Career planning: Why continuing education pays off

Continuing education is worthwhile for one's career planning - also in terms of salary: The median salary of the 13,000 UAS graduates who participated in the FH Switzerland salary study 2021 is 99,450 Swiss francs per year. 97 percent of the respondents were able to at least maintain their salary level, 48 percent even increased it. Economists earn more than UAS graduates from other disciplines in almost all industries. The most lucrative industries are pharmaceuticals, chemicals and finance and insurance. The location of work also influences salary: Zurich is the frontrunner with a median of CHF 108,000 per year, followed by the other German-speaking cantons of Switzerland and abroad with a median salary of around CHF 100,000 per year.

Majority of the UAS graduates surveyed are in management

Although more than 70 percent of the study participants are under 40 years old, almost 60 percent of all respondents hold a management position. They earn between around 101,000 and 133,000 Swiss francs per year. "This study confirms once again that graduates of universities of applied sciences play a key role in society and the economy," says Toni Schmid, managing director of UAS Switzerland. The older the UAS graduates, the more likely they are to be in an upper management position. Accordingly, the median salary rises continuously with age.

Continuing education therefore pays off in career planning

Study participants with a master's degree (MAS) are more often (over 80 percent) employed in a management function than those with another degree, and over 25 percent are even employed in an upper management function. In parallel, those with an MAS degree clearly earn the most: Their median salary is 133,000 francs per year. A very large number of people are planning further education in the foreseeable future. A CAS is most likely (35 percent), but the far more time-consuming MAS, MBA and EMBA are also popular (just under 20 percent). Demand for continuing education therefore remains high.

Labor market capability remains high

Study participants' assessment of finding a job within six months or of finding an equivalent job decreases somewhat compared to the assessment of study participants in 2019. Nevertheless, the majority still think they would find an equivalent job. Among the over-50s, the assessment of their own labor market ability decreases significantly.

Competencies that are currently in demand and will be in demand in the future

This year, together with the ZGP, Zürcher Gesellschaft für Personal-Management (Zurich Society for Personnel Management), questions about the skills currently in demand and those that will be in demand in the future were integrated in addition to wages. 10,000 people with different educational backgrounds provided their assessments. The skills that employees consider relevant today will also be important in 5 years' time. Nevertheless, the following tendency emerges: specialist knowledge is judged to be very important today. However, the respondents think that the importance of technical knowledge will decline in the next five years. On the other hand, they expect methodological and social skills to gain in importance. Eighty percent feel responsible for acquiring skills themselves. When it comes to leadership skills, the respondents are most likely to see the employer as being responsible. Coaching, mentoring and further training are seen as suitable methods for acquiring skills.

Diverse information complements career planning

Further results of the FH wage study are available on www.fhlohn.ch available for a fee. The website offers access to any number of reference wages. Using an input mask, the wage profiles can be refined according to criteria such as age, type of degree, industry, field of study, region and other parameters. "These reference wages are up to date and very meaningful due to the large amount of data. This is unique," says Susanne Baldinger, project manager of the FH wage study.

Source: FH Switzerland