The median salary of academic engineers rose by 86 euros
Salary development is still continuing at a very moderate pace.
In October 2019, the median salary of an academic engineer in permanent employment was 4 986 euros a month while the average salary was 5 419 a month. The median salary rose by 86 euros, or 1.8 %, from the previous year.
The most common reason a highly educated employee in the technology sector received a raise was a general salary increase, which was the case for 57 % of those respondents whose salary had increased. 31 % had received a raise based on personal performance. This information is gleaned from a labour market survey conducted among members of TEK (Academic Engineers and Architects in Finland).
– The survey results clearly demonstrate that a general salary increase reached via collective bargaining was the single most important factor ensuring the positive salary development of academic engineers, says Teemu Hankamäki, TEK's negotiation manager.
According to Hankamäki, companies appear to be quite sparing in their application of the possibility of raising salaries above what has been agreed upon in the collective agreement.
– The positive trend in the sector would have given us reason to expect better salary development – now it looks like there isn't much upwards flexibility above the agreed upon salary levels.
TEK has been monitoring salary development regularly for years. No major changes have been observed.
– The rise of salaries has been moderate for several years now, says salary researcher Tuunia Keränen.
Approximately six out of ten respondents who were full-time employees stated that their workplace had a performance-related pay system in place. Performance-related pay was most frequently used in the industrial sector where three out of four respondents said they were included in such a system. On average, performance-related pay amounted to 7 % of annual earnings.
The labour market survey data was collected in August 2019. The survey targeted TEK members who were active on the job market and garnered some 9 800 responses in total. The most common completed degree among the respondents was Master of Science in Technology. Most of the respondents worked as specialists in the private sector.
TEK's salary data is updated based on this survey. Check the salary levels for different positions in your field with TEK's Salary Surveyor tool. Read more here.