Working In Istanbul

[ExitStrategy]

Dear Expat Community,

I have just graduated from university, emphasizing Ottoman history and contemporary Turkish politics. I have traveled to Istanbul twice now, and have really fallen in love with the place, so much so that I would like to move there. I know some basic Turkish, but not enough to declare myself fluent on an employment application. I would really like to correct this, and I think there is little argument in saying that immersion in a Turkish language environment is the best method.

This said, I am not wealthy, and the successful completion of my degree left with some hefty student loan payments to make (around 600 usd per month). Most of the jobs I have found in Istanbul for someone in my position are teaching English, the average salary for which is around 1000usd/1300ytl per month, which is simply not enough given the debt load.

Does anyone know of any companies that hire/sponsor Americans at a decent wage (say 2000 per month) to work in Istanbul that I can apply to? Perhaps someone knows a good catalogue of American companies working in Turkey, in general. (I would be willing to work in a city other than Istanbul, it just seems that the best jobs are there.) If I can't find a good job overseas or in Canada, I'm trapped States side until I dispose of this ungainly loan burden. After attending university in Canada, I feel foreign and unhappy back here in the States.

I'd really appreciate any good tips. All the best.

[gerrit]

I envy you for having been able to study Turkish culture at university

I think contacting the US embassy in Turkey is your best bet, they may have jobs themselves and if not they for sure will know about foreign companies having an office in Turkey.

Ankara is a place with lot of jobs too due to the political institutions that are present there ; most of these jobs will however be related to teaching languages or diplomatic work.

I would love to settle in Istanbul, but unfortunately the crisis has hit the country badly and on top of that many companies hiring foreigners violate working permit laws.

[ExitStrategy]

That's an excellent idea. I hadn't thought to contact consular services/embassy for listings. Thanks a lot!

[gerrit]

In case there are any on the list for which English speaking is sufficient to apply (as opposed to also needing US citizenship) then you may want to share the names and press the PM button in my profile

[ExitStrategy]

I'll definitely have a look. The other thing is that I'm not entirely monolingual; I can speak quite a bit of Spanish, and some Italian.

[gerrit]

I speak German, French and Dutch fluently. The one downside is: many Turks grew up in Germany and the Benelux, so for jobs requiring those languages I often find myself competing against those holding Turkish citizenship and wanting to return home after having grown up abroad.

[ExitStrategy]

It's true; the main demand these days is for people who are fluent in both Turkish and English. It is very difficult for Turkish business people to learn fluent, grammatically correct English, which I find odd because most of their university classes are taught in in English. Nevertheless, given the international financial predicament it has become very difficult to find the damn jobs at all, which are increasingly regulated. It's a tough business, isn't it?

[gerrit]

The issue isn't so much that Turkish is necessary, in quite a few workplaces it isn't. They need German speakers, Dutch speakers, ... But a lot of Turks grew up in other European countries and thus are fluent in those languages too. Since they hold citizenship they can return to Turkey when they wish, apply for jobs without the working permit being an issue. Even when I say I speak Dutch, German and French, the answer is often that plenty of Turks do as well, and those don't need a working permit to be paid for...