Reasons Behind the Migration of Highly Qualified Employees from Turkiye: The Case of Software Developers and Engineers

The emigration of highly skilled software developers and engineers from Turkey has gained momentum, leading to a shortage of technical staff in technology companies, particularly startups. In order to understand their motivations for migrating, interviews were conducted with software developers and...

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Main Authors: Mustafa Şeref Akın, Ebubekir Karadaş
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Istanbul University Press 2023-12-01
Series:Journal of Economy Culture and Society
Subjects:
Online Access:https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/2870843
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author Mustafa Şeref Akın
Ebubekir Karadaş
author_facet Mustafa Şeref Akın
Ebubekir Karadaş
author_sort Mustafa Şeref Akın
collection DOAJ
description The emigration of highly skilled software developers and engineers from Turkey has gained momentum, leading to a shortage of technical staff in technology companies, particularly startups. In order to understand their motivations for migrating, interviews were conducted with software developers and engineers. The findings reveal that highly skilled individuals perceive their labor as undervalued in Turkey, both economically and in terms of social status. The international nature of the software industry makes it relatively easy for them to migrate to other countries or work for foreign companies remotely. They express that companies in their destination countries respect their work, private lives, and individuality. To address this issue, Turkish companies can consider measures such as assisting key employees in purchasing houses and cars, as well as supporting their families’ education and healthcare expenses, to ensure long-term loyalty. Furthermore, it is suggested that salaries for software developers should be adjusted to be more comparable to those abroad in terms of purchasing power. Failure to provide sufficient incentives may result in software exports falling short of expectations amidst this wave of migration.
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spelling doaj-art-9901f4e92a734f57983cb112aa73fa362025-02-04T10:17:23ZengIstanbul University PressJournal of Economy Culture and Society2645-87722023-12-01689711010.26650/JECS2023-12290364Reasons Behind the Migration of Highly Qualified Employees from Turkiye: The Case of Software Developers and EngineersMustafa Şeref Akın0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1850-9118Ebubekir Karadaş1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5666-1068Boğaziçi University, Management DepartmentErzincan Binali Yildirim University, Economics DepartmentThe emigration of highly skilled software developers and engineers from Turkey has gained momentum, leading to a shortage of technical staff in technology companies, particularly startups. In order to understand their motivations for migrating, interviews were conducted with software developers and engineers. The findings reveal that highly skilled individuals perceive their labor as undervalued in Turkey, both economically and in terms of social status. The international nature of the software industry makes it relatively easy for them to migrate to other countries or work for foreign companies remotely. They express that companies in their destination countries respect their work, private lives, and individuality. To address this issue, Turkish companies can consider measures such as assisting key employees in purchasing houses and cars, as well as supporting their families’ education and healthcare expenses, to ensure long-term loyalty. Furthermore, it is suggested that salaries for software developers should be adjusted to be more comparable to those abroad in terms of purchasing power. Failure to provide sufficient incentives may result in software exports falling short of expectations amidst this wave of migration.https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/2870843brain drainhighly skilledsoftware developersincomerespect
spellingShingle Mustafa Şeref Akın
Ebubekir Karadaş
Reasons Behind the Migration of Highly Qualified Employees from Turkiye: The Case of Software Developers and Engineers
Journal of Economy Culture and Society
brain drain
highly skilled
software developers
income
respect
title Reasons Behind the Migration of Highly Qualified Employees from Turkiye: The Case of Software Developers and Engineers
title_full Reasons Behind the Migration of Highly Qualified Employees from Turkiye: The Case of Software Developers and Engineers
title_fullStr Reasons Behind the Migration of Highly Qualified Employees from Turkiye: The Case of Software Developers and Engineers
title_full_unstemmed Reasons Behind the Migration of Highly Qualified Employees from Turkiye: The Case of Software Developers and Engineers
title_short Reasons Behind the Migration of Highly Qualified Employees from Turkiye: The Case of Software Developers and Engineers
title_sort reasons behind the migration of highly qualified employees from turkiye the case of software developers and engineers
topic brain drain
highly skilled
software developers
income
respect
url https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/2870843
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