Student Labor Market – Top Earnetrs Can Expect Five-Figure Pay

More and more students in Poland are combining their studies with gaining work experience and supporting themselves. The latest labor-market analyses show that the largest number of offers for young people comes from retail and sales, as well
as the HoReCa sector.

Joanna Dargiewicz
regional director at Grupa Progres

The average annual salary offered in job postings dedicated to students in Poland is currently about PLN 86,964 gross, which translates—under
a flexible mandate contract (umowa zlecenia)—to roughly PLN 79,138 net per year, and under a standard employment contract (umowa o pracę) to about PLN 61,900 net.

More Opportunities
A wide variety of positions, attractive pay, and flexible schedules mean students have more and more options to match work to their career goals and lifestyle. Many look for ways to earn because living expenses during studies are high, and parents can’t always cover them in full. According to the Portfel Studenta report, average monthly student expenses are PLN 3,980.

Many students, as well as recent high-school graduates, already earned money over the summer. In October, they will continue working during the academic year, seeking full-time roles or flexible forms of employment to cover the cost of studying. Fortunately, the market now offers plenty of options that make it possible to balance a job with classes and secure funds for living expenses throughout the academic year.

An analysis of job offers conducted by Grupa Progres shows that the largest number of openings for students currently comes from retail and sales (17%). In second place is HoReCa (16%). Other sectors eager to hire young people include logistics, purchasing, and freight forwarding (15%), office administration (10%), and education (6%). Next are customer service and call centers (5%), manufacturing (4%), and security (4%). Companies also seek students for roles in finance and accounting (3% of postings), leaflet distribution (3%), renovation (3%), IT and telecommunications (2%), and healthcare (2%). The fewest positions for students are in marketing and public relations, HR, insurance, energy, R&D, defense, and occupational health and safety.

When it comes to specific roles, students most often have the chance to work as cashiers, sales associates, customer advisors, warehouse workers, couriers, and delivery drivers, and in HoReCa as waiters, bartenders, cooks, receptionists, and hotel staff. In office administration and education, they can expect roles such as office assistants, secretaries, school interns, and after-school activity supervisors, while in logistics and manufacturing common roles include packers, warehouse workers, and production staff. In IT and marketing, available positions include junior developers, graphic designers, social media specialists, and data analysts, and in finance—assistant roles in accounting or finance teams.

Expectations
Students have clear expectations and preferences when choosing a job. They most often look for part-time, seasonal, or flexible-schedule work and tend to avoid night shifts. The ability to start immediately and a friendly atmosphere are also important. Still, pay remains the leading priority—they expect net wages close
to the gross rate. The statutory minimum is not satisfactory for many, and they say so outright. In practice, students often secure higher pay than initially offered, especially in sectors facing labor shortages.

Salary statistics in postings for students show that, on average, they can earn about PLN 86,964 gross per year. In practice, under a mandate contract for
a person under 26 (with tax exemption and only a 9% health-insurance contribution), that amounts to about PLN 79,138 net; under a standard employment contract with full contributions and tax, it’s about PLN 61,900 net annually. Monthly, the PLN 7,247 gross average corresponds to roughly PLN 6,595 net on a mandate contract and PLN 5,150 net on an employment contract. Weekly, that’s PLN 1,650 net or PLN 1,285 net, respectively, and an hourly rate of PLN 45.29 gross equates to PLN 41.21 net on a mandate contract or about PLN 32 net with an employment contract. In the student-wage analysis, the lowest observed annual pay is PLN 74,640 gross (about PLN 67,922 net on a mandate contract or PLN 53,200 net on an employment contract), while the highest earnings reach PLN 95,832 gross, which equals PLN 87,208 net on
a mandate contract or PLN 68,000 net for an employment contract.

Beyond wages, employers often offer students a range of benefits and perks
to attract young workers. The most popular include training and upskilling courses, internship and placement programs, mentoring and career-development support, referral bonuses, performance bonuses, employee discounts, free meals or beverages at work. Students may also receive transport subsidies or transit cards, access to a gym, sports or wellness activities, team-building programs and offsites, remote or hybrid work options, flexible breaks and extra days off, gift cards and vouchers, and in some companies health programs and supplemental insurance.

Companies hiring students do, however, face certain challenges—young employees often have limited experience, lower availability and flexibility, and are characterized by high turnover and variable productivity. Additionally, motivation, punctuality, and accountability sometimes require coaching to ensure smooth team operations. Nevertheless, investing time and attention in students can pay off—young employees gain experience quickly, engage with their responsibilities, and often become valuable long-term members of the team.