Germany is home to Europe’s third and fourth largest tech hubs, Berlin and Munich. This makes it one of the best countries for software developers, including Java developers. Here, we’ll look at average salaries for Java developers at each stage of their careers and how they compare to an average JavaScript developer’s salary.
Average entry-level and junior Java developer salary trends
Entry-level Java developers in Germany can expect an annual salary of €39 725. That puts them 10.9% or €3 901 ahead of JavaScript developers with fewer than two years of experience.
Once they have two years of experience under their belts, junior Java developers can expect a pay bump of 10.1%. This gives them an average annual salary of €43 733. However, despite this pay rise, JavaScript developers at this career stage earn 1.5%, or €676, more than they do.
Intermediate Java developers can look forward to the most significant pay hike of their careers:
Java developers with four to six years of experience see their average salaries increase by 24.1%, giving them an average annual salary of €54 271. This puts them 8%, or €4 001, ahead of their JavaScript counterparts.
Why the significant increase? Developers in the early stages of their careers tend to move between jobs more frequently than those at higher levels of seniority. This allows them to negotiate higher salaries than they might earn through annual increases while working at the same company.
Average Java Developer Salaries by Experience
Average Salary by Years Experience, showing 25th and 75th percentiles
| Years of Experience | 25th Percentile | Average | 75th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-2 | €29,700 | €39,725 | €52,200 |
| 2-4 | €33,600 | €43,733 | €56,500 |
| 4-6 | €45,300 | €54,271 | €64,540 |
| 6-10 | €46,800 | €60,663 | €75,000 |
| 10-15 | €55,350 | €72,421 | €84,900 |
Average senior Java developer salary trends
Senior Java developers with at least six years of experience can expect to earn an average annual salary of €60 663, 11.8% up from the previous experience bracket. That puts them 1.6%, or €1 005, behind JavaScript developers with similar experience.
Once they pass the ten-year mark, Java developers see a 19.4% increase. This gives them an average salary of €72 421. However, despite the sizeable pay rise, they earn 4%, or €3 013, less than their JavaScript counterparts.
Why the significant increase once they pass the ten-year mark? Experienced Java developers will be expected to be able to develop user interfaces for internet and intranet applications, debug software, write testable code, review program architecture and work across application development phases. Developers with these skills will continue to remain desirable and compensated accordingly.
Keep in mind
The data in this article is taken from StackOverflow’s 2022 Developer Survey’s open data. In this article, ‘salary’ refers to the gross annual salary (before tax) provided by 1237 survey respondents from Germany who identified as Java developers.
We only included salary insights for experience levels with enough data points to ensure that the amounts represent Java developers in the country. That’s why we’ve developers with more than fifteen years of experience from the article.
We also ran an outlier analysis to identify data points skewing the distribution of salaries. We removed these data points from the final dataset to ensure that the amounts represent Java developers in Germany. We’ve also included the 25th and 75th percentiles to give you further information about the distribution of salary data.
Average salaries are single data points and only one part of a bigger story. Many respondents may earn significantly more or significantly less than these averages. However, we aim to show underlying trends by mapping the average salaries for different experience levels.
These averages should not be used to estimate what your actual salary will or should be. Salaries depend on the company size, industry, individual, perks and nature of the work. These factors all influence the salary a company will offer to a prospective hire. In addition, most developers are “fluent” in several languages and work across multiple roles, affecting the final figures.
It’s also important to remember that every individual’s context is different. Salary is a personal conversation that should take place between employee and employer.
On OfferZen you can hire Java developers and find Java developer jobs.
Related resources
- How to Negotiate a Job Offer That's More Than Just the Money
- How to Negotiate when Hiring Developers
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- Munich: City Guide for Software Developers
- Securing a Developer Work Visa for Germany: The Blue Card
- Berlin: City Guide for Software Developers
- Front End Developer Salary Trends in Germany
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