Spanish IT Support Role: €1,500 for Remote Work

IT Support Assistant: €1,500 without stepping into the office

A friend just passed the competitive exams (oposiciones) for IT Support Assistant, chose Madrid, and according to his account, hasn't set foot in the office yet. He receives instructions at home, gets paid the same, and waits for colleagues and supervisors to join. The salary isn't spectacular: between €1,400 and €1,500 across 14 payments. But the number of vacancies, the manageable syllabus, and the lack of real workload paint a picture of public employment that, as of this discussion, sells itself only within exam-prep communities.

What is an IT Support Assistant and why so many apply

The IT Support Assistant corps is an entry point to public employment with low requirements: a high school diploma suffices, no advanced vocational training in IT needed. This explains why applicants include those with unfinished technical degrees, graduates from other fields, and vocational profiles who couldn't secure Group A positions. According to those who have gone through the process, the syllabus is accessible and vacancies have multiplied in recent calls.

There is a geographic nuance that changes the calculation completely. Most vacancies are located in Madrid, turning the assignment into a rigged lottery: if you don't score highly, you end up in the capital. And with €1,400 in Madrid, there is zero margin. One participant summarizes it bluntly: with that salary in Madrid, you are poor; in a medium-sized provincial capital, the same money makes you king. Subsequent mobility exists—transfer contests, service commissions, provisional assignments—but depends on seniority and scores.

Telework not advertised in the rules

The detail stirring the most conversation isn't the salary, but the schedule. According to the new hire's account, many veterans in the corps telework four days a week and, when they go to the office, attend meetings and leave immediately. Newcomers don't even get that: they receive reading instructions for home while the staff roster is completed. They still get paid the same.

This is where the fundamental disagreement begins. Some argue that a position with no real tasks isn't a bargain, but a sentence: humans need challenges, and the best way to mob someone is to give them no work. Others counter that this objection is a luxury for the ambitious, and that the type of person dreaming of such a job isn't exactly aiming to lead anything. In between, a third group points out the obvious: with €1,500 in 14 payments and no salary growth beyond triennial bonuses, the spot is comfortable but doesn't solve life's problems.

Public IT staff versus external contractors

The thread drifts toward an older war: who actually does the technological work in the Administration. A widely repeated thesis holds that the bulk is executed by external contractors—with tight salaries and high turnover—while permanent technical staff merely supervise or, frankly, hinder. The rebuttal comes from experience: there are departments where programming and maintenance are handled by civil servants, and where externals frequently mess up, forcing rework. The conclusion emerging from the exchange is less epic: the problem isn't the worker, but the structure of overlapping layers that inflates costs and blurs responsibilities.

How much is earned and what is lost

The starting salary, €1,400-1,500 in 14 payments, is compared in the discussion to that of a supermarket cashier, a stagnant consultant IT worker, and a qualified Madrid worker with one year of experience. No comparison favors the public spot economically. The competitive advantage lies elsewhere: stability, pressure-free hours, and a workload that, at best, concentrates on occasional incidents.

The full calculation of living costs in Madrid with that salary, broken down item by item, yields a result that surprises those looking only at gross figures. And the lingering question isn't whether the spot is good, but for whom.

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Can anyone last a whole career in a post where nothing happens, or does boredom take its toll before the paycheck does?