Did you miss the TEK info session during orientation week? Has it been a while since your own TEK info session? This article provides a compact info package about TEK, the benefits offered by TEK, and recommendations on what to consider or where to get help as you head towards your first job!
TEK – Tekniikan Akateemiset
"We are building a better working life and a more sustainable world."
TEK is a trade union and service organization for those who have a university degree in computer science, mathematics, statistics, engineering, architecture, or equivalent technical or natural sciences. With approximately 80,000 members, TEK is one of the largest professional organizations in Akava and Finland. Over 20,000 of its members are students in technical fields.
Quick links: Join as a free student member | TEK for students | TEK Workbook | Telegram info channel
Why TEK?
"Why wouldn't I join?" asked a freshman during orientation week.
Due to the labor market changes planned by the Finnish government, membership in a trade union is increasingly relevant. There is no other entity in society that...
- Negotiates collective agreements and supports negotiations for local agreements
- Aims to influence legislation in terms of employees' rights and benefits
- Offers comprehensive services and benefits to support your career already from your studies
TEK actively works to ensure that working life is fair and safe for everyone. TEK influences, among other things, employment terms, which play a central role in whether we have in the future the means, time, and energy for family, friends, hobbies, loved ones, and other life outside work. TEK also researches and promotes other significant issues such as student well-being, neurodiversity, equality, and gender equality. TEK also actively strives to be present and visible in students' daily lives, for example, the banner image is from the orienatation week kickstart (varaslähtö) event!
What benefits does TEK offer its members?
"So I don't have to pay anything for these as a student member?" - You're right, you don't!
TEK's free student membership brings with it many different benefits, which I won't even try to list all. Here are a few highlights:
- Various events, trainings, and podcasts
- Tools and guides for job searching and TEK can answer your questions about working in Finland!
- Digital subscriptions to Tekniikka & Talous and Talouselämä magazines, as well as the TEK magazine
- Insurance benefits from Pohjola and legal and liability insurance taken out by TEK for its members
- Danske Bank benefits for credit cards, regular fund saving, and stock saving accounts, or a student loan without opening, increase, and withdrawal fees, and with a 0% margin!
- Member+ membership benefits—a bit like Frank's student benefits!
You can find a comprehensive list by heading to TEK's website: tek.fi/students
TEK Lounge—TEK members' own living room, office, or study corner.
"Are we out of coffee at Luuppi's office? Do you need workspace, a break between lectures, or a place to celebrate graduation?" - Head to the TEK Lounge at Kampusareena!
Hold! Stop! But not just yet, because the TEK Lounge in Hervanta is still under renovation at the moment. The renovation will be completed during the autumn. Keep an eye on TEK's announcements, so you'll be among the first to know when the Lounge is open again for members.
The new Lounge in Tampere features meeting rooms, workstations, space to hang out, and free coffee for TEK members! (Membership is not really checked). The space can be used during the day for relaxing or studying, and the meeting rooms in the Lounge can be booked for free. Additionally, the entire space can be reserved for your own use in the evening, for example, for graduation party, hangout evening, movie night, or some other events.
You can find more information at tek.fi and navigate to TEK Lounge page.
How do I get a free student membership of TEK?
"Do you get free buckets with TEK membership?" - No, but instead you get advocacy and, in place of a bucket, a free TEK belt!
Short and concise answer: tek.fi/joinstudent
Remember to grab a cool TEK belt for your overalls after joining, either from Luuppi's office or the TEK Lounge! And remember that you can belong to multiple trade unions simultaneously!
TEK's Workbook - A guide to job searching and career planning
"Is this like a puzzle book?" - Sort of, but it contains a lot of valuable tips for working life!
The Work Guide offers students and recent graduates perspectives on recognizing skills and finding job opportunities, as well as providing tips for writing job application documents and preparing for interviews. The 2024 Work Guide also covers current themes such as internationalization and student well-being.
You can pick up TEK's Work Guide from Luuppi's office, the TEK Lounge, or read it online: tek.fi/workbook
Are you starting a summer job or internship? Consider joining an unemployment fund!
"So what was that?" - In an ideal situation, you continue working at the same workplace where you did your internship, completed your thesis, or luck smiles upon you and you find your dream job immediately after graduation! But things don't always go as planned, and it may take time to find a job after graduation. If you manage to accumulate the 12-month employment condition already during your studies, you can receive earnings-related unemployment allowance from the unemployment fund, and you don't have to struggle with the basic unemployment allowance or labor market subsidy paid by Kela.
"What does that mean?" - If for some reason you are left without a job after graduation, and you are a member of the unemployment fund and have accumulated the 12-month employment condition during your studies, you can receive unemployment daily allowance from the fund! For TEK members, the fund's unemployment daily allowance is on average €110.80 per day, whereas the support paid by Kela is €37.21 per day. Sounds much better, doesn't it?
"When is the unemployment fund relevant for me?" - It's good to start considering fund membership when you begin your internship or get a summer job—but not necessarily right at the beginning of your bachelor's studies. You can fulfill the 12-month employment condition during your studies, for example, by working three months at a time over four summers or by doing part-time work for a year with a monthly salary of at least €930. Remember that as part of your studies, you can complete a 10-credit internship, which corresponds to about 3.5 months of the required employment condition—so make sure you get paid for the internship! (Remember TEK's salary recommendation!)
The unemployment fund costs €63 per year, but if you become unemployed, even one day of unemployment allowance pays back the annual fee of the fund. Note that the employment condition only accumulates when you are a fund member and in paid employment, so don't leave this until the last months of your studies!
Read more about the unemployment fund at tek.fi and navigate to unemployment insurance page.
So how much should I get paid for work or internships?
"The job ad asks for a salary request, but what do I write here?!"
TEK annually defines salary recommendations for student internships, which apply to work related to your field of study, such as summer jobs or internships. For example, during first year in master’s, the recomended slary is 2,750€ per month (equivalent to the 180-239 section) or correspondingly after studies, the salary recommendation for a recent graduate is 4,000€ - 4,400€ per month.
Please check the latest salary recommendations at tek.fi/salary-recommendations
Also remember the salary elevator, where you can check how your salary should develop after graduation! If you are a TEK member, you can find the salary elevator at tek.fi/salary-surveyor
Is my CV good enough? Uncertainties with the contract?
"The contract doesn't look like what was agreed. A fixed-term summer job ended suddenly. The supervisor told me to sweep the floors?" - When you're a TEK member (also as a student member!), you can just be cool and say: I need to call my lawyer.
Sometimes unexpected situations arise in working life, such as sudden termination of employment, radical changes in job duties, or unexpected requirements in the employment contract. When you are a TEK member, you can then turn to TEK's lawyers for free. You also get help from TEK's experts with smaller challenges, such as how to create an impressive job application or CV.
Read more about TEK's employment and legal services at tek.fi/law
Ask us more!
Did something leave you wondering? No worries! You can contact Luuppi's TEK representative Toni at a low threshold, or TEK's Student Liaison Joel, who operates in Tampere! When you're a TEK member, you can also submit a contact request through OmaTEK (tek.fi) to TEK's salary advisory, employment advisory, career coaching, or entrepreneurship advisory experts!
Luuppi's TEK Liaison Toni Tuominen | @tontsa | tek (a) luuppi.fi
TEK's Student Liaison Joel Tuomisto | @teekkaripoju | joel.tuomisto (a) tek.fi