Nurses are urgently needed, but the salary in nursing is considered low. What income nurses can expect in this country.
Because of the high shortage of skilled workers in nursing, training as a nurse is now almost a job guarantee.
This is because the job is considered future-proof, especially in geriatric care, due to demographic developments.
Until 2004, the profession of nurse was still called nurse. Depending on the assignment, one spoke of health and nurses, health and pediatric nurses or geriatric nurses.
Since 2020, however, people in the occupational group have been called nurses, nurse practitioners or nurse specialists in simplified terms.
The salary of nursing staff differs depending on the employer and the area of assignment, but also between the new and the old federal states.
The differences depending on the area of assignment are considered reasonable due to different workloads. The east-west differences are intended to compensate for future pay increases.
At a glance: What salary nursing professionals in Germany can expect.
How much does a nurse earn in Germany?
Nurses can expect an average salary of 38,500 euros gross per year in Germany, according to the Stepstone job platform.
This means that the annual salary for a nurse is below the German gross median salary of 43,842 euros in 2023.
According to Stepstone, the salary range for the nursing professions of nurse is between 33,200 euros and 46,100 euros gross per year.
The average salary for a nursing specialist is 37,100 euros gross per year, according to Stepstone data, and the salary range is between 32,900 euros and 43,500 euros.
According to the data, the income is thus somewhat lower than for “nurses”. One reason for this is that the job description has only been called nurse for a few years and the Stepstone calculation is therefore based more on entry-level salaries.
What is the starting salary as a nurse?
Starting salaries for nurses vary by employer. In some cases, the federal state is also decisive, as separate pay agreements have been reached for different collective bargaining areas in each case – for example, for Caritas employees, as can be seen from the association’s pay scale guidelines.
How much career starters are earning as a nurse
Career starters in the public sector earn differently depending on the collective agreement.
Employees in university hospitals who are paid according to the TV-L collective agreement receive a monthly starting salary of around 3,000 gross (as of December 2022).
Those working in municipal hospitals in the public sector start with around 2,932 euros gross (as of April 2022).
This roughly corresponds to the salaries set by the German Caritas Association in its guideline since April 2022 for North Rhine-Westphalia, Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria.
In eastern Germany, Caritas has been paying slightly more since January 2023, at 2,976 euros gross per month.
Career starters in Hamburg can even expect 3,005 euros gross. At the German Red Cross, nurses start with around 2923 euros gross per month according to the collective agreement.
How much does a caregiver earn per month?
The gross monthly salary of a nurse in the public sector ranges from around 3183 euros to 3751 euros, depending on professional experience (as of December 2022).
Those paid according to the public sector pay scale receive between 3,108 euros and 3,654 euros.
For some collective bargaining areas, the same values apply in Caritas facilities. In Hamburg and eastern Germany, the salary at pay level 6 rises to over 3,700 euros gross per month with more than eight years of professional experience.
According to the collective agreement, employees at the German Red Cross receive between around 3098 euros (level 3) and around 3653 euros (level 6) gross per month.
Where do you earn the mos as a caregiver?
Salaried caregiver professionals receive monthly bonuses if they work in a particularly demanding nursing area or with highly vulnerable groups.
For example, nursing specialists in intensive care receive an additional 100 euros per month.
Those who work with high-risk groups, such as immunocompromised patients, receive a monthly allowance of between 46 euros and around 60 euros, depending on the collective agreement.
In addition, depending on the collective agreement, allowances are also paid for shift work, rotating shifts and night shifts. But on-call duties and standby duty also bring in more pay at the end of the month.
How can I increase my salary as a nurse?
If you are paid according to a collective agreement, you will receive a higher salary as your professional experience increases.
In this context, more years of professional experience lead to a step advancement within the pay group, through which the salary increases step by step.
Depending on the collective agreement, the highest step within a pay group is reached after eight to 15 years.