Barcelona is almost everyone’s favorite holiday destination. The city is famous for its beaches and nearby mountains, chilled and fun vibes, wild nightlife, sports and culture, stunning architecture, delicious food, great weather.  Barcelona has it all. No wonder so many people want to stay there permanently. We talked with a catalan guy to find out more about what it is like to live and work in that beautiful city.

 

  • Please introduce yourself briefly – your name, age, where are you from, what’s your education and professional experience?

Answer:

I’m Roger Nicolas, 29 years old, I’m from Barcelona, I hold a BSc of Science in Computer Systems and a MSc on Computer Engineering.

 

  •  How long it usually takes to find a job in Barcelona?

Answer:

It depends on your area of work, but it usually takes approximately 60 days between you start to search for a job and you start to work.

 

  • What are the most common channels to search jobs in Barcelona: job boards (please specify the biggest ones), Linkedin, newspapers, others?

Answer:

Infojobs, recruiters on linkedin and Servei d’Ocupació de Catalunya, also known as SOC.

 

  • In your opinion, is it easy for an expat to find a job in the Barcelona? Is it possible to find a job remotely or the person has to be in Barcelona?

Answer:

It’s quite easy in every sector because of the tourism and the lack of English and other foreign languages skills of the natives.

 

  • Is it needed to know Spanish and Catalan to be able to find a job in Barcelona?

Answer:

No, but it’s appreciated because your colleagues will be Catalans or Spaniards and you should understand them when they are talking.

 

  • What are the most demanded specialists right now in Barcelona?

Answer:

There are a lot of offers of computer related jobs, but jobs related with analog and power electronics are also demanded because of the lack of experts in that sector. But if you are searching a job related to Business Management and Administration, you will have a tough time, because there are too many graduated people here and not so many jobs are offered in this sector.

 

  • Is it easy for an expat to land any job he or she applies for, including management positions, or there are positions that are “reserved” only for Catalans?

Answer:

No, you can apply for practically any job you want, the only jobs where it is required to have a good level of Spanish and Catalan are those jobs related to institutional relationships, because you must use the official languages of the country.

 

  • Do you know of cases when people are being treated in a different way at work, either positive or negative, just because they are foreigners?

Answer:

No, but you must adapt to the new culture, and you will find things that don’t make much sense to you, but here they are something normal and people will joke about them.

 

  • What is considered to be a good salary for Barcelona that would allow a single person to have a comfortable living? What about a family with 2 kids?

Answer:

2000€+ per person

 

  • Spain is famous for its “siesta” which means to have a break between 2 pm and 4 pm. What are the typical working hours there?

Answer:

We actually don’t do siesta. The normal hours are 8-5 or 9-6.

 

  • What about paid leaves?

Answer:

The minimum as per the law is to have 21 days per year paid leave. Additionally, we have 14 bank holidays per year.

 

  • In case of an unemployment, do you receive any help from the Government?

Answer:

If you are working legally and you are fired or your contract has expired and you can remain in the country, yes, you can receive a subsidy from the government.

 

  • In your opinion, where in Spain are the best places to live and work and why?

Answer:

Depends on what you are looking for, but the best cities are Barcelona, Madrid and Bilbao, because they are the most industrialized cities in Spain.

 

  • Would you move to work and live in another country and why?

Answer:

Yes, because the culture of work here is different from other places, and I would like to know how it is to work abroad.

 

  •  Do you know any expats in Barcelona? Have they had any issues finding a job? What do they work now?

Answer:

Yes, no, they work as software developers.

 

  • What do you like most about Barcelona?

Answer:

The public transport and the architecture.

 

  • What you don’t like about Barcelona?

Answer:

The prices of rent, they are so high.

 

 

What is it like to live and work in Barcelona