Can you land a top civil service job in six months? Reality or troll?

Can you land a top civil service job in six months?

The short answer: almost certainly not. But the shockwave caused by the alleged antiestéticat of an anonymous user who claims to have passed a Group A1 civil service exam after six months of study reveals much more about the current state of public employment than about the truth of his story. Between salaries of €70,000 a year, 12 days of remote work per month and a pension plan that would allow you to buy a villa with just the accumulated capital, the story sounds like fantasy to many. But the underlying debate is real: working conditions in the Spanish public administration have become so attractive that any story, however implausible, finds an audience willing to believe it.

The impossible package: €70,000, CPI adjustment and remote work

The author of the original message, who claims to have worked for years as an external contractor at the same institution, details conditions that, if true, would put any A1 position far above the market average. Starting salary of €70,000 with annual CPI adjustment, permanent summer intensive schedule, a pension plan he calls "villa assured" and 12 days of remote work per month. "I'm leaving out things that if I told you, you wouldn't even believe me," he concludes. The problem is that, according to general regulations, Group A1 (university graduates) has a base salary of around €30,000-35,000 gross, and bonuses can raise it to €50,000-60,000 in highly specialized positions. Reaching €70,000 is exceptional and usually involves specific bonuses for high-responsibility or shift-work positions. Furthermore, 12 days of remote work per month is not common in most administrations, where it is usually limited to 2-3 days per week (8-12 per month, which in some cases does add up).

Disbelief as the response

The majority reaction has been skepticism. "No one passes an A1 in 6 months," several messages state. They recall that selection processes take more than a year from the call for applications to taking up the post, and that passing the tests (knowledge, practical cases, languages) requires a level of preparation rarely achieved in six months, unless you come from a related degree and are very lucky. It is even pointed out that the original poster himself admitted in a second message that "it's a lie that it's an A1. It's something better than that," which has been interpreted as a full retraction. The confusion over whether he refers to a senior management contract in a public company, which does not require a competitive exam, adds more fuel to the fire.

The mirage of public service

Beyond the hoax, the thread reflects an underlying trend: the growing perception that working in the public administration is a cushy deal. "Interesting to see how conditions that are normal in any serious country are celebrated as a privilege in Spain," one comment sums up. The comparison with the private sector is inevitable: in private business, €70,000 gross for a technical profile is not crazy, but it comes with pressure, uncertainty and long hours. In the public sector, that salary is perceived as for life, indexed to CPI and with a stability that in the private sector is only achieved in management positions. The problem is that this perception clashes with the reality of many civil service exams: poorly paid positions, endless processes and conditions that are not always idyllic. Here, the story of six months and €70,000 seems more a wish than a fact.

The gap between myth and reality

The author of the message closes his intervention stating that now, during working hours, he has time to reply. Ironies aside, the question left hanging is whether it is really possible to combine a family life – with a villa inherited in 2022, a child in 2024 and a job in 2026 – with a lightning-fast exam preparation. Meanwhile, the widespread skepticism suggests that the public no longer swallows any story: they want data, timelines and realities. And this one, at least, doesn't provide them.

---

What if it's not an A1 position? What could it be? A senior management contract in a public company is negotiated, not obtained through a competitive exam, and you don't study for six months. A free appointment position with special conditions also doesn't fit the profile of an external worker who "had been providing services for years." The only certainty is that the debate has served to air the aspirations and frustrations of a generation that sees the public sector as the last refuge from private-sector precariousness. Whether it's true or not almost doesn't matter: the longing is real.