Being qualified in forced migration: Educated Syrian migrants' experiences in the labor market of Istanbul

This thesis discusses the status of qualified Syrian migrants living in Istanbul to continue their profession. For this purpose, the factors affecting the participation of educated Syrian migrants in the labor market are analyzed and their experience and issues are determined by a field study based on a semi-structured interview with 27 migrants living and mostly working in Istanbul. Additionally the participation of migrants in the labor market and their working conditions are examined in this sense. In order to determine the factors affecting the immigrants finding a job, their existing language skills before immigration, the status of whether holding a degree or not and previous experiences are examined. After this examination, whether the immigrants are able to find a job according to their qualifications or not is analyzed. This study claims that migrants' ability to continue their professions and to use their cultural capital are more affected by their professional experince and ability of using the social networks effectively rather than language skills and education. In this study, it is also considered, along with their different area of professions and duration of stay in Turkey, that Syrians who are under temporary protection and the ones who are subject to Law of Foreigners may have different experiences to continue their profession.