In the end, that’s quite a multifaceted question. I’ve tried to consider these things:
-At what stage of my career/skill potential am I?
-How much does this change benefit my employer/how does it affect their resource utilization?
-What is my salary level compared to others doing the same job?
-Does this promotion bring other benefits, or is it a temporary matter, such as covering for someone on leave?
Straight out of school/new field, gather expertise, try to negotiate for more pay if there are grounds, but don’t get stuck on any starting salary recommendation. This is the stage where you need to build up your skills.
More work experience, a tougher discussion about salary, and fact-based reasoning to justify the desired salary. If the answer is no, asking why, because, and what it requires are good questions.
Then there’s the more challenging side: if no more salary is coming, how to have a creative discussion so that both parties are at least somewhat satisfied. New jobs aren’t always found immediately, and the next place isn’t always a dream either. Perhaps an agreement to revisit the matter after X amount of time?
In my own work experience, I’ve noticed that, if you don’t count commission salespeople, usually the best salary goes to those who know how and dare to negotiate for it. Not the most diligent and conscientious. Of course, skills should also be at a good level, otherwise, you’ll quickly find yourself out in a co-determination negotiation.
It’s growing slowly, but the job description hasn’t changed much either. A small increase due to general raises and profit growth. The ceiling is starting to be reached in these job roles.
Almost two years have passed again, and I could share more about my salary development. Contrary to my earlier estimate, in 2023, I did not exceed 100k€ due to a job change. In the new job, the basic salary is significantly lower than before, but I receive stock awards on top of it. These reduced my income in 2023 but have significantly increased my income since then.
2024: income 112k€, which is just over 9000€/month.
2025: Projected income will be approximately 120k€, which is about 10000€/month, because I received a 700€ increase to my basic salary.
Update on the situation:
Earned income: so far only from summer jobs + study grant.
2018: 2k€ 17y
2019: 10k€ 18y
2020: 18k€ 19y
2021: 18k€ 20y
2022: 23k€ 21y
2023: 28k€ 22y
2024: 20k€ 23y
2025: Graduated as M.Sc. (Tech.), working as a supervisor in a listed company for summer, salary approx. 5000€/month. 24y
Amazing story! I, and certainly many other business students on the forum, would love to hear more about your career. It would be great to read if you could visit the career thread I started and tell us more.
Years just keep rolling on, and I’m still with the same employer. Generally, there seems to be a severe shortage of skilled professionals in my field, and I’ve also had discussions with a few parties, but so far, no jobs have been offered that would genuinely interest me enough. A higher salary alone isn’t enough when I can currently say I enjoy my work.
Current salary is 5000€/month, meaning no more than a general pay rise was seen this year. Last year’s annual earnings were 78k€, meaning a few thousand more were added to that.
This year, several bonuses will be triggered, and thus the tax card has been adjusted closer to the 90k€ limit. The current pace seems to be leading there, but it depends on the autumn how it ultimately turns out.
The turnover of my hobby, i.e., the Ltd (Oy), also rose by a few thousand to over 16k€, with the profit remaining at the 2k€ level. This year, growth is again expected on this front as well, as the VAT (Alv) threshold rose to 20k€/year. It’s good to aim for that limit.
Years roll by, and 15 years have been completed in the Finnish Defence Forces as a non-commissioned officer, which means 8 additional vacation days. 38 days, which is two days short of 8 weeks.
Salary development, on the other hand, has naturally stagnated. Approx. 50,000€ per year with a 7h 15min workday. No inconvenience allowances, which is a good thing, as one gets to be at home and live a quality everyday life.
3 hours of weekly exercise. A task in the physical activity field naturally further increases one’s own opportunities for physical activity. 12 days/month remote work possibility and flexible working hours.
More money should come, but a quality everyday life and zero-level workload from work are difficult to measure in money.
Out of curiosity, I ask how much this hobby costs. That is, I mean, how much do you have to pay to the pension insurance company in YEL contributions for the joys of entrepreneurship?
Currently, I don’t pay YEL contributions at all, this is because even though the turnover is at that level, the earned income is lower and below the defined limit. I’ve been a bit nervous about this as pension companies have been instructed to tighten their operations, but so far I’ve been able to continue this way.
Let’s update my own situation. After graduating as a Master of Science in Engineering, there have been enough changes in my job description that it was time for a salary review. My design class also increased.
My previous salary was 3950 e/month, which lasted for about 1.5 years. In the beginning, it was an acceptable compensation for a recent graduate to my liking, but it naturally soured along the way. With the salary review request, I now received a raise of just under 9%, and the new salary is 4300 e/month. It will probably be at least a year until the next somewhat larger raise, but in February-March, this will get some support with a general increase of a few percent. Additionally, between these updates, an employee stock purchase program also started. By participating in this, one gets about 100 e/month worth of shares annually on top of the salary when investing 200 e/month oneself. So, the gross salary, including shares, is about 4400 e/month.
