Potential electrical / teaching work in Spain

Hi to all,

First post on the Forum so here goes..

Myself and partner are looking at a potential move to Spain in 2012 ,i'm an Electrician and partner is in teacher -training,we are looking initially at all major pitfalls,job-availability/living costs etc and I am trying to gain a real life view of what we should/could be expecting ,form ex-pats or people with experience of above job-titles,

Any help/guidance would be grately appreciated,

Thanks in advance.

Welcome to the Forum.  Whereabouts in Spain are you planning to move? That makes a difference to, for example, living costs. 

If you don´t speak any Spanish, you have plenty of time to learn before you move!  Even if you are looking to move into an expat community, it will help you in dealing with the authorities.  My other tip would be to ensure you have at least one year´s money in the bank before you move.  Hopefully by 2012 things will have picked up in Spain and it will be easier for you to find work.

Sue

Hi Unicorn666 and welcome to the forum.  You will find lots of information here - it sometimes takes a bit of finding, but it's worth having a good search around the different threads.

I'm not in either of the fields you mention but please be aware that it is VERY hard to make money in Spain.  We have almost 20% unemployment and if you don't have fluent Spanish then you are very restricted in your choices.  I imagine most electricians can scrape a living working with the expat community (I'm sure there are experts here who can tell me if I'm wrong) but teaching would be more difficult if your partner doesn't have fluent spanish.  If you are self-employed you need to pay around 250€ per month for Social Security, even if you are not earning a cent.  This does however entitle you to full health care which is a big issue here at the moment. 

You do have time to learn some spanish though and who knows what the economy will be like in 2012!

When I moved out in 2008 I was advised that you needed at least one year's money in the bank and I now feel this is an underestimate - I think at least 2 years in the current crisis.

There are lots of people going back to the UK just to find work so do as much preparation as you can.  Choose your area carefully - if you need to work with the expat community then you need to be near them - and spend as much time here on holiday over the next few years to get a clearer idea of what it is really like.

All the best with your plans and I do wish you every success.  Although money is not easy to come by and the cost of living is higher than you might think, it is a wonderful place to live and I have never regretted coming here to stay!

Keep us posted!

Sue/Claire,

Thanks for the thread reply's,an honest answer is always better than a 'rose-tinted' view, from what advice I have had already,its pretty much what I thought but then its just the early stages and Spanish Linguaphone/courses are gonna come in very handy! its a long-term prospect and I'm certainly not going to rush into anything just yet.Hopefully in 2 years time the economy will be in better shape,fingers crossed for everybody here and out where you guys are. Not sure yet as to an exact location but regular travel to different areas and your continued help and advice will definately make any decisions easier!

Please keep me informed of any changes you deem important if you be so kind,

Thanks again,

Damion.

Hi Unicorn666

I have lived here for 11 years now here on the Costa  del Sol and to find a decent electrician how always been the 64,000dollar question.  Step back 5/6 years ago and there were so many "cowboys" out here that charged a fortune and never really did a good job.  Fast forward to now and there are not enough honest, qualified, reputable ones left here on the Coast.  I run a successful Business Networking Group here on the Coast and am still looking for one that can get two great references to join our group!!  A good electrician like a plumber are always an asset!! Good luck.

Just to add to the good advice already given here:

Of course it's always going to be an advantage to learn as much Spanish as you can, but being realistic, no matter how proficient you become, you probably won't stand much chance competing against the Spaniards for electrical work, so it will be important to "network" in an expat community for regualr work, which means looking at the Costas mainly.

Don't know about teacher training, I doubt there will be much call for that, but teaching certainly could offer some opportunities. There are language schools that often recruit native English speakers for TEFL, so getting certified in that, together with the background and experience, could stand you in good stead, and the other possibilty is the English (and International) schools. Why not start by contacting the ones in or near the areas you are interested in to sound them out? Here's a link to the National Association of British Schools in Spain.

Hope this helps!