[fduran]

I can relate and sympathize. I’m from Spain although I have spent most of my professional life in the US and Canada.

Hats off to you if you are an entrepreneur in Spain. Some 20 years ago or so when I was in college and trying to be self-employed or create my own company I would go to the government offices in my hometown (with 40% or so unemployment rate) to know what to do and they would look at me like I was crazy.

In one office nobody knew anything and I had to come back later to talk to the guy who supposedly knew something but was out having coffee. In another office they pretty much kicked me out because my questions led them to believe I was trying to find some loophole in order to commit fraud or something. And these were the “Offices for Employment Creation” or whatever they called it back them.

Everybody in Spain just tells you to go work for the government (and there are 4 or 5 levels of government that exist in Spain), competing in the “oposiciones” or tests for a position, where the ratios are like one position for a thousand applicants. This is so because not only government employment is stable (they basically cannot ever fire you no matter what) and usually relaxed but they often make more money that their counterparts in the private sector.