Below is a graph of salary development in my current job. A couple of clearer peaks around graduation times and an average of about 8% raises in other years. This only considers the salary paid in cash, so the employee stock purchase program has been excluded from the graph.
This sounds great! Are you a publicly listed company?
In the case of a publicly listed company, that’s a direct additional incentive worth taking. I would really appreciate it if the employer had ways or incentives for ownership. I myself work for a non-publicly listed company, and we have sometimes considered different possibilities, but currently, only upper management has the opportunity.
Yep, agreed! It’s definitely worth participating in these. Unfortunately, various share purchase programs or share rewards often only apply to upper management or similar. Perhaps it was the same for us before the launch of this program, but then it was made available to all staff. Despite that, surprisingly many do not take advantage of this opportunity. At the Finnish level, participation is at 15%. And yes, it is a foreign listed company. There are no trading restrictions associated with shares purchased by oneself or compensated by the employer. The share contribution comes on top of the salary and is taxed as a fringe benefit according to each individual’s earned income tax.
Current salary €4860 + annual bonus approx. €3-4000.
Salary for a potential new job
60-100k per year + possible annual bonus + mileage reimbursements. According to the employer, one can reach 60k without major effort. A financially stable company that sells heating systems. Base salary €2000. The company seems legitimate.
Such compensation models are common nowadays, but I don’t know if I dare to go for one. A strong performer can achieve high earnings if the products are good and they work actively. Do you have experience with low base salary jobs?
With commissions, it probably depends a lot on how sufficient the base salary is and then how the targets are set.
We have strong salespeople who are good year after year. Then there are others who have more variation.
Additionally, I remember cases where targets were ‘accidentally’ set too high and hardly anyone received bonuses. It might be OK if the base salary is at a level where one can manage, but it’s a worse situation if the money is no longer enough for loan repayments.
Reading this thread, annual bonuses seem to be common. It’s always frustrating when a job description looks interesting but the base salary is poor and you don’t get a real picture of the salary level.
37 years old and the journey in the same company in purchasing continues. Since the last update at the end of 2023, there have been one general salary increase + company-specific increases.
At the beginning of this year, new responsibilities came, and the monthly salary increased by about 550 EUR. The base salary is about 6400 EUR, and the increase coming in June will then raise that to 6550 EUR. The bonus has constituted about 12-17% of the annual salary. The bonus forming in 2025 seems to fall significantly below that. It will then be paid next year.
It can certainly be said that the 550 EUR has not changed life in any way, as the tax authorities have taken their share. This was, of course, known when I took the position. The stress level increases quite a lot with the new responsibilities. Before, I could often operate in the background, as long as the work went well. Now I am responsible for such large sums of money that my actions affect the size of many people’s bonuses, and I am constantly under the scrutiny of the VP level.
In that sense, the 550 EUR increase is not proportionate to the new responsibilities, but I know for a fact that in Finland, with this title, I am pretty much at the maximum. I see the salaries of American and German colleagues in similar positions, and the difference is indeed huge. Especially with Americans. At this age, this “numbers must go up” business mindset cannot, however, tolerate somehow freezing my career at the previous level where I could operate with a very low stress level after all these years.
I must admit that I am quite satisfied with the company and the meaningfulness of the tasks. My own footprint is already slightly visible in the company’s bottom line, and that motivates me, as well as the freedom to do the work as long as results are achieved. Good salaries, managers, and work environment. There is no reason, at least for now, to seriously look for other companies unless I am thrown out or take a bigger leap in my career.
Just go for it and grab responsibility at that age. The financial reward can be significant later. I myself worked quite linearly until about 42 years old, and from there, in 7 years to this day, my earnings tripled. I probably had good luck in addition to all my own good work. My point is that if work, challenges, and responsibility appeal to you, then just boldly take on more of them and trust that you’ll be able to cash it in eventually.
For about seven years, I worked “abroad” with a salary approximately 40% higher than what was paid for the same tasks in Finland. So I lived in Finland, and the salary was paid to Finland through an accounting firm. In sales jobs, such arrangements are probably easier, as international travel is inevitable anyway, but even a buyer in a large company can’t be updating and checking in at every factory simultaneously.
Now, after the pandemic, one would think there would be even more acceptance for remote work.
This matter is current for me again, as I feel like changing jobs again, but I don’t think a suitable position can be found in Finland. I’ve written here before that I had a sales team in the EMEA region where each gentleman earned a base salary of 90-100k€ per year. In Finland, equivalent gentlemen would have earned 5-6k€ per month plus some bonuses, now perhaps that same 6.5k€.
I’ve wondered the same thing myself. 100k base salaries seem “outrageous” in Finland, but in many other countries, they are the starting point/minimum already from a manager level. International companies benchmark against the domestic market, meaning that at best, a manager in a team earns double compared to a Finnish team leader/director if they are in the US, and at least the same if in Germany
