Workers lay reinforcement steel in a tunnel between Bellinzona and Lugano.
Keystone
From baker to banker, Swiss workers earn salaries that must be put into perspective.
This content was published on
1 minute
Kai works as a designer in the multimedia team at SWI swissinfo.ch. At the junction between journalism and design, he develops infographics, animations, maps and new formats for social media.
Not content to mind her own business, Susan studied journalism in Boston so she’d have the perfect excuse to put herself in other people’s shoes and worlds. When not writing, she presents and produces podcasts and videos.
Like anywhere in the world, salaries in Switzerland vary depending on factors like education, experience and location. Each year, canton Zurich’s Office for Economy and LabourExternal link publishes a guide outlining salaries for nearly every profession imaginable. This year’s 800-page Lohnbuch 2017External link (in German) compiles salary data such as minimum suggested wages plus typical salary ranges based on age and experience.
You can learn more about working conditions in Switzerland in swissinfo.ch’s guide to salaries, which covers everything from pay and deductions to contracts and working hours.
External Content
While the figures might seem high – especially in some branches – it’s important to remember that Switzerland also has a high cost of living. For example, people spend about a third of their income on rent alone.
swissinfo.ch
Popular Stories
More
Culture
Wealth is not all: how gentrification in Zurich has led to housing shortage
Do software developers earn less than bus drivers?
This content was published on
A recent report on Swiss salaries left many wondering whether software developers really only earn a mediocre amount compared to other professions.
This content was published on
According to salary data from the Conference of Education Directors for German-speaking Switzerland, a Zurich-area upper secondary school teacher – the highest academic level besides university – can expect to earn CHF110,590 in the first year, or CHF8,506 per month under the Swiss 13-month salary system. But a teacher in the same job in neighbouring…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.