My name Is Carlos and I just became 32 years of age, as of now I'm living in Costa Rica in Central America, working full time as an infrastructure Project Manager, building public infrastructure like roads and bridges for a local government, already lead a group of about 75 people and my salary is around 25k USD a year after deductions, that places me in the 10% top earners in my country and give me good opportunities for saving and traveling within this part of the world.

I want to study a program that gives me opportunity to relocate to Spain, as of now Spain is my focus due to my partner being of Spanish nationality and wants to go and live there so she can be closer to ger family, I'm really excited about this potentially life changing adventure.

Right now I'm a licensed Civil Engineer, and I already have a Master's in Project Management, both degrees from the best public schools, only superior masters I could have done here is INCAE full time MBA being LATAM top program. Also this gives me opportunity to go for a PMP certificate if I want, that I will get eventually during my future studyng time.

I have serious doubts on what is the best way to get into Spain workforce and relocate fully, I've done several work applications trough LinkedIn (probably around 100) and I'm pretty discouraged, not hearing back from any recruiter, I think the moment they see I need visa sponsorship I'm out of the picture.

My work goals is the transition to consulting on big infrastructure or construction projects considering my technical engineering expertise, or work towards a strong data science for business knowledge to look for more flexible and hybrid jobs, maybe still within similar industry as the one I'm experienced with.

Does a top FT MBA like IE or ESADE can help me stay in Spain after the program is over?

Is a cheaper option like IESE Master in Management a best fit for me? They say average age is 24 year for people graduating, feel like maybe I'm a bit old for this.

Nevertless the difference between a 45k program (IESE MIM for example) and a 70k program (ESADE) could be my living expenses for a year, I'm looking for a program with 10-15 months max since I'll be living on my savings. Realistically I feel the risk on pursuing a top MBA and then going back to my country is high and destroying all my 7 year work experience savings would be brutal.

Any advice on programs and specially opinions on any program on the 20-50k eur range could be really valuable for me, I've checked many other options on that range but NONE seem to give me confidence. Before taking such a chance I would rather get into UPM, UCM or Universitat Barcelona degree (ranging 5k to 12k euros) for a masters of my liking and just look for a job with my PMP and construction project background, this would mean living comfortably on my savings.

It's rather hard to stay in Spain after studies but if you reside with your Spanish partner there for a year you may get residency. Check with a legal specialist. I spent two minutes on Google to find that out, but you need an someone familiar with current laws. 

Thanks Duncan, I'm aware of the visa possibilities, neverthless what really worries me is picking the right program to further my career. 

So far I don't have much business experience and that makes me second guess on  MSc , MBA, MPM,  etc. 

The top Spanish MBAs get over 90 percent placement. I am not sure why you are unsure. 

Take a look at my post on LinkedIn,  linked from my profile page. 

A couple of considerations for you if you're looking at data science type roles.

It was way back in 2012 that Harvard Business Review published an article proclaiming Data Scientist as the sexiest job of the 21st century. A lot of people have entered the field in the last few years so competition for jobs is stronger than it once was and salaries have levelled off a bit.

Be clear what data science role you might want. Data Scientist is different to Data Analyst for example. A data scientist will usually have more substantial mathematics and statistics knowledge, many have postgraduate qualifications in a stats heavy subject as well as good coding skills. A Data Analyst might really be what you're looking for.

You are right, and managing Data is not something I've been passionate about so far on my engineering ventures, also coding requires a big commitment to become useful in that aspect. Giving me second thoughts, thanks for your answer. I think I lack clarity on how to combine civil engineer background towards business