A study compares salaries in startups and traditional companies and discovers serious differences.
According to a recent study, skilled workers in startups earn an average of €41,000 per year. Their colleagues in the "old economy" earn a gross annual income of €57,500. Startup employees therefore receive an average of €16,500 less per year. Employees in established companies receive a full 40 percent more. The salary gap is even more significant for executives: Decision-makers in startups earn an average of €54,300, while their colleagues in traditional industry earn €95,800. The results come from a study by Gehalt.de with Startup scene career. This examined the salaries of 1,600 employees in startups and 21,414 employees in the old economy.
Salary is not everything
The differences also extend to other factors examined: 63 percent of executives in traditional industries receive bonuses averaging €12,000 per year, compared to just 19 percent of their startup colleagues at €10,800. In the traditional economy, bosses treat themselves to 29 vacation days, compared to 27 in startups. Startup employees work an average of 42 hours a week, compared to 40 hours per week. Philip Bierbach, Managing Director of Gehalt.de, says:
“Because startups are very focused on realizing and successfully operating their business model, their budgets for personnel costs are correspondingly lower.”
What the study does not measure is the satisfaction of the employees with their work. After all, many startup employees consciously chose their workplace—not because of the salary, but because of the working conditions, the team, and the greater creative freedom. Especially the generation of Millennials It is said that there is a stronger orientation towards meaningful work than towards money.
