eportdave

Hi all, hope you are all well.

Just quickly want to introduce myself before continuing. I'm dave and I'm 26 years young. I am single with no children (that i know of ) Previously severed 5 years in the British Army and I currently work for the NHS as a Clinical Physiology Support Worker. Sounds fancy but i really only do Electrocardiograms (ECG'S). I am also trained as a Health Care Assistant. Also I'm only a band 2.

Now for a long time I have wanted to live abroad in a warm climate (beach life style) and I now want to fulfil that. Now Majorca is 1 of my top chose's but i am researching other places.

Now the advice I need is how hard would it be for me to work in a hospital there doing a similar job as i am now? As I'm only a band 2 i have no formal quals, only in house certificates but there not NVQ's for example.

How hard is it finding a place to stay, house sharing wouldn't be a problem. Also what rental prices could I be looking at?

Now I know I concentrated on working in a hospital as this is my first chose, But really I would take anything to a degree. ( labouring for example )

Any good websites for jobs and other general information?

Thanks for reading and i look forward to reading any responses

P.S. I dont speak Spanish but would learn.

amideislas

Hi, welcome in advance.

Well, since any public service position will require absolute fluency in Spanish, or Catalan, and even better, fluency in Mallorqui, unfortunately, until you are fluent in at least one of those, you will be limited to private hospitals and clinics, of which there are very few, and the majority of the remaining private clinics are German. In the mean time, there are quite a few qualified medical professionals that don't speak Spanish looking for jobs here, so you might consider something else to get you by while you learn Spanish.

Having said that, I'm sure you're aware of Spain's unemployment rate. Not a lot of jobs available for non-Spanish speakers. But some, mostly seasonal. For seasonal employment, this hiring season is long over, so it won't be till next year that you could have any hope of something seasonal.

Lots of places to rent. Will spoil you for choice. rental prices are pretty cheap, depending on your standards, and where you choose to live. It's a big island that's radically different from north to south to east to west (in terms of landscape, culture, and price), so I think you have a lot of research to do.

One tip: Your natural urge to to find something on the beach is highly impractical. Will cost you the most, and deliver the least. You'll hate in the summer tourist season, and you'll hate it in the winter cold. November and April are the two months you might truly enjoy it. But are those 2 months worth paying a premium for the other 10?

Also, beware of those who see € symbols when you walk into the room (and try not to look like a €500 note). Don't negotiate anything or sign any contracts without someone fluent in the local language and culture to review exactly what you're agreeing to, translate it for you, and guide you through it. You could be very sorry. Not everyone engages in deliberate gouging of foreigners, but it's not at all uncommon, I'd give it at least 60/40.

That's my initial offering, and I hope that helps a bit. Please feel free to PM me if you need any help. I'll try to help if I can.

-Ami

Rosemary

As Concierge for the Spanish section of BE I would like to say hello and welcome.

BE is a very large expat website, so if you have problems finding your way around we have concierges who will try to direct you. The moderators for the Spanish forums are Mitzyboy and Fred James, moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderador who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge of the issues of living in Spain. At the top of the page you will find a quirkily named thread called Free Beer which is full of important and useful information. Hope you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

mikelincs

Given what you say about your situation etc, then I would reckon you have about a 0.01% chance of a job, you would have to be fluent in Spanish, and there are many hundreds of Spanish nationals out there looking for work, you would almost certainly have to retrain. You best bet is to start learning Spanish NOW if you want to find a job in the next few years, the unemployment amongst Spaniards is so high and they are much more likely to be offered any jobs that are going. There are big notices in Spanish hospitals and Health Centres that people atending there are assumed to either have a translator or be able to understand and communicate in Spanish, it isn't their job to speak your language.