05 Working life

It is good to know the rules and regulations of the Finnish working life already while looking for work. Read more about the different aspects and take them into consideration.

Työelämä

Salary request

If the job advert asks for a salary request, you should include one in your application. Before making a salary request, it is advisable to go through the TEK salary recommendations. The salary level is determined on the basis of the job’s degree of difficulty and your level of competence.

Everybody is responsible for their own salary request and justifying it, so you should request a sum that you can justify well. You can also ask your university friends what they are or have been paid for different jobs.

How to justify my request?

Your salary request should be based on the arguments you used as the grounds for why the employer should hire you. Do not just refer to the salary recommendations to justify your request.

Remember that salary recommendations are just recommendations. The employer may have its own table of salaries that is used to determine the salary, or the salary may be based on a collective labour agreement.

Make sure to always ask about the salary and discuss it with your employer before starting work.

Salary recommendations

TEK compiles statistics on salaries and salary development of its members on a regular basis. We analyse this information and based on that, we are able to give recommendations salaries for trainees and recently graduated engineers.

Trainee salary

TEK’s salary recommendations are based on information from TEK’s student members’ summer job salaries and the projected changes on the salary levels. Recommendations are for jobs related to your field of study. These salary recommendations are a good starting point for your salary request.

Master’s Thesis

If you have been given duties in addition to the thesis project, there should be an increase in your monthly salary.

Starter Salary

The recommended starting salary is for expert tasks with 37,5 working hours per week. For more demanding jobs in certain fields or for those who work longer hours, and for those with more work experience, the starting salaries may be higher. In the Helsinki region salaries are approximately 6% higher than in other areas in Finland.

The recommended starting salary is based on the data compiled by TEK’s two annual surveys: Labour Market Survey and Graduate Survey, as well as, official forecasts of economic trends and salary increases.

Salary progression

The salary of summer jobs and internships may have been specified already during the application phase; however, after you have graduated it is time to start paying attention to how your salary develops.

Stay active and try to discuss your salary with your supervisor regularly, once a year, for example. Prepare well if you want to ask for a raise. Think of good grounds for a raise and specify the sum you want.

The affect to the unemployment fund employment condition?

If you are a member of an unemployment fund, you should check if the employment condition includes any requirements concerning your salary. This allows you to ensure that your work can be taken into account in meeting the employment condition.

If you are a member of the KOKO unemployment fund, you can check that your salary exceeds the limit set for the employment condition.

TEK salary recommendations ‹
Make sure to always check the most recent salary recommendations of TEK.