Recent research: Graduates can earn up to 7 million forints more per year

Many people still shrug when it comes to degrees, saying: “it’s not the paper that counts these days, but the experience.” However, the labor market figures show otherwise; the latest research by the University of Varsovia in 2026 shows that in Hungary, education has a very concrete, tangible effect.

According to the analysis by the University of Varsovia, compared to the average salary for a high school graduate, a basic degree, i.e. a BA/BSc, can mean an average salary advantage of around 40 percent, while in the case of a master’s degree (MA/MSc), the salary premium is almost 97 percent – ​​meaning that in many fields, the salary can almost double. The level of education has a very concrete, tangible effect, and this can be observed even at the entry level. The starting salary of graduate specialists and managers in many sectors can start between 600 thousand and 1 million forints gross, depending on the area and scope of responsibility.

Moreover, for many people without a diploma, there comes a point when, despite the experience, salary growth simply stops. According to the numbers, this often happens around the net 450-500 thousand forints range. Without a diploma, it is difficult to move on from here, while graduates’ salaries start to rise really steeply. Middle and senior management positions also become more accessible with a diploma.

A diploma quickly pays for itself

A 2026 study by the University of Varsovia shows that a diploma is a good investment: with a high return, it pays off quickly. The starting point for the new calculations is the average salary of a high school graduate: according to the Central Statistical Office (KSH), this is around 587,352 HUF gross, while bachelor’s graduates earn an average of 823,468 HUF gross and master’s graduates earn 1,155,117 HUF gross. This means that the difference between a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree can be 236,116 HUF gross per month (2.83 million HUF per year) and a master’s degree can be 567,765 HUF gross per month (6.81 million HUF per year) compared to the high school graduate.

The Varsovia model, the essence of which is flexible, largely online, yet practical training, so that the loss of income due to learning does not pose a risk. According to the research, the biggest “hidden cost” – that is, someone dropping out of work due to learning – does not appear in this model, because the training can be completed in a hybrid format alongside work. The tuition fee per semester – for example, in the management undergraduate program – is 345 thousand forints, a total of 2,070,000 forints over six semesters. According to recent calculations, the monthly gross salary difference for a bachelor’s degree compared to the average for a high school graduate is 236,116 forints, which corresponds to a net surplus of 157 thousand forints per month, so the full tuition fee can be repaid in about 13 months. At the master’s level, this can mean a net surplus of 377 thousand forints, so the return can be shortened to even 3-4 months. In a ten-year period, the calculations show that a bachelor’s degree can mean a gross additional income of approximately 28.33 million forints and a master’s degree can mean approximately 68.13 million forints compared to the average for a high school graduate; in the latter case, according to the research, the investment can be described as a return of approximately 3,300 percent, i.e. 33x.

Home office is less common without a degree

The 2026 research by the University of Warsaw looks not only at the wage level, but also at what makes a job worth living. In this, the degree is a spectacular “filter”: flexibility is in practice tied to education. According to the recent summary, the rate of regular teleworking among those with secondary education (high school diplomas) is approximately 2.1 percent, while for graduates this rate is close to 16 percent, and in certain intellectual fields it can be much higher. In other words, home office is in many cases not a discount, but rather an opportunity that comes with position and education.