Turkish economy is in a growing phase, so much so in fact, that it has been praised by the US and British press for being able to blend modern industry and commerce with traditional agricultural. Regardless of this, the government is reluctant to issue work permits to foreign nationals making getting jobs in Turkey difficult.
For the individuals who have their minds set on living and working in Turkey, with a lot of effort and some luck there are a limited number of options possible. The ideal situation and one in which you will have to face the least issues is to have an intra-company transfer. If that is not an option, then there are other avenues.
The maximum numbers of opportunities are in the expatriate friendly city of Istanbul in the fields of tourism, real estate, teaching and finance. To a lesser degree some options may be available in information technology, marketing and sales, design and human resources.
Job search can be a daunting process when you first arrive in Turkey. One method is to use the Turkish employment agency to find a placement, as their offices are scattered in all 81 provinces. However, they only generally place people with good command over the Turkish language.
There are many opening for teaching English in Turkey, and lots of places only ask for a college degree, and not even a teaching certificate. While the salary with such posts is decent, supporting a family may be difficult.
Lately many expatriates in Turkey have started freelancing to earn an income. Technically speaking, this is not legal. Somehow, that is not stopping a lot of writers, artists and photographers.
For the casual worker only interested in working for a short time, summer jobs can be found with tour operators, water sport instructors, chefs, and hotel staff. Finally there is Au Pairing, if one has some experience in childcare and does not performing some basic domestic chores.
