Emigrar to improve salary is still a way for many young Spaniards. Switzerland often appears as a destination for his payrolls and stability, but “not everything is salary.” The other face includes loneliness, cultural shock and a life cost that tests any budget. Ferrán, 23 -year -old Barcelona and graduated in biotechnology, tells without filters after spending a stable employee in the Swiss pharmaceutical. “I was from August to December sending curriculums every day. I signed the contract in Spain and I already went with the accommodation,” summarizes in an interview with the channel I go to the world. Today its payroll is around 8,000 gross francs and about 6,000 net monthly, a “median” figure for the Swiss standard (about 8,000 euros per month).
As he recounts, he did all online interviews and the company itself facilitated a temporary floor. Arriving without contract or support network, he warns, is risky: “Switzerland takes away money very fast. If you can come with contract, everything goes behind.”
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Of an ‘internship’ of 2,500 francs to an average salary of the country
Ferrán landed with a practical contract of some 2,500 francs that “gives to survive more than to live.” In that year of scholarship he learned to move in the Swiss system: banks, insurance, rentals and, above all, contacts. That networking was key to its jump to a stable position in another company. “It is an investment. You enter where without language or experience you might not enter.”
Today he works in the pharmaceutical industry, in international teams where English is the work language. “Alemán did not speak and I still speak more than four words,” he admits. Despite this, its evolution has been clear. “With a partner and shared expenses you can save 2,000 or 2,500 francs per month without luxuries. Here are people with five or ten years that are in 10,000 gross francs.” Of course, remember that prices are also Swiss.
Access to housing is one of the biggest bottlenecks. “I have seen queues of 30 people to visit floors and even ‘mafias’ to pay more to enter the first.” During the scholarship he lived in a study of 20 meters per 1,000 francs (1,000 euros). With medical insurance, food and transport, the monthly margin evaporates. In large cities such as Zurich, Geneva or Bern the rentals rise even more, forcing the apartment to look for satellite locations.
“It’s hard to work and more if you don’t know the language”
The linguistic barrier marks differences. In multinationals, English can be enough for technical roles. In positions for the public or local SMEs, German or French are decisive. “Without language, it complicates much and it will touch you as hard and worse paid,” he admits. To this is added social adaptation: weather, limited leisure and an environment that does not always easily integrate newcomers. “Spain lives very well. You have to come knowing what you earn and what is lost.”
The way to get the first contract, of course, is clear: Swiss employment portals, LinkedIn as the extension of the curriculum and direct candidacies in the racing pages of the great pharmaceuticals. The keyword is “internship.” “LinkedIn out of Spain is used a lot. Filters, you apply and call you,” he explains.
Is it worth making the leap to Switzerland with 23 years?
Ferrán is clear: yes, if it is prepared and with realistic expectations. “Bring a savings mattress, prepare the CV and the letter in English and in the local language, have the LinkedIn per day and apply to ‘internships’.” Arriving with contract and, if possible, with closed accommodation reduces risks. Without language or experience, the first year will be survival and learning.
Among the advantages, wages that allow saving, job stability and an international experience that revalue the profile to Spain. Among the inconveniences, the cost of life, housing and social adaptation. “Try. If you don’t fit, you can always come back. But come with contract and the accounts made saves you many dislikes,” he concludes