Senior physician salary: What does a senior physician earn in Germany?

As a senior physician, you take on a leading role in the clinic and have more responsibility, such as management tasks, than a junior doctor. This position is a desirable next career goal for many junior doctors, not least because of the attractive salary. But how much does a senior consultant actually earn and what factors influence their salary?

Starting salary as a senior physician

As a senior physician, you can expect an attractive starting salary. Depending on the employer, the salary range in the first year is between 8,300 and 8,900 euros gross per month. In municipal hospitals, the starting salary is around 7,761 euros, while in university hospitals it is 8,165 euros.

The collective agreements for senior physicians take professional experience into account and provide for an initial salary increase from the fourth year onwards. This results in the following average salaries for a senior physician position depending on professional experience:

However, the starting salary and further salary development can also depend on other factors such as the federal state or the size of the hospital. Senior physicians in hospitals with more than 2,000 employees earn an average gross annual salary of 144,000 euros, while in smaller clinics with up to 250 employees, the annual gross salary is around 129,000 euros.

Overall, as a senior consultant you can expect an above-average starting salary and good opportunities for promotion. In any case, the salary is usually significantly higher than that of assistant doctors and offers a solid basis for your future career.

Average salary as a senior physician in Germany

The average annual salary of a senior consultant in 2019 was € 136,000 gross. Remuneration is usually regulated by collective agreements, although there are also non-tariff agreements that allow for a higher income. Your exact monthly salary depends on various factors, such as your specialisation, professional experience and the federal state in which you work.

According to statistics, senior physicians in Baden-Württemberg earn the most with an average gross monthly salary of €12,026, while the average income in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is €9,874. The size of your organisation also plays a role: in hospitals with over 2,000 employees, the average annual salary is €144,000, compared to €129,000 in smaller hospitals with up to 250 employees.

Your hourly wage and monthly salary will increase with more experience in your profession. After 10 years in your profession, you can expect an average annual salary of €132,400 gross. Senior physicians with less than 3 years of experience earn an average of €116,800 per year when they start.

Gender also has an influence on your salary as a senior consultant. Male consultants earn an average of €130,700, while their female colleagues receive an average of €117,600 per year. This gender pay gap is 10% at the start of your career and increases to 11% after 10 years of experience. Around 7 out of 10 women in this position are affected by this. Men therefore have a slight advantage here.

As a head of department or senior consultant, you can earn even higher salaries. The range here is between €10,284 and €11,648 gross per month. With a secondary employment licence from the hospital, your annual income can be increased by a further €7,000 on average. The medical/pharmaceutical sector generally offers above-average salaries: senior physicians earn an average of €133,600, which is 5% above the general average.

Salary factors for senior physicians

The salary of senior physicians is influenced by various factors. With increasing professional experience, many senior physicians are no longer paid according to the collective agreement, but are categorised in the non-tariff range. This also applies if you go on to become a senior consultant. The non-tariff senior consultant salary is negotiated individually, similar to the chief physician salary.

In times of a shortage of skilled labour and many jobs on the market, senior physicians have a certain amount of leeway when negotiating salaries, as hospitals try to attract and retain qualified physicians by offering attractive salaries and conditions. A significant salary factor in Germany is still the region. Depending on the federal state, senior physicians can reach different salary levels in the non-tariff sector, whereby the old federal states are more lucrative as a location than the new federal states.

The collective agreements for senior physicians at a glance

The size and location of the employer also have an impact on the salary of senior physicians. In larger hospitals and regions such as western Germany and Bavaria, the earning potential for senior physicians tends to be higher.

Senior physician salary: What do you earn within the speciality?

You're probably wondering how the salary of senior physicians in different medical specialities differs. In fact, earning potential can vary depending on specialisation and duties, with senior physicians in sought-after and in-demand specialties in particular often benefiting from a higher salary. The current shortage of specialists in many hospitals also contributes to the fact that experienced senior physicians in certain areas have better negotiating positions for their own earnings.

