How much salary does an educator get?

Educators are pedagogical specialists who are primarily active in pre-school education, child and youth work and home education.

Since over 90% of this profession are women, the female form ‘educator’ is usually used. Educators not only look after and support children, but also young people and young adults.

Gross salary as educator

job	Educator
Monthly gross salary	3.100,00 €
Annual gross salary	37.200,00 €

Earn enough as an educator?

Compare your salary with that of the average here.

Kindergarten teacher – key data of vocational training

The educator looks after children or young people, employs and promotes them and gives them important values along the way. As an educator, you have a formative and decisive influence on the development of the child or adolescent. Ideally, they are prepared for their further life and adult life.

The profession is responsible and requires several years of training. In the teacher training course, both practical and theoretical knowledge is imparted, which should prepare for later work in daycare centers or other childcare facilities.

Duration: 3 years + 1 year internship (if at school)
possible in two ways: purely school or dual
Income: EUR 700 to EUR 950 (if operational)
4th year is an internship, earnings of up to 1,300 EUR

Above all, the places of work for kindergarten teachers are

Kindergartens, crèches and day nurseries
Children’s homes, youth hostels and educational homes
Family counseling and search advice centers
as well as day care centers and dormitories for people with disabilities

Teacher’s salary in training

School education

Educators are educated at school facilities (Technical schools, technical academies, vocational schools and vocational colleges) educated. A prerequisite for this is usually an intermediate school-leaving certificate, such as a secondary school-leaving certificate or an intermediate level. During the training period, which usually lasts three years, no remuneration is paid. After completing school, there is a one-year internship to gain state recognition as a teacher. In all municipal and collective institutions, the remuneration is fixed during this time and amounts to around 1,300 euros per month.

Company training

In contrast to the school-based training variant, company training is paid with a salary. This average income ranges between EUR 700 and 950.

Income for educators during in-company training:

1st year of training: 750 EUR up to 830 EUR
2nd year of training: 750 EUR up to 900 EUR
3rd year of training: up to EUR 950
4th year of training: approx.1,300 EUR (internship)

The exact earnings depend on the training company and place of residence (federal state).

The Federal Statistical Office has evaluated that the number of educational staff in day-care centers and other educational institutions has increased by 57% since 2008. In just over 10 years, the number of employed educators has risen from 382,000 to 600,000. This is due to the fact that in Germany as a whole, 93.4% of all children between the ages of three and six are looked after in a kindergarten or day care facility.

Salary as a teacher in the profession

What a teacher earns after training is also regulated in the collective agreement. In general, their salary is measured according to pay group 6 and amounts to between 1900 and 3000 euros gross per month. The top earnings of 3000 euros can be achieved both through years of work / work experience and through additional qualifications.

However, some institutions, such as private daycare centers, agree to remuneration free of collective agreements. This means that gross earnings can also be lower than the income stipulated in the collective agreement.

Continuing education for educators

in the social There are many ways to further education. You don’t always have to look for the same long-term further education decide, even a short course can make a difference.

There are three basic types of training:

specialization
Training as an occupational therapist
Higher education

The right training must be done everyone find for yourself. It is important to know for this what one wants to achieve: professional competence? More salary? A managerial or managerial position?

Educator – Overview of further training

These are separate training courses that only cover a very small subject area. An example would be theater or music education.

Training as an occupational therapist

Educators are the only ones who, after successfully completing their training, have the opportunity to train as occupational therapists shortened duration complete.

With 2 professional degrees you have an extraordinary competence, which is also reflected in the income, which is a lot higher than that of a regular teacher.

The studies

If the university entrance qualification is available, further studies could also be considered.
Especially in subjects such as psychology, special education, social work or early education, former educators are often among the participants who want to develop professionally.

Frequently asked questions about the salary as a teacher

What salary fluctuations are there depending on the institution?

What is decisive when it comes to salary as a teacher is the type of institution you are employed at.
The highest wages are generally paid in public institutions, while the lowest earnings are to be expected for clubs, associations and foundations.

The average salaries of the individual institutions:

public facilities	around 2400 euros gross per month
Education	2200 euros gross per month
Societies / Associations / Foundations	1960 EUR gross per month

What are the salary differences between west and east?

There are still clear differences in the salaries of educators between East and West Germany.

An educator in the new federal states, on average, has less on her account than her colleagues in the old federal states. But there are also differences between the individual federal states.

The average salary of all kindergarten teachers in Germany is around 2200 euros gross per month.

When is training worthwhile??

If you are looking for further tasks or want to take on more responsibility after your apprenticeship or after a few years in your job, you can usually achieve just that through further training.

Because it helps to advance your professional career educator in several respects. On the one hand, it is possible to increase your own salary and to switch to another area of responsibility.

Participation in further training can increase the prospects of earning for educators. A distinction is made between two types of further training:

Specialization developments
and advancement training.

The specialization trainings serve to adapt the knowledge to the actual job, while the advancement trainings should qualify for work at the organizational or management level.

Possible contents of specialization training for kindergarten teachers are for example:

Early and pre-school education
Parent counseling and work with parents
Youth work and youth welfare
Social work and social education
music education

Possible advancement trainings for kindergarten teachers are for example:

Specialist in education
Business economist for social affairs
state-recognized social pedagogue

References & swell

Federal Employment Agency: BERUFENET →
Institute for Labor Market and Vocational Research: PROFESSIONS reflected in statistics →
Vocational Institute for Vocational Education and Training: Professions →
Vocational Institute for Vocational Education and Training: Tariff training allowances →
Federal Employment Agency: Specialists in childcare and education →