Working in Catalonia's Tech Sector in 2022

Conan Mercer Site Reliability Engineer

Working in Catalonia's Tech Sector in 2022

27 May 2022 - Conan Mercer

Moving to Catalonia

Do you want to know what it is like to work in Barcelona's tech sector? In this article, I deep dive into the Catalan technology sector from the perspective of an ex-pat, but first I must set the scene.

Like many Irish people and not one to pass up on a good stereotype, I left Ireland directly after my studies. I have for the past 3 years lived and worked in Catalonia.

Hailing from a scientific background, I spent years researching electrochemical sensors for cancer diagnostics. This exposed me to the world of computer programming during my Ph.D, specifically embedded systems programming. While deciding what to do after my studies, and knowing that the technology sector was one of the best industries to work in, I decided to enter the technology industry and hone my coding skills, while getting paid for it.

Gotta Start Somewhere

Although I like Barcelona, I did not want to necessarily live there. I love to run, go to the beach, and explore the mountains. More generally, I like to sit in an environment that does not have too much noise. To that end, the outdoors, clean air, and cheaper living in Catalonia's Empordà region suited me better. It is roughly 1.5 hours away from the capital.

This was a pre-pandemic time, meaning the option to remote work out of an office based in Barcelona was very hard to come by, especially with no real experience in the technology industry. At this point you can see that right from the beginning I was severely limiting my job search to one small, specific region. Not the smartest idea, bear with me.

I managed to secure a job in a small company within the Empordà region, which for me at that time seemed to be a good fit. What typically occurs in small software development companies is that although you have a defined "role" you end up doing a lot of work outside of your job description. I gained exposure to a lot of technology and opportunities. This had immediate benefits for me, as I could pick and choose what I liked, within reason, and get a feel for the industry.

This was crucial for me, as while coming from a scientific background has its advantages, such as tackling problems from a different perspective, it also meant that I was wildly inexperienced. Gotta start somewhere though, right?

Itchy Feet

With just over a year and a half of test automation experience under my belt, I moved companies to a large multinational in the financial sector. For me this is an ideal setup, having a tremendous force of knowledge within these companies. If you have a problem, someone in the organization has surely seen it before. A large organization also means that you have the full gambit of skill levels, right from graduate entrants to veterans with years of programming experience in their respective fields. It is a comforting feeling knowing that this invaluable wealth of knowledge is available one Slack message away - but a privilege not to be abused of course.

Change of Field

At this point, I had been in the domain of test engineering for about 2 years and 10 months, but I knew that this was not the career path for me. While it was a worthwhile endeavor, for me it was just not technical enough. In retrospect, it was the path of least resistance for me to enter the technology sector, as scientists are highly trained in the scientific method of experimentation.

But I always saw it as a stepping stone into a more technical role. A valuable one at that, because a large part of building software is doing so with quality. Something I understand very well from this experience.

Enter Data Engineering

For about a year I had hemmed and hawed between a Data Science position and a Data Engineering position. On the face of it, a Data Science position made sense. Most of these roles require a Ph.D, and have a strong research component to them. They involve a fair bit of programming also. However, as is the nature of research, it is quite typical to spend weeks or months on a question, only to find out the question was the wrong one. With Data Engineering, I would get to program, and work with data, but crucially I could get tasks and projects done. Done to the full extent of the word. Finished. Never to be seen again. I like to put things to bed, and have quenched my research-heavy desires during my Ph.D. That is not to say that I don't continue to research as a Data Engineer, of course, just not to the same level as I once did.

You Don´t Work for Entertainment

As for Catalonia, with Barcelona taking the lion’s share, the tech industry is nothing short of booming right now (Q2, 2022). According to a recent tech report, the top three best-paid profiles are:
  • Data Engineer (58,800€)
  • Android developer (56,900K €)
  • iOS developer (55,700K €)

These salaries are, roughly speaking, in the top 4% of the country. To the USA or UK-based person, they may seem low, however, Spain's cost of living is significantly cheaper than most western countries, especially once you move out of the big urban areas like Barcelona and Madrid. It can be argued that the cost of living in Spain is lower, but still not comparable to salaries. There is strong debate on this. One thing is for sure, salaries have increased in Barcelona post-pandemic.

Remote Working

Before the pandemic, remote working in Catalonia was very seldom seen. In fact, the Spanish word for this is "Teletrabajo" which translates directly as teleworking, itself an antiquated word.

Nevertheless, while the world wields itself out of the Coronavirus pandemic, it would be foolish not to acknowledge that software developers and programmers, in general, have done very well out of this change of circumstance. Before, remote working was possible in this industry, with some companies offering a few days a week to be able to work remotely. This has now completely turned on its head, and to be competitive most positions are now allowing programmers to work remotely for as much of the time as they wish. With the option to go to the office when it suits them. This is a no-brainer and benefits both the employer and the employee in my opinion. A happy programmer is a productive one.

Catalonia is a wonderful place to raise a family, and remote work goes hand in hand with family-oriented programmers. Do you need a big commute after the school run? I don't think so.

Lifestyle

The lifestyle in Catalonia is excellent. With a very forgiving climate and some of the best food in the world, it is hard to complain about. Catalan culture in general is quite laid back, relative to other western countries.

The cost of living is also low when comparing Catalonia to its European counterparts. Some say rents are high, and it is true that rent has risen in Barcelona in the past 5 years. However, rents are still far below what you would expect to pay in other European cities of similar size, Paris, Dublin, and Berlin for example.

Happiness

In the end, nothing is worth doing if it makes you unhappy! It sounds like a cliché, but it is true.

A recent survey from Stack Overflow suggests that software developers in Spain are among, if not the, happiest developers on the planet.

This seems like a good place to end this article.