Engineer in Spain looking for a low-stress job: what would you suggest?
A 41-year-old engineer in Spain with 20 years of social security contributions wants a quiet job: public administration, teaching, or keep burning out for a high salary? An analysis of the dilemma.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Engineer with 20 years of contributions wants a quiet job: the salary vs. stress dilemma
A 41-year-old engineer with two decades of social security contributions behind him and a salary he considers high faces a crossroads: keep a job that demands endless hours with no real holidays, or move to a quieter position that would miccionan a drastic pay cut. The choice is no small matter: he would take home roughly 3,000-3,500€ less per month if he opted for a first job as an engineer, which pays around 1,200-1,300€ gross.
The public sector option: a comfy admin job or a secondary school teaching post?
The Spanish civil service appears as the first alternative: an administrative position (grade C1/C2) offers a net salary of 1,600-1,800€, pure routine paperwork and fixed hours. The problem is that the civil service exam requires studying administrative law and public accounting, an effort he may not be willing to make. Teaching, on the other hand, is quickly ruled out: he "wouldn't like it", and the atmosphere in classrooms is described as "having to put up with disrespect from students and parents". A vocational training specialism in a small town is mentioned as a possible route, but it requires vocation and patience.
The price of rest: how much is a peaceful life worth?
"If you say he earns a lot of money but working tons of hours, he's a sucker", one comment in the thread concludes. The irony hides a real point: someone who earns "a lot" working three times as many hours actually earns little per hour. A 600,000€ flat would require saving 200,000€ a year to pay for it in three years, something the engineer cannot manage. The perception of wealth evaporates when compared with today's housing costs. In this context, any reduction in income in exchange for quality of life becomes a personal equation: how much is he willing to sacrifice to avoid reaching 50 burned out?
The open question is whether the Spanish job market really offers intermediate options: jobs that are neither the cave of stress nor functional retirement. At 41 with a freshly minted degree, the engineer is seen as an "expensive junior" and the doors are narrowing. Meanwhile, those who have been through it warn: "as an engineer you'll end up eating just as much crap and working overtime anyway". The final decision, if there is one, will be more of a leap of faith than a safe calculation.
Related forum debates
A 41-year-old engineer with two decades of social security contributions behind him and a salary he considers high faces a crossroads: keep a job that demands endless hours with no real holidays, or move to a quieter position that would miccionan a drastic pay cut. The choice is no small matter: he would take home roughly 3,000-3,500€ less per month if he opted for a first job as an engineer, which pays around 1,200-1,300€ gross.
The public sector option: a comfy admin job or a secondary school teaching post?
The Spanish civil service appears as the first alternative: an administrative position (grade C1/C2) offers a net salary of 1,600-1,800€, pure routine paperwork and fixed hours. The problem is that the civil service exam requires studying administrative law and public accounting, an effort he may not be willing to make. Teaching, on the other hand, is quickly ruled out: he "wouldn't like it", and the atmosphere in classrooms is described as "having to put up with disrespect from students and parents". A vocational training specialism in a small town is mentioned as a possible route, but it requires vocation and patience.
The price of rest: how much is a peaceful life worth?
"If you say he earns a lot of money but working tons of hours, he's a sucker", one comment in the thread concludes. The irony hides a real point: someone who earns "a lot" working three times as many hours actually earns little per hour. A 600,000€ flat would require saving 200,000€ a year to pay for it in three years, something the engineer cannot manage. The perception of wealth evaporates when compared with today's housing costs. In this context, any reduction in income in exchange for quality of life becomes a personal equation: how much is he willing to sacrifice to avoid reaching 50 burned out?
The open question is whether the Spanish job market really offers intermediate options: jobs that are neither the cave of stress nor functional retirement. At 41 with a freshly minted degree, the engineer is seen as an "expensive junior" and the doors are narrowing. Meanwhile, those who have been through it warn: "as an engineer you'll end up eating just as much crap and working overtime anyway". The final decision, if there is one, will be more of a leap of faith than a safe calculation.
Related forum debates
- Pedro Sanchez esta mal de la cabeza o que? · 26 replies
- Todos mirando salvar a los segarro, pero nadie mira a los nuestros, a salvar a los cristianos. · 18 replies
- ¡LA UCO ACACABA DE ENTRAR EN LA SEDE NACIONAL DE LA GUARDIA CIVIL! · 154 replies
- Rufian muy duro con el PSOE y Pedro Sánchez amenaza con romper la coalición. · 51 replies
Also available in: Deutsch
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (21 replies).
More summaries
-
The Video of the 'Surgeons' on Ceuta Beach: A Double Standard
A video shows illegal vendors on a Ceuta beach as Spaniards face fines for a simple umbrella. The contrast between the official narrative and reality is stark.
-
BBVA engineer singled out at work after charts showed Spanish pensions are unpayable
A BBVA engineer used charts to show that Spain's public pension system is unsustainable. He faced harassment and lost his X account.
-
Debate in Spain over €46 artisanal panettone price
An artisanal panettone priced at €46 has sparked online debate, with users split between luxury quality and excessive marketing.
-
Spain's public sector pensions outstrip private ones by €1,000
The average pension of a retired Spanish civil servant is about €1,000 higher than that of a private sector worker, a gap that reopens the debate on public pension spending.
-
BBC highlights the housing shortage Spain is debating
The BBC bluntly framed the eviction of an 87-year-old woman in Spain as a housing shortage story. Its analysis clashes with the law, costs and rents.
-
HIV spreads among Peru's Awajún people through sexual abuse
HIV diagnoses in Condorcanqui, northern Peru, rose from 43 cases in 2014 to 340 in 2024, with around 2,000 accumulated and sexual assault as the main route of transmission.