The degree may also be the same, but then the difference in salary can be felt between those who stay to work in Italy and go abroad. A university degree gives you a better chance of finding a job, but it is no longer enough to retain qualified young people in the country. The reason is the different pay for the same qualifications. This is the message that emerges from the latest AlmaLaurea report on graduation and employment, carried out on a sample of over 335 thousand 2025 graduates for career paths and almost 700 thousand graduates for employment outcomes, with one figure that stands out above all: those who work abroad earn 60 percent more than those who stay here.
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The strongest data concerns second level graduates, i.e. two-year master’s degrees and single-cycle master’s degrees, with Italian citizenship and a high school diploma obtained in Italy. Five years after the qualification, those who work abroad declare an average net monthly salary of 2,941 euros, compared to 1,840 euros for those who work in Italy: it is 59.9 percent more. The gap is already evident one year after graduation, when the average salary abroad is 2,290 euros net per month, 57.6% more than the 1,452 euros of those who remain in the Italian market.
How many people work abroad? Among employed Italians with a diploma obtained in Italy, 3.7% work abroad one year after graduation and 4.5% after five years. The share is stable over the last year and still below pre-pandemic levels. But the data changes a lot depending on the path: five years after the qualification, the highest percentages are recorded in IT and ICT technologies, where it reaches 13%, in the scientific group at 10.3% and in industrial and information engineering at 9%.
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The destinations confirm mainly European mobility. Among those employed abroad five years after graduation, 91.2% work in Europe. The main countries are Germany, Switzerland, Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. AlmaLaurea warns, however, that the salary comparison should be read with caution: the different cost of living and the different diffusion of part-time work have an impact. Even given this premise, the gap remains one of the most evident signs of the different ability of labor markets to enhance qualified skills.
The report in fact shows a two-sided picture. On the one hand, graduate employment is growing. One year after graduation, 81.2% of first level graduates who do not continue their studies and 80.8% of second level graduates are working. At five years, the rate rises to 91.7% for the former and 94.4% for the latter, the highest value for approximately fifteen years for second level graduates. On the other hand, Italian salaries remain lower and some graduates consider their salary not adequate for the role they play.
The other motivations of those who leave
The reasons for the departure are explicit. Among Italian graduates employed abroad five years after graduation, 29.8% indicate the lack of adequate opportunities in Italy, 29.1% an interesting offer from a foreign company, 11.5% the lack of funds for research in Italy. The international experiences gained during studies also have an impact: those who have studied abroad are more inclined to work outside national borders.
The course of study that offers immediate work (and salaries of 5 thousand euros per month abroad)
The risk for Italy is not only losing young people, but losing some of the skills that the production system claims to need most. AlmaLaurea reports that those who go abroad often have brighter university performances and quicker professional placements. Five years after graduation, those who work outside Italy also report greater satisfaction with their work, especially with regards to earnings prospects, career, autonomy, flexibility and international contacts.
The return, for many, is not a given. Among Italians employed abroad, 37% consider it very unlikely to return to Italy in the next five years and another 31.5% consider it unlikely. Only 15.4% judge the return to be very probable.
The problem is part of a broader structural delay. Italy remains among the European countries with fewer young graduates: in the 25-34 age group the share is 31.1%, far from the European target of 45% by 2030.