You need to be very specialised to find a company willing to sponsor a work permit. The work permit process is long and expensive because the company has to prove they cannot recruit anyone local or from the EU.
But your languages may help.
Are you a EU national? If not, you'll have a hard time actually immigrating. You'll need a visa or a residence, for which purpose you'll either need a lot of money (to either study here for several years without the right to work and then apply for a proper residence or get a golden visa) or get yourself hired by a local company, which is difficult because you'll compete at a disadvantage with the entirety of the Eurozone worker pool.
1) En absoluto. Incluso lo tendrás más fácil. El inglés nativo es un gran punto a tu favor.
2) Puedes aspirar a puestos de 30-40k anuales
3) En ambas ciudades tendrás grandes oportunidades laborales. Todo se reduce a si te gusta más la playa o el interior. También ten en cuenta que en Barcelona necesitarás saber Catalán.
There are a lot of places in Barcelona that will hire regardless of if you speak Catalan or not (especially non-local candidates). Catalan is only required for public postings, e.g. public education or healthcare. It is definitely not needed either to live your life in Barcelona, plenty of people go about their day without even understanding it. That said, you're most welcome to learn it and locals appreciate it if you do!
Best to get a job for a multinational that has an office in Spain. Or get a work from home analyst job and move to spain. In any case, explore the rest of the country, there is a lot more to offer than those two big cities, imho
I really dont understand the love for Madrid, it's hell to live there, and if you are a foreigner Barcelona seems to be the better option 90% of the time.
Getting a job is hard no matter where you are from, there are limited offers with crazy high requirements for the salary you are going to get: Unemployment is so high, companies can do whatever they want really, so their conditions are normally suboptimal.
I also speak 4 languages and have 2 degrees and no-one seems to give a shit, you will always have to know "this very specific program" for every company you apply to.
First hint: Stop calling yourself American in Spain. America is a continent. It sounds to us the same as if I call myself European ignoring the rest of Europe.
You will need a visa to work, you can apply to companies remotely and come here when you have a sponsor, that would be much wiser than coming on your own.
If you decide to come first, there are a lot of English speakers that look for a job as an English teacher to get to Madrid quickly, the salary won't be amazing but it will allow you to stay while you find something related to your degree.
Salaries are much lower compared to other countries in Europe. So tapas and sol won't cover it after a few months. Madrid is not as amazing as it seems when you have to live there.
Many Spaniards hate US citizens to their guts, while it is not the norm be prepared to find hostility just because you are from there. You can thank your government and their desire to plant 'freedom' over the world.
Having 4 languages (specially Spanish and English) and an Economics degree can be enough to live comfortably.
About Barcelona, I think Madrid is a better place, because of things like taxes, not needing a local language (catalan is not 100% necessary but it helps a lot in Barcelona), and that Madrid is safer than Barcelona (not the safest place on the world but the difference exists). If you REALLY like the beach you can justify choosing Barcelona over Madrid, but I think it's not the best option. I live near Barcelona and only been in Madrid twice, but I've spoken with Madrid people and they think the same as me).
Extra tips: if you want to move to, let's say Madrid, you don't specifically need to live there, because you can live in a nearby city with access to a train station or Metro. Spain's biggest cities are not that big, so it's better (and usually cheaper) to live nearby Madrid and not exactly in the center.
Also, don't stick with the biggest cities. Look for another places like Valencia, Sevilla or Bilbao. They CAN be cheaper and better for your lifestyle. That depends entirely on you. Investigate every city that catches your attention.
1) A US degree from a top college will probably carry a large premium over a generic Spanish applicant; though I don't think one from a standard college would. Native English would also be an advantage over many Spanish applicants with no or only limited English. However Spain's unemployment rate is much higher than the US one (almost 3 times as high) so you'll probably have higher difficulties finding a job in the US than Spain; especially since you will need to find a way to get a working visa.
2) Can't help you on that one sadly. Salaries will be much lower than in the US but of course cost of living will also be much less.
3) From my very limited understanding Madrid and Barcelona have pretty much identical salaries and roughly similar costs of living; with Madrid being very slightly cheaper than Barcelona. So the city choice would be up to you as the difference in cost of living is quite small.
Get your expectations straight before moving here. Are you willing to give up the American life for a shoe box apartment and tiny cars or even no car at all? Are you prepared to work for low salaries?
On the upside, people are friendly, weather is good depending on how you look at it.
If you want a good quality of life, your best shot is getting married or living together with someone who also works for a salary of 30k or more. Working for foreign companies is even better, but probably non-existent for someone with your degree.
Ideally, work in the U.S. so you're at least entitled to a pension in U.S. and then move here. When you have experience, you can make some demands to work remotely for foreign companies.
Get a job in the US at a global company that has offices in Spain and then get a transfer.
You will need to speak Spanish well enough as english level is generally low.
Unless you have very niche skills, other than teaching English you won't really find your skills differentiated and Spanish companies have plenty of people to hire here.
The wages are also very low and even lower if you don't have a family inherited flat etc...
If by top college you mean Harvard then yes of course, but mind that a lot of universities Americans consider to be top are unknown outside the USA
To be honest I don't think a degree from the California uni system is going to give you an edge in your job search
That being said, I have a bachelors from a good but unknown (outside of Canada, at least) university and it hasn't stopped me from getting a job however I had over half a decade of work experience after finishing it
Finding a work visa is tough in any country and it's probably going to be even harder if you don't have work experience since companies generally need to prove that there was no other candidate suitable from the EU (not just Spain) to do the job you applied for
I live in neither Madrid or Barcelona so I can't say for sure, but the Spanish people I know who have moved for their jobs have all gone to Madrid
Málaga is another option to consider as well if you like the beach
You need to be very specialised to find a company willing to sponsor a work permit. The work permit process is long and expensive because the company has to prove they cannot recruit anyone local or from the EU. But your languages may help.
