The career start after university is governed by several deadlines, which are tied to the announcement of your exam result or to the end of the semester. The day of your last exam does not count for this.
Child benefit (€259 a month) generally ends without further training with the announcement of the result, and student health insurance ends with the semester of your last enrolment or re-enrolment. If you start applying during your final thesis and clarify your insurance at the same time, you avoid gaps between graduation and your first working day.
Key facts at a glance
- Child benefit generally ends without further training with the announcement of your exam result. A consecutive master’s still counts as initial training, and between two stages of training a transition period of at most four months applies.
- Student health insurance ends with the semester of your last enrolment or re-enrolment. After that you are compulsorily insured as an employee, insured as a family member or voluntarily insured, depending on your situation.
- After graduating, the minimum wage of €13.90 an hour also applies to an internship of up to three months.
- Your time at university counts for your pension as a credited period, with school and study periods together for at most eight years. It does not appear on your pension account automatically, so you need to prove it.
- A voluntary tax return for the year you start work is possible until 31 December of the fourth following year.
Career start after university: master’s, PhD or job?
The decision depends on your target job. Read job advertisements for the role you want and check whether a master’s is required or whether practical experience is enough. Also speak to people who work in that profession and ask them how they got started.
The routes also differ in money and insurance. A consecutive master’s, which follows directly after the bachelor’s, still counts as initial training for child benefit. Student health insurance continues until the end of the semester in which you turn 30.
If you do a PhD after graduating, you are no longer insured through student health insurance. With a post as a research assistant (not a mini job) you are compulsorily insured as an employee, and with a scholarship and no employment you insure yourself voluntarily, either statutory or private.
Scholarships can also help to finance a master’s or PhD. We have compiled an overview of scholarships (in German) with types, providers and eligibility criteria in a separate guide.
How do you find your first job after university?
Start the job search while you are still working on your thesis. Selection processes take time, and every application sent before your last exam shortens the gap between graduation and your first working day.
- University career service: Many universities offer job fairs, application advice and contacts with companies.
- Career pages and job portals: Search specifically for entry-level posts, trainee programmes and graduate schemes.
- Companies you already know: If you worked there as a working student or intern, you know the specialist departments and are known there yourself.
- Your network: Lecturers, fellow students and alumni can point you to posts before they are advertised. How to build contacts is explained in our guide to networking while studying (in German).
- Online profile: A complete profile makes you findable for recruiters. What matters is explained in our guide on optimising your LinkedIn profile (in German).
Internship after university: what about the minimum wage?
After graduation, the minimum wage also applies to an internship of up to three months, currently €13.90 an hour. The exceptions for compulsory and voluntary internships (in German) concern the time while you are studying.
An internship after graduation suits a company where a permanent post is realistic later on. Before you accept, ask about tasks, duration, pay and prospects of being taken on.
How do you apply after university?
A good application shows that you have understood the post. Read the advertisement point by point and note an example from your studies, a part-time job or a project for each requirement. These examples make your cover letter and CV, and they persuade more than general qualities.
Describe what you have achieved in your CV. For example, “responsible for social media” becomes “created the editorial plan and analysed the reach of posts”. Sending the same application to many companies stands out, because every company is looking for something different for its post.
If your final certificate is not yet available, state the expected graduation date and send the certificate later. Have the documents proofread before you send them. A typo in the contact person’s name looks careless.
How do you prepare for the job interview?
Good preparation starts with the company. Read the website and recent press releases, and look at the company on LinkedIn or Kununu. That way you can answer the question of why you want to work exactly there.
- Expect the classics: “What are your strengths and weaknesses?”, “Where do you see yourself in five years?” and “Why should we choose you?”. Back up every answer with a concrete example.
- Prepare your own questions, for example about induction, development opportunities and teamwork. They show that you think long term.
- Adapt to the company culture. Dressed neatly and in clothes you feel comfortable in, you come across convincingly.
