What is the salary during a Bachelor’s degree?

Your third year of the Bachelor’s degree can be spent on initial training, with a 5-6 month work placement, or on sandwich courses under an apprenticeship or professional training contract. In all cases, you will receive a salary, but this will be more advantageous on a sandwich course, as you will receive a monthly salary like any other employee. But how much exactly will you be paid?

Contents

Your pay will depend on the contract you choose: professionalisation contract or apprenticeship contract. Here’s a breakdown of the difference in pay you’ll receive depending on the type of contract during your training:

salary for a work-linked training contract ;
salary for a sandwich course under an apprenticeship contract ;
salary for a paid internship ;
post-study salary.

Professionalisation contract

What is the salary for a work-linked training contract?

Its title is not misleading: the professionalisation contract is part of vocational training. It is an employment contract between an employer and an employee that will enable you, at the end of your training, to obtain a professional qualification in addition to your school qualification.

As a general rule, the salary defined in the professionalisation contract will depend on three things:

The student’s level of qualification (in this case higher than BAC)
Theage of the student at the time of signing the contract
The company’s collective agreement

Salary is calculated on the basis of the gross monthly minimum wage (€1,645.58 as at 01 May 2022) or the industry minimum wage (if available and more favourable to the apprentice).

A young person under the age of 21 will receive 65% of the SMIC, i.e. €1,042.03 gross per month. Those aged over 21 will receive 80% of the SMIC, i.e. €1,282.50 gross per month. And those aged 26 or over will receive a slightly higher salary: 100% of the SMIC, i.e. €1,645.85 gross per month (or 85% of the SMC).

Apprenticeship contract

What is the salary for a sandwich course under an apprenticeship contract?

According to the Portail des Écoles de Commerce, Bachelors and DCG: “ Under an apprenticeship contract, pay is also calculated as a percentage of the minimum wage.” It’s your age, your progress through the course and the company’s collective bargaining agreement that determine the exact amount of pay you can expect to receive.

Year of training	Under 18s	From 18 to 20 years old	From 21 to 25 years old	Between 26 and 29 years old*
1st year	27% of the minimum wage 444€	43% of the minimum wage 707,35€	53% of the minimum wage 871,85€	100% of the minimum wage 1 645,58€
2nd year	39% of the minimum wage 641,55€	51% of the minimum wage 838,95€	61% of SMIC 1 003,45€	100% of the minimum wage 1 645,58€
3rd Year	55% of the minimum wage 904,75€	67% of SMIC 1 102,15€	78% of the minimum wage 1 283,10€	100% of the minimum wage 1 645,58€

*After the age of 29, you are no longer eligible for an apprenticeship contract.
Sources: Work-linked bachelor’s degree: how much do you earn (dimension-commerce.com)

What you need to know

Your salary is exempt from social security contributions (which means that your gross salary is actually equal to your net salary) and your employer benefits from a general reduction in employer contributions.

Theemployer may deduct from your paybenefits in kind (accommodation, food, transport) provided for in the apprenticeship contract, up to a limit of 75% of the minimum wage.

Also, if your apprenticeship contract is extended (by repeating a year, changing direction, etc.), your minimum salary will have to be at least the same as in your last year .

Special cases

If you are required to work overtime, the applicable pay conditions are the same as for other employees in the company. In any case, you may not work more than 5 hours overtime per week.

You can benefit from a 15-point pay rise if you meet these 3 criteria :

You sign a contract for one year or less;
The qualification sought is directly related to that resulting from the diploma or qualification previously obtained;
You are preparing for a diploma (link to “How to obtain a diploma” page) or qualification at the same level as the one you obtained previously;

You should also be aware that if you change age during the course of your contract, your employer must pay you your new salary from the 1st day of the month following your birthday. For example, if you are 20 when you sign your contract, you will receive 43% of the minimum wage, but if you are 21 3 months later, in February for example, you will receive your new salary from¹ March, i.e. 53% of the minimum wage.

Now it’s up to you to make your choice!

Paid internship

What is the salary for a paid internship?

You can also decide to complete your third year of the bachelor’s degree in initial training if you wish, by completing a 5 to 6 month work placement. You will then receive a salary.

The minimum hourly rate is €3.90/hour, corresponding to 15% of the Social Security ceiling. This is a monthly payment and to calculate the amount, the company must deduct the number of hours the trainee is actually present (simulator: https://www.service-public.fr/simulateur/calcul/gratification-stagiaire).

For your information, it is compulsory for trainees in France to receive a bonus, the amount of which must be specified in the placement agreement, when the trainee’s presence in the host company exceeds 308 hours (i.e. 44 days). If the trainee’s presence at the host company is less than this, theemployer is not obliged to pay the bonus.

For work placements abroad, you should refer to the legislation in force in your country.

Finally, please note that the work placement may not exceed 132 days on the job.

Salary

Your salary after a Bachelor’s degree?

If you enter the world of work after your bachelor’s degree, your salary will largely depend on the profession you choose. We invite you to find out more about the different courses we offer to give you an idea of your potential “future salary”.