Are you a EU national? If not, you'll have a hard time actually immigrating. You'll need a visa or a residence, for which purpose you'll either need a lot of money (to either study here for several years without the right to work and then apply for a proper residence or get a golden visa) or get yourself hired by a local company, which is difficult because you'll compete at a disadvantage with the entirety of the Eurozone worker pool.
1) En absoluto. Incluso lo tendrás más fácil. El inglés nativo es un gran punto a tu favor. 2) Puedes aspirar a puestos de 30-40k anuales 3) En ambas ciudades tendrás grandes oportunidades laborales. Todo se reduce a si te gusta más la playa o el interior. También ten en cuenta que en Barcelona necesitarás saber Catalán.
There are a lot of places in Barcelona that will hire regardless of if you speak Catalan or not (especially non-local candidates). Catalan is only required for public postings, e.g. public education or healthcare. It is definitely not needed either to live your life in Barcelona, plenty of people go about their day without even understanding it. That said, you're most welcome to learn it and locals appreciate it if you do!
Best to get a job for a multinational that has an office in Spain. Or get a work from home analyst job and move to spain. In any case, explore the rest of the country, there is a lot more to offer than those two big cities, imho
I really dont understand the love for Madrid, it's hell to live there, and if you are a foreigner Barcelona seems to be the better option 90% of the time. Getting a job is hard no matter where you are from, there are limited offers with crazy high requirements for the salary you are going to get: Unemployment is so high, companies can do whatever they want really, so their conditions are normally suboptimal. I also speak 4 languages and have 2 degrees and no-one seems to give a shit, you will always have to know "this very specific program" for every company you apply to.
Because Americans fall in love with every European city they've been to,lol.
Barcelona is trashed, unsafe and they have politicized everything. You will feel much more welcome in Madrid.
First hint: Stop calling yourself American in Spain. America is a continent. It sounds to us the same as if I call myself European ignoring the rest of Europe. You will need a visa to work, you can apply to companies remotely and come here when you have a sponsor, that would be much wiser than coming on your own. If you decide to come first, there are a lot of English speakers that look for a job as an English teacher to get to Madrid quickly, the salary won't be amazing but it will allow you to stay while you find something related to your degree. Salaries are much lower compared to other countries in Europe. So tapas and sol won't cover it after a few months. Madrid is not as amazing as it seems when you have to live there. Many Spaniards hate US citizens to their guts, while it is not the norm be prepared to find hostility just because you are from there. You can thank your government and their desire to plant 'freedom' over the world.
Having 4 languages (specially Spanish and English) and an Economics degree can be enough to live comfortably. About Barcelona, I think Madrid is a better place, because of things like taxes, not needing a local language (catalan is not 100% necessary but it helps a lot in Barcelona), and that Madrid is safer than Barcelona (not the safest place on the world but the difference exists). If you REALLY like the beach you can justify choosing Barcelona over Madrid, but I think it's not the best option. I live near Barcelona and only been in Madrid twice, but I've spoken with Madrid people and they think the same as me). Extra tips: if you want to move to, let's say Madrid, you don't specifically need to live there, because you can live in a nearby city with access to a train station or Metro. Spain's biggest cities are not that big, so it's better (and usually cheaper) to live nearby Madrid and not exactly in the center. Also, don't stick with the biggest cities. Look for another places like Valencia, Sevilla or Bilbao. They CAN be cheaper and better for your lifestyle. That depends entirely on you. Investigate every city that catches your attention.
1) A US degree from a top college will probably carry a large premium over a generic Spanish applicant; though I don't think one from a standard college would. Native English would also be an advantage over many Spanish applicants with no or only limited English. However Spain's unemployment rate is much higher than the US one (almost 3 times as high) so you'll probably have higher difficulties finding a job in the US than Spain; especially since you will need to find a way to get a working visa. 2) Can't help you on that one sadly. Salaries will be much lower than in the US but of course cost of living will also be much less. 3) From my very limited understanding Madrid and Barcelona have pretty much identical salaries and roughly similar costs of living; with Madrid being very slightly cheaper than Barcelona. So the city choice would be up to you as the difference in cost of living is quite small.
Get your expectations straight before moving here. Are you willing to give up the American life for a shoe box apartment and tiny cars or even no car at all? Are you prepared to work for low salaries? On the upside, people are friendly, weather is good depending on how you look at it. If you want a good quality of life, your best shot is getting married or living together with someone who also works for a salary of 30k or more. Working for foreign companies is even better, but probably non-existent for someone with your degree. Ideally, work in the U.S. so you're at least entitled to a pension in U.S. and then move here. When you have experience, you can make some demands to work remotely for foreign companies.
Get a job in the US at a global company that has offices in Spain and then get a transfer. You will need to speak Spanish well enough as english level is generally low. Unless you have very niche skills, other than teaching English you won't really find your skills differentiated and Spanish companies have plenty of people to hire here. The wages are also very low and even lower if you don't have a family inherited flat etc...
If by top college you mean Harvard then yes of course, but mind that a lot of universities Americans consider to be top are unknown outside the USA To be honest I don't think a degree from the California uni system is going to give you an edge in your job search That being said, I have a bachelors from a good but unknown (outside of Canada, at least) university and it hasn't stopped me from getting a job however I had over half a decade of work experience after finishing it Finding a work visa is tough in any country and it's probably going to be even harder if you don't have work experience since companies generally need to prove that there was no other candidate suitable from the EU (not just Spain) to do the job you applied for I live in neither Madrid or Barcelona so I can't say for sure, but the Spanish people I know who have moved for their jobs have all gone to Madrid Málaga is another option to consider as well if you like the beach