Researcher Salaries at HSBI

Hochschule Bielefeld – University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSBI) is a German state university. Researcher salaries here are paid according to the Collective Agreement of the German Federal States (Tarifvertrag für den öffentlichen Dienst der Länder, TV-L for short). In the following, you will learn about the benefits of being employed in the German public service and what salary to expect.*

How are salaries at HSBI and other German universities regulated?

Researchers (doctoral candidates, Postdocs and junior research group leaders) usually enter into an employment contract with HSBI. The salary for employed researchers is established in the Collective Agreement of the German Federal States. There are different salary grades (Entgeltgruppen) according to the skills required for the employment. The typical salary grades for researchers are E13, E14 and E15, of which E15 is the highest. The salary grade to be expected is specified in the job advertisement.

In addition to the salary grades, the income is determined by the professional experience level. There are six experience levels in each salary grade. Usually, you will start with level 1 when taking on your first employment in Germany. After one year in level 1, you will reach level 2. After two years in level 2, you will reach level 3 – and so forth.

Gross monthly income TV-L (in Euro), full-time before taxes

Salaries

Valid from February 2025 to October 2025; rows = salary grades; columns = experience levels

 

German state universities do not pay the salaries themselves. Instead, the State Office for Salaries and Pensions (Landesamt für Besoldung und Versorgung, LBV for short) takes care of this. The LBV is the right contact for all questions regarding the payment of salaries. If a contract is concluded shortly before the start of employment, it is possible that a salary may not arrive in time for the end of the first month of employment. However, we do our best to avoid such cases.

What will be deducted from the gross salary?

Being employed in Germany means that taxes and social security contributions are directly deducted from your gross salary before you receive your actual net salary. To get an idea of the amounts, you can use an online gross-net calculator. You will find various gross-net calculators for Germany online, which you can use to calculate approximately how much of your salary will actually be paid out. However, since the calculation of your net salary depends on many factors, you should only use the results to get a rough idea.

The social security contributions that both you and your employer pay into the insurance funds are used to finance various insurances from which you can benefit in Germany:

  • Health insurance: pays for doctor’s visits and many surgeries, pharmaceutical drugs and therapeutic measures for you, your spouse and your children
  • Pension insurance: allows a pension after retirement that is based on the former income and the years of work
  • Unemployment insurance: pays unemployed people an income for a certain period of time under certain conditions
  • Long-term care insurance:  provides basic financial support in case of being permanently dependent on care due to illness

All these insurance policies are based on the solidarity principle: you contribute for as long as your personal situation is stable and have insurance cover in an emergency.

What additional benefits are there?

Being employed at HSBI comes with a variety of advantages:

  • HSBI’s Welcome Center offers special support for international scholars with all administrative matters (visa, insurance, authorities etc.).
  • International scholars at HSBI can participate in a German course.
  • Employees of HSBI have 30 days of paid leave per year (for a full-time position).
  • Employees of HSBI receive an annual special payment, depending on the salary grade, experience level and duration of your employment at HSBI.
  • HSBI finances further and advanced training for its employees in agreement with their superiors.
  • Employees of HSBI can take part in a sports and health programme in Bielefeld free of charge or for a small fee.
  • HSBI offers the possibility of a sabbatical if a replacement has been found (for employees with a permanent employment contract).
  • HSBI has its own day-care centre in Bielefeld and offers a free holiday programme for children between the ages of 6 and 12 during the Easter and autumn school holidays.
  • Employees of HSBI can take out a supplementary employee pension insurance to ensure additional financial security for their retirement (more information).
Who can you contact if you have any questions?

If you have questions about your contract or the employment process, please contact your administrator in the Department of Human Resources and Organisation. For general questions about living and working in Germany, please contact the Welcome Center for international scholars (welcome@hsbi.de) and check the info website for international scholars at HSBI.

*Please note: This website is for information purposes only and does not claim to be correct or complete.