How I Can Help You Make Good Choices

As an engineer with 30 years of experience, my main value to you as a student or junior engineer is focusing your energy on the most promising path by asking the right questions:

• What should I study?
• I’m not a software engineer, how can I become one through self-study?
• Should I focus on CGPA, double major, or projects?
• How vital is a professional network, and how can I grow mine?
• Should I work/study abroad?
• How should my CV be?
• Which companies should I apply to?
• What should my salary expectations be?
• What should I do during my initial months on the job?
• I have a startup idea, what should my next step be? Should I look for investment? How can I increase my chances of securing investment? How can I prepare a financial projection for the business plan?
• Is AI a threat to the modern workforce? How can I use AI to become a better engineer?

Music: Papaoutai (Afro Soul) - Stromae

Work permit in Türkiye for Foreign Students

According to the Turkish Work Permit Evaluation Criteria, a full time foreign software engineer must be paid a gross salary of at least four times the gross minimum wage in order to obtain a work permit in Türkiye. See section A.3 in https://www.csgb.gov.tr/uigm/en/calisma-izni/calisma-izni-degerlendirme-kriterleri. Keep that in mind when you apply for a full time job and they ask you for your salary expectation.

Gaining Experience by Fixing Existing Web Apps

Here’s a little secret: most small business web apps… kinda suck. Small businesses usually don’t have the budget for high-quality software engineering, so their apps are often missing important features, are slow, outdated, and not mobile-friendly. But that’s actually an opportunity for you as a student. Instead of building yet another “hello world” project or a to-do list app no one uses, try this:

1. Find a small business with a clunky website or app, e.g. diyetta.
2. Use it on PC and mobile, make a list of improvements.
3. Make a copy of the whole app or parts of it and make it faster, cleaner, easier to use.
4. Demo your version to the owner.

Worst case? You get real-world experience. Best case? You get paid. Either way, you win. You’re not just learning to code—you’re learning how to:

• Create real value (solving actual problems, not just coding puzzles)
• Sell your ideas (convincing skills)

This one simple strategy can turn you from “just another student” into someone who can point to real impact. That looks so much better on your resume than “I built a weather app.”

So… what’s the worst small business web app you’ve seen lately? Maybe that’s your next project.

Startup Checklist for Students

Thinking about turning your hobby or project into a business? Ask yourself:

1. Who wants it? What makes it better than the alternatives?
2. How will people hear about it? A great product is useless if no one knows it exists.
3. How will it make money?