I'm currently a college student but very soon will have a B.S. degree in Computer Science with a minor in the Spanish language. I've studied abroad in Spain before and am interested in finding out what types of job opportunities may be available to me there, particularly in Madrid.

Anyone have any good advice for me about working in Spain? I know English-Speaking schools hire a lot of Americans, however I don’t hold a teaching degree. Perhaps though I could work for an educational institution as a systems administrator due to my Computer Science Degree? What other types of jobs may be available to me there?

Hello 00chris! Welcome to our ALL SPAIN Message Board.

It's not stated in your profile but you mention English-speaking schools hire Americans... does this mean you have citizenship in the USA? Also, I believe the majority of native speakers teaching English in Spain are from the UK, mainly because they don't need a work-visa to work in Europe but Americans and others do.

You need to know that computer-related jobs are scarce in Spain these days since the worldwide tech-sector industry took a nosedive a few years ago. These jobs are almost exclusively for the many looking-for-work, young, freshly-out-of-college Spaniards willing to work for low wages and happy to get it. Sad but I believe this to be true. Just ask madrileños like Fernando or Antonio here on the message board.

You can get an idea of the kinds of jobs available throuh the usual online job-search websites. Seems to me those jobs in Spain pay about 1/3 of what they pay in the USA.

Good luck! You have a tough road ahead.

Saludos, MadridMan

Don't UK natives need work visas in Spain because Britain is not part of the EU? Or are Europeans in general exempted, EU or no EU?

Oops! The UK is part of the EU; they just don't use the euro. Never mind!

The UK is part of the EU!

Britan not a member of the EU?????

The UK IS a part of the EU- they just have opted not to use Euros- perhaps part of the confusion is due to that!

As for jobs... Like MM said, you need to provide more information. However, if you are an American, its going to be very difficult to find work and even more so if you want to do it legally. I would advise against it anyway, but even going illegally is not a good idea, as it gets harder and harder to find jobs at bars/academies which are usually a couple of the easiest places for an illegal to gain employment. Also, you won't be guarenteed your wages and if you don't get paid, you won't be able to complain because you're not supposed to be working anyway! :o

This reply is mainly for Madrid Man himself. I understand what you are saying about the lack of work in the I.T. field over the past few years. I work in I.T. here in Toronto, Canada and it is the same situation. However, I am still interested in making a move (for a while at least) to Spain. I have British / Canadian citizenship and have lived between the two. I want a change from Canada and have been to Spain many times, although never Madrid. The economic forecast for I.T. being that which it is, I'm willing to explore independant work if need be. I have 5 years of experience as a systems analyst, speak English, French, and Spanish and am hopeful I can acquire a job in Madrid. I have chosen Madrid because that is where 80% of the job postings for I.T. jobs I find are located. Also, it is a large city and thus hopefully offers more opportunitites.

Any input from yourself Madrid Man would be greatly appreciated!!!

Regards,

David.

Hi david_N! I think it was you who emailed me a few days ago and I'm sorry to say I haven't yet replied. I was essentially offline for a couple weeks and I'm not likely to catch up. Sorry about that.

In the last few years I've met via email or in person SO MANY young I.T. college graduates in Spain who can't find a job in their profession because of drastic company cutbacks & reductions and the HUGE number of new graduates in the same field all competing for the dwindling number of these jobs. Again, hopefully Antonio, replay, or LostInMadrid (where the heck IS that guy?? Sheesh! He becomes a new Daddy and BAM! That's all she wrote ) among others and enlighten us all on this topic.

Saludos, MadridMan

Hi there,

I work in the financial services sector in Madrid, so can't say I'm an expert on IT job opportunities in Spain. However, if you can get working papers thanks to your UK passport, I am certain that you can and will find something.

There was just an IT services recruiting fair at Palacio de Congresos in Madrid. Companies like Price Waterhouse and other consultants are looking for young IT people for Spain. Altran is hiring. Indra (check out website at Indra.es) has just published excellent results with net profit +15%; not suffering and still hiring! However, get ready to start out with a much lower salary as MadridMan pointed out.

Good luck and let us all know how it goes for you!

Val

Hello Val and Madrid Man!

Well, I must thank you for your post Val. It's nice to hear that there may be opportunities after all. I do spend lots of time browsing the various job sites and there does seem to have a fair amount of posts. I'm well aware of what Madrid Man is talking about...the IT sector's shrinking has left many new graduates out of work and looking at other options. I think the problem may possibly be even higher here in Toronto because during the past 10 years there'd been a huge rush to learn IT skills at private colleges and vocational institutes. It all has A LOT to do with experience. When I got into IT, even at that time it was very difficult to secure a good position without experience. Now, I'd say it's virtually impossible, as the market here is so flooded with skilled workers (Nortel laid off more than 40,000 workers over the past two years).

I am hopeful that with my experience and knowledge and I can gain a position in Madrid. Before I moved to Toronto from England, it had been my dream to move to Spain or Portugal, and after 6 years, it still very much is...so I figure, better to chase my dreams whilst I'm still young and single than to be regretting it when I've settled down somewhere else.

Val, do you live in Madrid? How many hours drive to the coast or to Portugal? Also, how is the local skiing?

Regards,

David.