Kühnert initially worked for over three years in a call center, then studying journalism and communication science at the Free University Berlin, although he never graduated. In 2016, he enrolled for a degree in political science at the Fernuniversität Hagen, but suspended his studies on becoming Juso chairman. In 2014, he began working in the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin, first for Dilek Kolat, subsequently for Melanie Kühnemann.