Az interjú angolul - Click here to read the article in English

Young workers from all over the world - Güven Mavis, a lawyer in Turkey

Our next subject is Güven Mavis (25) who is from Turkey and works for the best law firm of his country. He worked part-time while studying to support himself. Currently, his standard of living is just average despite working sometimes 14 hours a day. Güven thinks he will get what he deserves for this amount of work abroad.

- Where are you from and which part of the country do you live in? What is your line of work or are you still studying?

- I am originally from Lüleburgaz, a small town close to the Bulgarian border but since 2005 I have been living in Istanbul due to my university studies and job opportunities as well. Currently I am working as a lawyer in Istanbul having completed my studies in 2010.

- How is your career coming along? What is your degree in? What school did you go to? What did you want to be when you were a child? Did you manage to realise your dreams or did you just go with the flow?

- I graduated from the University of Istanbul's law school with an average GPA. When I was child, I always had a deep passion for economics. However, I failed to realise my dreams because in Turkey you have to receive an extensive mathematics education in high school if you wish to study in an economy-related area at university and I was not a promising student in the field of maths. Thus, I somehow went to law school. So I guess I can say; I went with the flow.

- What kind of opportunities did you have for continuing your studies? How much of a sacrifice was it for your family to finance your education, did you have to work while studying? How does the higher education system work in your country? Did you have to pay for tuition?

- Well in order to respond the Turkish education system needs to be detailed. First of all, there are 2 main types of education institutes in Turkey, state owned ones and private ones. Private universities provide high level and good education but they are extremely expensive, moreover they cost so much that it is the same as studying abroad in the US. Since my family was not able to afford such a cost, I went to a state college. State universities on the other hand vary from high quality institutions, some of which are even more renowned than most foreign institutions, to average ones. Mine was a really good one. State universities are free in Turkey which means there is no tuition.

But still, for a student coming from small town to Istanbul to study at a university makes life pretty expensive. Accommodation, books and food expenses are not cheap. Scholarships are limited as the population of Turkey is approximately 75,000,000 and there are free dormatories provided to college students, which are by the way not comfortable at all (you have to share your small student room with at least 2 other students). If you wish to stay in a better flat, you have to lease one, which is not cheap in Istanbul. Therefore, speaking personally, I worked part time jobs, found some private scholarships and I never demanded much money from my family. Turkey has a fast growing economy and there are a lot of part-time job opportunities in Istanbul.

- What are your living conditions like? What is your salary like compare to the average? How much money can you save? What you are saving for?

- I live under normal conditions. I have a room in a 3-room flat, which I share with 2 other persons. We use the same kitchen and have 2 bathrooms and one living room for common use. Compared to other employees in my country, I make better money and manage to save. I want to do my masters in Canada, the USA or Germany, which I wish to cover from my savings.

- Are the people around you harmonius? What kind of hardshipes do you face on an every day basis?

- I spend most of my daytime at the office among employees who have similar education of cultural backgrounds as me since they all went to law school. My flatmates are also similar types. Hence, I don't have any hardship in my everyday life except for the extensive work hours at the office and the on-going traffic problem in Istanbul.

- How big of problem is unemployment where you are living? What are the problems in the labour market in your country? How does the government support the unemployed? What are the unemployment benefits like? How successfull do you think they are?

- As in the rest of Europe, unemployment is one of the main problems in Turkey. On the labor market, the main problem is that salaries are insufficient. People somehow manage to find jobs, but the salaries are not high. The government provides benefits for the unemployed but it is impossible to make ends meet. Therefore, people choose to work different jobs at the same time rather than receive unemployment benefits. The government's welfare politics is unsuccessful.

- Do you like your job? Do you like working in your current enviroment? What's the work morale like? How flexible or strict are your working hours? How many days of vacations do you get? What is your relationship like with your collegues?

- My working environment is quite peaceful. People are well educated with a good background. However, our working hours are not that good. The firm in which I am working for provides legal assistance and advice to foreign companies investing in Turkey. There are so many companies waiting for services at the same time. This requires quite a lot of working hours. Sometimes I work 14 hours a day in order to be able to render services to all foreign clients in a timely manner. Annually, we are allowed to use 16 days paid holidays.

- What is your day like? What are your most important responsibilities of work? What do you do after work? What do you like doing most in your free time? Does it cause any problems keeping your work-life balance?

- Well my life routine is as follows, I head to work at 08:30 and manage to get there by 09:00. Then I finish my responsibilities at around 20:00. After I am done with work, we go to drink beer with my collegues from the office then I go back home spend some times with my flatmates. If it is the weekend, we go to parties in Istanbul, and enjoy the nightlife. I like reading articles in my free time, those related to history and law, my profession. The problem with my work-life balance is that I like travelling to different countries but I can not manage to do so due to my workload.

- What are your plans for your future? What are your career prospects? Are there any possibilities for advancement at work? What is your goal in life?

- Well, as I said, I want to get a masters degree abroad. It is quite important for my job and future opportunities. I would like to go to Canada or the US for my masters and remain there for good, at least for a while to save some money which will be enough for me in Turkey for the rest of my life.

- Could you imagine living abroad? Why would you, or wouldn't you leave?

- I am completely OK with the idea of living abroad. Because I worked a lot in Turkey, I went to law school, a really good one, learnt 2 foreign languages, worked so many jobs and I am employed currently at one of the best law firms in Turkey, but still I have an avarege life here. I am of the opinion that I will get what I deserve once I am settled abroad.


Cikkünk több oldalas! Lapozzon!
1. oldal - Karrierutak a világ országaiban - egy ügyvéd Törökországból
2. oldal - Az interjú angolul - Click here to read the article in English