Social anthropology of the precariat dreams and experiences in the labor market of the graduates and students of the department of anthropology at Hitit University

The current situation of the students and graduates of the Department of Anthropology at Hittite University is a clear example of being caught between a deep intellectual passion and a deep concern for the future. The findings of the research clearly and explicitly reveal the disconnection between the social sciences in Turkey and the discipline of anthropology within this field and the job market, the phenomenon of precarity, and the psychological, social, and economic effects of this process on individuals. The fundamental paradox is that individuals cannot be included in fields that would value these qualities. This situation pushes graduates into working under insecure conditions and drives students into despair and anxiety. For both groups, the desire to work in state institutions through the KPSS exam and to become academics are prominent general expectations. The private sector is considered as a choice based on necessity and obligation. The socio-economic transformations experienced in Turkey in recent years have profoundly affected the young and educated population. Moreover, it has made the phenomenon of precarization widespread. This study addresses precarization not merely as an unemployment issue, but as a multi-layered crisis with historical roots, based on unequal integration into the capitalist world system, deepened by neoliberal policies, and eroding the existential meaning of the individual. The field research conducted specifically with the students and graduates of the Department of Anthropology at Hittite University reveals a process in which mechanisms such as the commodification of labor, indebtedness, and the dismantling of the welfare state condemn individuals to a state of permanent stagnation; a process in which diplomas lose their meaning and insecurity leads to the fragmentation of identity. A total of 53 participants contributed to this study: 34 participants, including 21 female and 13 male undergraduate and graduate students, and 19 participants, including 12 female and 7 male undergraduate and graduate program graduates.