According to the Kienbaum Remuneration Report 2019, senior physicians in the Surgery are the top earners with an average gross annual salary of € 148,000. They are closely followed by senior physicians in internal medicine, who earn an average of €142,000 gross per year. Also in the specialities Gynaecology, orthopaedics, Radiologyanaesthesia/intensive care medicine, Urology and paediatrics, annual salaries range between €135,000 and €131,000 gross. At the bottom of the top ten is geriatrics with average annual gross earnings of €111,000.

Interestingly, the collective agreements for senior physicians generally do not differentiate between the individual specialities. This means that a geriatrician paid purely according to the collective agreement would receive the same salary as a senior consultant in radiology. In practice, however, many senior physicians reach a non-tariff and individual remuneration agreement with their employers, which paves the way for subject-specific salary differences.

As a prospective senior physician, it is therefore worth keeping an eye on the earning potential in your desired specialisation. With a sought-after specialisation and relevant professional experience, there is a good chance that you will be in a strong position in salary negotiations with hospitals and employers and thus take an important step in your career.

Opportunities to increase your salary as a senior physician

As a senior consultant, you have various options to increase your salary. A good negotiating position arises from the lack of available specialists, particularly in areas such as gastroenterology, pneumology and vascular surgery. In some places, this bottleneck leads to vacancies that remain unfilled for years and opens up scope for salary negotiations.

One way to increase your income is to switch to a non-tariff contract (AT contract). While collective agreements provide for automatic salary increases, non-tariff contracts allow for more individualised arrangements and remuneration of between 130,000 and 150,000 euros. Senior consultants can even receive up to 170,000 euros. In specialised fields such as neuroradiology, interventional Cardiology and spinal surgery, salaries of up to 200,000 euros are possible, with total remuneration of up to 230,000 euros through target agreements, bonuses and ancillary activities.

In addition to higher salaries, AT contracts also offer individual benefits such as larger training budgets, additional training days at other locations and cooperation with industry partners. However, they require above-average commitment and motivation and may therefore not be suitable for everyone. The change from the tariff model to the AT model varies depending on the employer, but is usually expected after two to three years of performance.

Another option to increase your salary is to run your own practice full-time. The average net income (income minus costs) here is 336,000 euros, of which insurance, social security contributions and taxes still have to be paid.

In salary negotiations, psychological tricks such as using odd amounts can also lead to higher offers. In addition, your own performance and planned improvements in the department can be used as arguments in favour of salary increases. Structured goal setting according to the SMART method, thorough preparation, a pleasant discussion atmosphere and good communication are also important for successful negotiations.

Another option for increasing your salary is to work as a fee-based or locum doctor. Here, senior physicians can earn on average around 30% more than in a permanent position. Hourly wages as a locum doctor can be up to 120 euros per hour, which can be significantly higher than the salary of a senior consultant at a university hospital. It is also possible to work as a locum doctor without collective agreements and therefore negotiate higher salaries on an individual basis.

Overall, senior physicians have a wide range of opportunities to increase their salary. In addition to switching to better contract models and running their own practice, professional specialisation, skilful negotiation strategies and the clever use of sideline activities also play a role on the way to a higher income. Around a quarter of senior physicians receive authorisation from the hospital for secondary employment, which leads to an average additional annual income of 7,000 euros.

Senior physician salary compared to other physicians

As a senior physician, you take on an important role in the hospital and have more responsibility than junior doctors. This is also reflected in the salary: while assistant doctors in municipal hospitals earn around €5,288 gross in their first year, the starting salary for senior physicians is between €7,823 and €8,970 gross per month, depending on the employer. With increasing professional experience, senior physicians in cities such as Baden-Württemberg can even earn up to €12,026 gross per month.

In comparison, the gross median salary of doctors in general is €93,800 per year according to the Stepstone Salary Report 2023, which corresponds to around €7,816 per month. This means that senior physicians earn more on average than the majority of other physicians. Senior consultants can even achieve a gross monthly salary of between €10,284 and €11,648, which is still lower than the salary of a chief physician.

Gender also plays a role in the salary of senior physicians: on average, male senior physicians earn more than their female colleagues. Nevertheless, the position of senior physician offers attractive earning potential and career opportunities for committed doctors, regardless of the city in which they work.