- Do not speak badly of former employers or colleagues, even if an internship or side job was difficult. Describe what you learned from it instead.
How do you negotiate salary and employment contract?
Prepare the salary question before it comes up in the conversation. Comparisons of starting salaries after university (in German), the information in job advertisements and conversations with people in the field will guide you. A demand far above the market rate can knock you out of the process.
Look at the overall package. Besides the basic salary, bonuses, company pension schemes, further training, flexible working hours and holiday days all count.
You do not have to accept an offer on the spot. Ask for time to consider it and read the contract in full, especially the probation period, notice period, working hours, holiday and pay. Justify your salary expectation objectively with your qualifications, and stay open to counter-proposals.
Which mistakes should you avoid when starting your career?
| Typical mistake | What helps |
|---|---|
| Sending the same application to many companies | Match your cover letter and CV to the post and the company |
| Typos and wrong names in the documents | Read everything several times and have others proofread it |
| Going to the interview unprepared | Research the company, the post and the interviewers, and prepare answers with examples |
| No clear idea of your goal | Clarify beforehand which tasks motivate you and which skills you want to build |
| Naming a salary without research, or not negotiating at all out of shyness | Check market-rate figures, look at the overall package, justify your position objectively |
| Not asking questions in the first weeks | Ask questions, write down the answers, offer help |
| Taking criticism as an attack | Thank the person, act on the feedback and ask for feedback yourself |
| Letting contacts lapse after starting | Keep in touch with colleagues, alumni and industry contacts |
Does child benefit continue after university?
Child benefit is €259 per child a month. After your studies, entitlement depends on whether further training follows. A degree is generally regarded as complete only with the announcement of the examination result, unless you are already working full time in the intended profession between the exam and the announcement.
| Your situation | What applies to child benefit |
|---|---|
| A consecutive master’s follows the bachelor’s | The master’s counts as initial training. Child benefit continues as long as you are under 25. |
| A few months lie between bachelor’s and master’s | Transition period of at most four full calendar months, if you have a place or have applied for one that starts in this period. |
| You work first and start a master’s later | The master’s counts as a second training. Entitlement exists only with regular work of at most 20 hours a week or a mini job, and you must be under 25. |
| You start work after graduating without further training | As a rule, entitlement ends with the announcement of the examination result. |
| You are under 21, not employed and registered as seeking work | Child benefit can continue until the 21st birthday, even if no training follows. |
Example: a stage of training ends in July. The transition period covers four full calendar months, so the next stage must begin by December at the latest. If the master’s starts in October, entitlement remains. If you have not shown a new stage by the end of the transition period, the family benefits office cancels the decision from the month after the end of the stage.
Parents who receive child benefit should notify the family benefits office of changes such as the end of training straight away, preferably online. Otherwise there is a risk of overpayments and reclaims. The Federal Employment Agency describes the process of continued payment in its information on child benefit from age 18 (in German). Further rules on entitlement, age limits and leave semesters are in our guide child benefit while studying (in German).
How are you insured after university?
Student health insurance does not end with your last exam. It runs until the end of the semester for which you were last enrolled or re-enrolled, provided that you are de-registered by then. After that, your cover depends on your situation. The Verbraucherzentrale (German consumer advice centre, in German) explains the options around student health insurance.
