cse

Hi all

Looking to move to Madrid (been with my girlfriend who lives there for over a year now) but I have no idea where to start looking. I work in the IT and Telecoms industry (Cisco Engineer) and while I am learning Spanish it is still at a basic level, if that.

I know it will be difficult, almost impossible to obtain work but I am willing to give it a try. Thing is I have no idea where to start? Can anyone recommend jobsites for me to begin looking. Also if anyone knows anything about the IT and Telecoms industries in Spain and how the job market is? Know of any English speaking companies I could begin applying to as a start?

Also, it doesn't have to be necessarily IT and Telecoms, I'm willing to put my hand to anything. My Spanish would be good enough for bar work in an Irish bar but I don't see this as beneficial as I would be on low income and would not be getting much language practice either.

All I'm asking for really is a point in the right direction please so I can start making inquiries.

NewCaledonia

IT in Spain pays very badly. It is not that it pays less than in the UK or Germany... but the gap between Spanish and Euro/US salaries are wider than in other industries. IT in Spain is not socially respected to say something.

Most of my Spanish friends in IT have moved abroad even if IT is one of the few industries with jobs, specially in Madrid.

The good thou is that there are jobs... which is a lot for Spain!

Regarding companies... I don't know since I am not in IT. But Madrid is a large city so you will have any MNC that you can think of and the locals (Telefonica, etc.)

cse

Hi thanks for your reply. I appreciate that the money wont be as good and that is not a concern for me. And I have also read what you have said regarding a shortage of IT workers in Spain. Looking up the companies to work for is a good start so thanks for that tip. I was also wondering if anyone knows of job recruitment websites that I could also check for vacancies? I know of jobsinmadrid.com which seems to specialise in positions for expats but it is not very good.

Horlics

There are quite a few IT jobs advertised right now on Indeed.es. The whole range: tech support, development, app support such as SAP.

Trouble is, most are written in Spanish so I expect they are looking for people who can speak Spanish.

cse

Thanks for that Horlics. I've already applied for 5 jobs Probably nothing will come of it but it is a good start. Much appreciated.

chopera

I was in exactly the same position about 12 years ago. I'm still in Madrid and I do work in IT (web development) so I guess it can be done, whether it is worthwhile is another matter.

The problem is that if you do find IT work you will probably find yourself working more hours for less pay. It is customary for people to work from 9 to 7 in Spain, with numerous breaks, but with IT you may find yourself doing extra hours as well. And that can hurt more than you think, even taking into account the fact that Madrid is cheaper than the UK, largely because to begin with you'll also be struggling to settle into Madrid, learning the language, dealing with cultural differences, etc. It will be hard work.

However there is a niche demand for IT workers with native English, so you may get lucky. And also you stand a better chance of working for a non-Spanish company, so you may get to avoid the issues I mentioned above. I've never had a problem finding work, although the last time I really looked was before the economic crisis.

A good back-up to begin with it teaching business English. It pays poorly as well but there's more work around and you can make business contacts that may lead to IT employment. And that will buy time while looking for IT jobs.

For finding IT work I think LinkedIn is perhaps the best option, but also Injojobs.net lists a few jobs (best to search for the word "english" to filter down the results, and then you can browse for jobs that might be of interest to you). There may be other sites as well but, as I mentioned above, it's been a while since I looked.