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WORKING IN SPAIN

REVEALED: The highest-paying jobs in Spain in 2022

Spain isn't a country that's renowned for its high salaries, but there are a number of job positions that pay way above the average.

Published: 8 September 2022 09:11 CEST
best paid jobs spain
Spain may not be famed for its high average salaries, but there are job positions that pay very well. Photo: Alberto Sánchez/Pixabay

According to official figures, the average gross monthly salary in Spain in 2022 is €1,715, which represents a gross annual sum of just over €24,000 in 14 salary payments, as is common in Spain (one for every month of the year plus two extra payments). 

Though salaries mostly depend on the type of job and industry you work in, there are big differences in wages between Spain’s 17 autonomous regions.

READ MORE: What are the average salaries in each region of Spain in 2022?

Overall though, it’s clear that wages in Spain are lower than in most other neighbouring EU countries. According to Adecco, the average gross monthly salary in the EU in 2021 was €2,194, around 20 percent higher than in Spain. 

The Iberian nation is after all notorious for having a troublesome work market, from the aforementioned lower pay, to job insecurity and high unemployment.

However, there are jobs in Spain that pay much better than the average, so those of you who want to find out which positions offer a high remuneration will be interested in the following data from two official studies. 

According to Spain’s leading jobs portal InfoJobs, some of the best paying jobs in Spain are in the IT and tech industries. In fact, four of the ten highest paid jobs in Spain are in the ICT sector, according to InfoJobs.

Hardware and firmware designers are some of the top earners, making €53,074 gross a year on average, and there are a whole host other well paying tech jobs in Spain, namely IT system architects (€45,560), database designers (€44,558) and software architects (€43,490) are all among some of Spain’s best paid jobs.

Beyond the tech sector, the other group of jobs that pay high salaries are management positions. This is particularly true for corporate secretaries/secretary generals (€49,715 €), financial managers (€44,207) and product development managers (€43,259).

Among more traditional jobs that pay well, estate agents make an average of €45,665, asset managers €42,387, dentists €42,174, and security consultants €41,613.

The top 15 on average (gross pay per annum)

According to InfoJobs annual report Estado del Mercado Laboral en España, these are the jobs that on average pay the highest wages in Spain.

  1. Hardware and firmware designers (€53,074)
  2. Secretary General (€49,715 €)
  3. ICT business analyst (€47,156 €)
  4. Estate agent (€45,665)
  5. ICT systems architect (€45,560)
  6. Database design (€44,558)
  7. Financial management (€44,207)
  8. Software architect (€43,490)
  9. Product development manager (€43,259)
  10. ICT Technical Manager (€42,661)
  11. Branch manager (€42,622)
  12. Director of Operations (€42,595)
  13. Asset management (€42,387)
  14. Dentist (€42,174)
  15. Security consultant (€41,613)

The absolute top earners

As in many countries the world over, the absolute top earners in Spain are heavily concentrated in the banking and finance sector, especially when based on seniority.

  1. Managing Directors of Wealth Management departments in banks take home between €200,000 and €300,000 gross.
  2. Mergers and Acquisitions (MA) managers can make €100,000 to €140,000 gross a year.
  3. Business Unit Managers of a multinational, with more than six years of experience, earn between €100,000 and €150,000 gross a year.
  4. CFOs of big insurance companies (valued higher than €100 million) can have a gross annual salary of €120,000 to €150,000.
  5. Senior officials in sectors such as hospitality or retail can make as much as €200,000.

There are also a number of well-paying jobs in the growing digital and IT sector, with gross salaries rising based on seniority.

  1. Data Analyst: (€36,000 to €40,000)
  2. Data Scientist (€55,000)
  3. Chief Marketing Officer (€75,000 to €100,000)
  4. Blockchain Specialist (€50,000 and €60,000)
  5. Artificial Intelligence (AI) specialists (€27,000 to €60,000)
  6. Computer programmers (€24,233 to €49,000)

Spanish comparison website Rankia has also released data classifying the best paying jobs on average in Spain (gross figures), with similar findings to Infojobs’ study:

  1. Surgeon (€64,538)
  2. Engineering Project Manager (€59,965)
  3. Commercial Manager (€48,884)
  4. IT Manager (€48,071)
  5. Dentist (46,663)
  6. Estate Agent (€45,992)
  7. Architect (€45,881)
  8. Company Manager (€42,317)
  9. Data Scientist (€41,874)
  10. Industrial Manager (€41,732)

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For members

HEALTH

How many hours do I have to work to get access to public healthcare in Spain?

A common question among those wanting to move to Spain is if they will have access to the Spanish public healthcare system even if they only work part time or a few hours a week.

Published: 23 April 2024 10:57 CEST
How many hours do I have to work to get access to public healthcare in Spain?

In order to understand the answer to this question, you need to be aware of several rules on who has the right to public healthcare in Spain. 

In Spain, you have the right to access public healthcare under the following circumstances:

  • You are an employee or self-employed and are affiliated and registered with the social security system
  • You receive Spain’s state pension
  • You are the recipient of benefits, including unemployment benefits or subsidies.
  • You have exhausted your unemployment benefit or subsidy or other benefits of a similar nature and are unemployed and residing in Spain
  • Children under the age of 15
  • Students under the age of 26

You also have the right to healthcare if your spouse pays into the social security system or if you’re pregnant.

READ ALSO: Does permanent residency in Spain equal free public healthcare?

But what happens if you are an employee, but you only work part-time, does the number of hours you work affect whether you have the right to public healthcare coverage?

Even if you work part-time (or media jornada in Spanish), you will still be paying into the social security system automatically – part of it from your salary and part of it from your employer.

Therefore you will be affiliated in the social security system as in point one above. 

According to stats from Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE), a total of 6.6 percent of men in Spain in 2022 worked part-time and 21.6 percent of women. In September 2023, there were 2.9 million part-time employees in the country.

As far as social security is concerned, those who work part-time benefit the same as those working full-time when it comes to national healthcare, regardless of the length of their day. Part-time contributions count as one full day when it comes to paying social security.

READ ALSO: What to be aware of before accepting a part-time job in Spain

This rule, equating part-time work to full-time work was brought into force on October 1st 2023 in order to try and help reduce the gender pay gap in Spain, but was designed with the pension system in mind rather than national health coverage.

The advantage is that it also benefits those who want to work part-time and still be able to access healthcare. Even before this was brought into force, however, those working part-time and paying social security were still covered. 

All this means that there isn’t a specific number of hours you must work in order to be able to be covered under the Spanish healthcare system, and as long as you’re paying social security or fall into one of the categories above, you will be able to benefit from it.

Remember that if you’re not employed or self-employed in Spain and don’t have a spouse who is either, then you may not be covered.

To get around this you can either join a programme such as the S1 scheme for British pensioners or pay the convenio especial in order to benefit from public healthcare. For this, you will pay a monthly fee of €60 if you are under 65 and €157 if you are over 65. 

If none of these options are available to you or the requirements of your visa say so, then it’s necessary to get private health insurance instead.

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