Salary recommendations for students and graduates

The Union of Professional Engineers in Finland publishes annual salary recommendations for recently graduated engineers as well as for summer jobs and internships. The salary recommendations apply to positions in which recently graduated engineers can utilize their engineering education or positions that contribute to their engineering studies before graduation.

Salary recommendations form a good starting point for salary negotiations, but they cannot be regarded as minimum or maximum salaries. The recommendations are based on surveys on the salary level of students and recent graduates. Previous experience of the employee and how demanding the work is affect the salary level in particular. In addition, the supply and demand in various industries has an impact on salaries. The salary level in the capital region tends to be higher than in the rest of Finland.

Starting salary recommendation for engineers graduating in 2025

The salary recommendations apply to tasks that correspond to engineering education and are permanent and full-time. The salary level is primarily influenced by how demanding a task is. If you have accumulated a lot of work experience before graduating, you are often prepared to work in more demanding positions than those with only a little experience. The industry in question also has an impact on the salary level.

The recommended salaries are based on 37.5 hours worked and do not include overtime or performance-related pay. Salaries often remain below the recommendation in temporary positions. Limited work experience refers to an Engineer, UAS degree and the related compulsory internship. Moderate/abundant work experience refers to working full-time for several years in tasks corresponding to engineering education.

	Limited work experience	Moderate/abundant work experience
Capital region, EUR/month	3,600	3,850
Other Finnish regions, EUR/month	3,400	3,700

Salary recommendations for students

The salary recommendations for summer jobs and internships can be applied to positions related to the engineering studies. In some positions, the salary is determined in accordance with the valid collective agreement. The recommendations are based on the results of the students’ employment survey and general income development. They do not include overtime or other benefits.

Completed studies in credits	Recommended salary, EUR/month
under 100 credits	2,400–2,650
100–150 credits	2,450–2,750
150–200 credits	2,550–2,900
over 200 credits	2,650–3,300