Jobs and finances

Many students also finance their studies with a part-time job

There are different types of part-time jobs available for students:

• “Mini-jobs”, also known as “520-euro jobs”
• Jobs that pay more than 520 euros per month
• Student trainee positions
• Short-term employment or employment during semester breaks
• Part-time jobs
• Freelance work

No matter what type of part-time work you are doing, you should pay attention to the following:

• Does your monthly income exceed the income limits for your family insurance (statutory health insurance scheme) or for BAföG financial assistance?
• Is the job being performed exempt from social welfare contributions, and/or does this form of employment still constitute a part-time job, so that you can retain eligibility for student health insurance?
• Do you have to pay income tax?

We will be happy to advise you regarding these questions, as well as on the effects of various jobs on social welfare and tax obligations, and the advantages and disadvantages of jobs that are subject to social welfare contributions.

You will find a good overview of this subject at → Deutsches Studentenwerk

Many employers are happy to take advantage of opportunities to employ students with low, or no social insurance obligations. This allows them to save on what they would otherwise be paying for gross wages. It can also be very worthwhile for students to take on a part-time job that is subject to social insurance payments if it is possible to do so while having enough time and energy to complete their course of study. A part-time job can offer an excellent entry to their professional life, because it allows students to gain valuable experience. It may even be worthwhile, if you are under the age of 25, to forgo your family insurance and instead work in a job that is subject to social insurance contributions.

Overview of social insurance obligations:

As a student, you must pay social insurance contributions for health insurance, nursing care insurance, unemployment insurance and pension insurance if you:

• regularly work more than 20 hours a week.
• take on a temporary full-time job that lasts for more than three months.
• are employed for 26 or more weeks in various temporary full-time jobs in a single year.

Pension insurance contributions must be paid if you:

• earn more than 520 euros a month.
• are working full-time solely during semester breaks.

Nosocial insurance contributions must be paid if:

• you earn less than 520 euros a month.
• you do not work longer than three months / 70 working days in a calendar year, including the semester breaks.
• you are completing an interim internship mandated by the conditions of your course of study.

We can provide you with more information in this regard at the social counseling office. The statutory health insurance schemes’ university consultants are also important points of contact for questions having to do with social insurances.