A young Spanish woman called Gaby has gone viral on TikTok by sharing her lucrative experience working as a barmaid in Norway, where she earns over €5,000 gross per month, well past what anyone in Spain would earn for the same job.

In the video, Gaby, who works in Tromsø, explained that a “normal” month brings in more than €5,000 before taxes. For one recent paycheck, she received NOK 59,611 Norwegian kroner, which converted to approximately €5,083 at the current exchange rate, though she has noticed fluctuations can push it closer to 5,900 euros in stronger months. “The euro doesn’t stay at the same price. You can notice the difference month to month,” she said.

Taxes take a significant cut, with Gaby clarifying that all earnings, including tips (which are mostly paid by card and added to payroll), are subject to a 25 per cent deduction. Her contract is permanent but hourly-based, meaning she only gets paid for hours worked. In one example, she worked 17 days totalling 150 hours and earned €2,700, including tips.

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Hourly rates start around 197 NOK (about €16-17, depending on exchange), varying by age and experience. “Don’t accept less than 200 kroner per hour,” she advised. Evening and weekend shifts increase pay more: an extra 16 NOK per hour from 9pm to midnight, 30 NOK from midnight to 4 am, and even better on Sundays.

Gaby’s account goes to show Norway‘s appeal for service workers, with average bar staff salaries reportedly hitting €5,000 monthly. This contrasts sharply with Spain, where entry-level hospitality wages often hover below €1,200.

Highest salaries for bar staff in Europe

Based on broader European wage data for hospitality roles (focusing on bar staff/camareros), the top locations are concentrated in Northern Europe due to high minimum wages, strong unions, and shift extras. Rankings reflect gross monthly averages for full-time equivalent work:

Norway (e.g., Tromsø/Oslo): ~€5,000+ (as per Gaby’s experience; hourly ~197-250 NOK, or €17-22, with extras for nights/Sundays).
Switzerland (e.g., Zurich/Geneva): ~€4,500-5,500 (hourly ~CHF 25-30, or €26-31; non-EU but accessible for EU citizens via agreements).
Denmark (e.g., Copenhagen): ~€3,800-4,500 (hourly ~DKK 140-180, or €19-24; collective bargaining ensures high baselines).
Luxembourg: ~€3,500-4,200 (minimum wage drives up service pay; hourly ~€14-18).
Sweden (e.g., Stockholm): ~€3,200-4,000 (hourly ~SEK 150-200, or €13-18; tips less common but wages regular).

The figures are a long way from Southern and Eastern Europe, where Spain averages €1,000-1,500 for bar staff, and countries like Portugal or Greece fall well below €1,000. Emigration to these high-wage countries does require language skills (English often suffices in Norway/Denmark) and work visas for non-EU roles, though EU freedom of movement makes access considerably easier for Spaniards.