According to the Academic Engineers and Architects in Finland TEK’s labour market survey, the median salary of an academic engineer (Master of Science in Engineering) in permanent employment was 5,597 euros and the average salary was 6,051 euros per month in October 2023. The corresponding salary figures for academic engineers who graduated in 2023 were 3,920 and 3,979 euros.
The median salary of an academic engineer increased by 3.3 percent from the previous year. Although the median salary increased, the purchasing power weakened for the second year in a row. According to Statistics Finland, the annual change in consumer prices was 4.9 percent in October.
Clearly the most common reason for a salary increase was the general increase agreed in the collective agreement, which was reported by 77 percent of those respondents whose salary had increased.
“It seems that salaries only increase by as much as what has been agreed in the collective agreements. The merit increases paid voluntarily by employers are targeted at a fairly narrow group. This tells you what the benefit of a trade union is. If joining a union does not interest in the future, salary earners should be prepared for the fact that the entire agreement mechanism will be removed and fewer and fewer people will get a salary increase,” says Teemu Hankamäki, Director of Labour Market Affairs at TEK.
According to the labour market survey, 22 percent of the respondents had received a salary increase based on personal performance, i.e. a so-called merit increase.
Of those who received a salary increase, 11 percent reported a new task with the same employer as the reason for the increase, and 9 percent had received a salary increase after changing jobs. Fewer than last year reported a change of task or job as the reason for the salary increase.
In 2023, many sectors paid salary increases of about 3.5 percent, of which some were general increases, and some were employer-distributed shares. In addition, a one-time compensation was paid, which, however, is not reflected in the October salaries. However, salary increases may also have been agreed differently locally.
This is how the study was done
The data collection for the labour market survey was carried out in October-November 2023, and the target group was TEK members in the labour market. Roughly 9,500 responses were received, and the response rate was about 21. Of the respondents, 74 were men and 26 percent were women. The median age was 43 years. The most common degree completed was a Master of Science in Engineering degree, which was reported by 76 percent of the respondents. The majority of respondents, 90 percent, were in full-time employment.