How is life in IT support centres in Barcelona

tringlarido

08 June 2014 15:48:30

angers

Hey all,

I'm from France, working right now in ireland in an IT support position, single with no children. I have just been proposed an interview for IT job in barcelona. It is a network support role, english and french required, with day and night shifts, in an european service centre support 650 employees. I don't know yet the company. It seems that the salary could be up to 35k euros.
I also would like to settle for long time in my next life/job. Last point I don't speak castilian and catalan yet I think I'll love to learn either of them.

So before making any decision, I just wanted to see if some people had a similar experience, and could share any thoughts from a job perspective.

In particular I'm wondering :

is there a big turnover in these types of position ?
can you manage a social life with this kind of day and night shift rotation ?
Is there opportunities as an expat to evolve from support in call center to network administration role in barcelona ? does it require catalan or castilian ?

thanks all

GuestPoster7862

07 July 2014 10:46:29

Hi

There are a few big companies in Barcelona and surrounding areas that need people who speak other languages. That fact that you are bilingual in French and English will help you a lot. There are too many expats here who speak only English and not enough jobs for them. Concentrate on using especially French in furthering your career here. If you want to really move up and have a better choice of jobs, at least Spanish and preferably Catalan as well will be best.

Working in support centres can be very hard. The turnaround is high due to this fact. It really depends on your personality. The fact that this job offers a 35k euros is a bit weird. These are usually an indication of a possible salary if you reach certain targets. I recommend you have a person who speaks fluent Spanish look over the contract before you sign.

When I worked in a customer support centre (only 2 months as I found the environment too hard), people had no problem socialising with the crazy schedule. Barcelona is an easy city in which to socialise. There will always be something open and willing people to go with you

I hope this helps.

Find more topics on the Barcelona forum

Articles to help you in your expat project in Barcelona