| Your situation | How you are insured |
|---|---|
| You take a permanent job below the compulsory insurance threshold | You are compulsorily insured as an employee in statutory health insurance. The threshold in 2026 is €6,450 a month (€77,400 a year). |
| You receive unemployment benefit I or basic income support | You are compulsorily insured. For unemployment benefit I you need a pre-insurance period of twelve months within 30 months. |
| You look for work without receiving benefits | Family insurance is possible if you are not working, have not yet reached age 23 and earn at most €565 a month. Otherwise your membership continues with your health insurer as voluntary continuation insurance. |
| You keep working as a working student at the company | Exemption from health, long-term care and unemployment insurance ends with the month in which you are informed of the overall result of your final exam in writing. |
| You are privately insured | The exemption from compulsory insurance applied to the entire course of study and is irrevocable. What happens next depends on your contract and your job. |
| You start a legal traineeship (Referendariat) | Depending on the federal state and employment relationship, you are a civil servant on probation with state health benefits (Beihilfe) or compulsorily insured in a training relationship. The appointment letter shows which case applies. |
Arrange the transition in good time. After membership ends, there is a follow-on benefit entitlement of at most one month, as long as you are not working and no family insurance or continuation insurance takes precedence. If you move into a legal traineeship, the details are in our guide health insurance during the legal traineeship (in German).
If you are privately insured, work out before you start the job what the change into work means for your contract. Returning to statutory health insurance is generally possible before age 55, for example through compulsory employment below the annual earnings threshold; a mini job is not enough for this. Private premiums can rise over time. What happens to the contract after graduation is covered in our guide what happens to your private health insurance after your studies (in German), and the decision at career start in private health insurance at career start (in German).
Pension and tax in the first year of work
Does your studying count for your pension?
Yes, as a credited period. Attendance at a university counts from the 17th birthday, even without a degree, with school and study periods together counting for at most eight years. You pay no contributions for it, but the time counts towards the 35-year qualifying period and feeds into the pension calculation.
The time does not appear on your account by itself. The German Pension Insurance requires proof, namely your certificate of enrolment for the start and your final certificate or certificate of de-registration for the end. School training and study periods that do not count as credited periods can be paid back with voluntary contributions on application up to the 45th birthday. Details are provided by the German Pension Insurance (in German), and more on study periods is in our guide pension insurance while studying (in German).
Is the tax return worthwhile in the year you start work?
That depends on your year. If wage tax was withheld, for example in a working student job, a holiday job or a paid internship, the return can be worthwhile. Depending on the case, application costs and in some cases moving costs can be deducted if you keep the receipts. A voluntary return can be filed until 31 December of the fourth following year.
Frequently asked questions
How long is child benefit paid after university?
Without further training, entitlement generally ends with the announcement of the examination result. If a consecutive master’s follows, child benefit continues as long as you are under 25. If there is a gap between two stages, a transition period of at most four months applies.
Am I still insured after my last exam?
Usually yes. Student health insurance ends with the semester for which you were last enrolled or re-enrolled, provided you are de-registered by then. After that you need a follow-on solution: compulsory insurance through a job or benefits, family insurance, or voluntary membership with your health insurer.
Does an internship after university have to be paid?
As a rule, yes. After graduation, the minimum wage of currently €13.90 an hour also applies to an internship of up to three months. The exception for short voluntary internships concerns the time while you are studying.
So what do you do now?
- Note two dates: the day your exam result is announced and the end of the semester for which you are enrolled. Child benefit and health insurance depend on them.
- Start your applications while you are still working on your thesis, and collect an example from your studies for each requirement.
- Ask your health insurer what happens after the end of the semester, and before your first working day clarify whether you will be compulsorily, family or voluntarily insured.
- Agree with your parents that the family benefits office is told about the end of training or the start of a master’s.
- Keep your certificate of enrolment and your final certificate or certificate of de-registration for your pension account.
If you want to talk your situation through, you will find the way to advice on the Academycon homepage (in German).
You can read about our services on ProvenExpert, Trustlocal and Trustindex. Academycon was mentioned, among other things, in a press release published by the General-Anzeiger Bonn (in German). An overview of all mentions is on our press page (in German).
Related reading
- Further training after university: options at a glance (in German)
- Planning your career while studying (in German)
- Applying as a student: tips for success (in German)
- Finding an internship: how to convince companies (in German)
- De-registration and health insurance: avoiding gaps (in German)
- Insured after university without a job: options and costs (in German)
Last updated: October 2026. This guide is general information, not individual advice or tax advice. The German version is authoritative.
