Such salaries discourage young scientists. There is a shortage of over 1.3 thousand at universities. employees

According to data from the Progres Group, the average salary offered to a lecturer is currently PLN 7,399 gross per month, which is almost PLN 89,000. PLN per year. Salary ranges range from PLN 7,095 to PLN 7,879 gross per month. Although this is an attractive amount for many, compared to the offers of private companies - especially in the technical and IT industries - universities pale in comparison.

In large agglomerations, such as Warsaw, Kraków or Wrocław, universities have greater opportunities to recruit young staff, including: thanks to doctoral schools and access to grants - explains Janusz Szczerba, president of the Council of Higher Education and Science of the Polish Teachers' Union, in an interview with Bankier.pl. However, even there, young scientists often choose better-paid positions in business.

Universities in smaller cities have the greatest staffing problems. The lack of doctoral schools and limited access to grants mean that more than half of academic teachers in these centers are people of pre-retirement age. Employing young scientists is a real challenge here.

In the administration, the situation is slightly better - in smaller towns, universities are often the largest employers, and the stability of employment attracts local residents. However, in large cities, competition with the private sector makes it difficult to find candidates even for administrative positions.

ZNP data quoted by Bankier.pl show that the greatest staff shortages concern technical sciences (mechanics, energy, IT), natural sciences, economics and law. In these fields, companies offer much higher salaries, which makes it very difficult for universities to fill positions.

An additional problem is the time needed to achieve higher earnings in science - the path from a doctorate to a professorship can take up to 12-15 years, while in the private sector a similar salary can be achieved after just a few years of work.

Universities are becoming more and more cautious about recreating vacancies. Example? As reported by Bankier.pl, nine competitions for the positions of academic teachers were held at the Wrocław University of Economics in 2026, two of which ended in lack of employment due to the lack of suitable candidates.

We analyze each employee's departure individually, taking into account actual staffing needs and demographic forecasts - emphasizes Joanna Borkowska, university spokeswoman, in an interview with Bankier.pl.