based on LinkedIn data. We identified the job titles with the highest growth rates between January 2017 and July 2021.
However, to be included in the ranking, jobs must show continuous growth among all LinkedIn members. And also have reached a specific scale by 2021.
Jobs with the highest salary in Germany
The Handelsblatt is usually an excellent source to learn more about the jobs with the highest salary in Germany.
They published at the end of February 2022 their “Gehaltsreport” (salary report) on their website.
From this report you can conclude that, in general, men earn more than women in Germany. There might be a similar situation in many other countries.
The jobs with the best average gross annual salary according to the Handelsblatt are:
- Doctors: 78 320 €
- Engineers: 59 280 €
- IT: 56 990 €
- Consultants: 56 380 €
- Human resources HR: 47 840 €
- Marketing & PR: 45 760 €
- Finance: 45 550 €
- Craft & technical professions: 44 800 €
- Sales: 42 850 €
- Health and Social Workers: 37 780 €
- Buying, Materials Management, Logistics: 37 670 €
The more work experience you have over the years, the higher your salary. The salaries above are all gross.
Also there are also differences in salaries between all 16 German states. According to this report, the top three with the best median salaries are:
- Hesse
- Baden-Württemberg
- Bavaria
Most popular jobs in Germany
One of the best-known temporary employment agencies in Germany, Randstad, recently published an overview of the most popular jobs in Germany.
According to their list, the following jobs are the most popular ones.
- Assistance
- Human Resources Administrator
- Customer consultant
- Accountant
- System administrator
- Project engineer
- Salesperson
- Industrial mechanic
- Driver
- Production worker
- Mechatronics engineer
- Health care worker and nurse
Are most demanded jobs in Germany easy?
The most demanded jobs are not necessarily easy.
Various sectors in Germany require hard labor, shift work, or longer work hours.
As you can see in the list above, some professions require a university degree and constant training.
From what I learned by talking to neighbors and colleagues, IT jobs require extended work hours.
Moreover, depending on the industry you are working for, sometimes even night-shifts.
In contrast, engineers are mainly working in a day-job.
Jobs in Germany in health and nursing sector
But some of the most challenging jobs in Germany are within the health care and nursing sector.
Night-shifts and overtime are happening regularly.
A friend of mine told me years ago that his wife is working as a nurse in a hospital.
They constantly have more patients than they actually can adequately care for.
So to meet all needs of their patients, she and many of her colleagues spend more hours daily working at a hospital.
In this way, they make sure that the patients get all the help they need.
Cities in Germany with more job opportunities
The top five cities in Germany with more job opportunities are according to a study conducted by jobteaser.com:
- Munich
- Hamburg
- Duesseldorf
- Stuttgart
- Berlin
This result is not very surprising as those are the significant business locations in Germany.
Most demanded jobs in Munich
Munich offers many jobs for engineers, managers, consultants, and within the tourism industry.
Most demanded jobs in Hamburg
In Hamburg you’ll find more jobs for academics, managers, engineers, and the banking and insurance sector.
Most demanded jobs in Duesseldorf
Duesseldorf is well known for its diversified economy, which is highly international and has something to offer in almost every sector.
Most demanded jobs in Stuttgart
Stuttgart is one of the leading industrial towns and offers many opportunities in all technical professions.
Most demanded jobs in Berlin
Although Berlin has a higher unemployment rate, there are specific sectors where you can have a great start in your profession.
Berlin is well known for its start-up culture, research, and university programs.
The latter ones are mainly focused on biotechnology and pharma.
Best paid IT jobs in Germany
“Get in IT” recently published a study about Germany’s highest entry salaries in IT. According to their research, here are the highest entry-level salaries for IT professionals:
- IT security
- IT Consulting
- Application Development
- Embedded Systems
- Database Development / Business Intelligence
- Risk / Compliance Management
- Project Management
- Business Analysis
- Research
- Quality Assurance
- Product Management
- Web Development
- System Engineering / Administration
- UX / UI
The entry-level salaries vary between 49,800 Euros for IT Security employees and 38 800 Euros for UX / UI specialists.
The salary rises depending on the state or city you are working in and your work experience.
Important: Digitalization in Germany is still far behind the North American market and UK market.
Thanks to the pandemic, all professions within that industry received a higher focus from the government and companies.
The country launched a new website called “Digital Für Deutschland”.
It is supposed to provide more information on studying, apprenticeships, young professionals, and experts in this field.
Best paid engineer jobs in Germany
Compared to IT starting salaries, the best engineering jobs in Germany depend on the industry you work in (Get in Engineering).
- Medical / Life Science / Pharma
- Chemistry
- Automotive Industry
- Mechanical and Plant Engineering
- Aerospace
- Electrical Engineering / Precision Mechanics / Optics
- Metal Industry
- Consumer Goods
- Energy Industry
- Science / Research
- ITC
- Construction Industry
- Logistics
- Engineering / Consulting
Again, entry-level salaries vary between 51,100 Euros working in the medical sector and those working in consulting or engineering at 44,300 Euros.
Based on those numbers, engineering jobs are more likely paid better than IT jobs.
Conclusion
Suppose you are considering permanently moving to Germany and you already have some work experience in one of the professions mentioned.
In that case, it will be easier for you to find a job and be able to relocate to Germany.
Even if you only have a high school diploma.
You can consider moving to Germany.
There you can study one of these professions. You can also finish your studies first and then find a job in Germany.
I hope this comprehensive overview, including the most recent numbers, provides you with enough information to make a better decision.
USEFUL INFORMATION ABOUT GERMANY
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> Average Salary in Germany Latest Data
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WORKING IN GERMANY
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LEARNING GERMAN LANGUAGE
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