ATAS Career
Knowledge Base
Practical guidance for Turkish students, graduates, academics, researchers and professionals navigating the Scottish and wider UK labour market. Explore job searching, applications, qualifications, work rights and professional development — and see where ATAS can help.
Where Are You Now?
Start with the route that best describes your current position. The detailed guidance is different at each stage of your career.
Students & Early Career
Build relevant experience while studying, understand your work conditions, use university careers services and prepare for the transition into employment.
Student Career Guide →Alumni & Recent Graduates
Navigate graduate recruitment, early-career roles, UK applications, the Graduate Route and the move from university into professional employment.
Graduate Career Guide →Academics & Researchers
Explore PhD, postdoctoral, fellowship and academic career pathways, research funding and the transition between academia and industry.
Academic Career Resources →Professionals
Translate existing experience into the UK market, understand professional recognition, explore sectors and develop your career in Scotland.
Professional Career Guide →Bringing Qualifications or Experience from Türkiye?
Do not assume that every Turkish degree needs to be formally “converted”. What you need depends on the occupation, employer and whether the profession is regulated.
Career Essentials
The core topics most people need when entering, changing or progressing in the UK labour market.
CVs & Applications
Build a targeted UK-style CV, explain international experience clearly, write stronger applications and distinguish between academic and industry CVs.
Finding Work
Search through general and specialist job boards, recruiters, universities, the NHS, councils and sector-specific vacancy sources.
Qualifications & Professional Recognition
Understand the difference between ordinary overseas qualification comparison and formal registration in a regulated profession.
Work Rights & Sponsorship
Check what your immigration permission allows, understand the Graduate and Skilled Worker routes and use the official sponsor register correctly.
Interviews & Selection
Prepare evidence-based examples, competency answers, presentations, assessment tasks and structured responses using methods such as STAR.
Starting & Progressing at Work
Understand workplace expectations, contracts, communication, employment rights, professional development and career progression.
Finding Work in Scotland
Do not rely on one job board. A stronger search combines general vacancy sites, specialist portals, employer websites, recruiters and professional networks.
Councils & Public / Third Sector
Scottish local authorities and many public and third-sector employers.
MyJobScotland →NHS Scotland
Clinical, professional, technical, administrative and support vacancies.
NHS Scotland Jobs →Universities & Research
Academic, research, professional-services and university-sector roles.
jobs.ac.uk →Scotland Career Directory
Scottish job-search resources and routes into different sectors.
Scotland.org →Employers Licensed to Sponsor
Official Home Office register of organisations holding Worker sponsor licences.
Sponsor Register →Work Rights, Visas & Sponsorship
A concise orientation only. Always check your own immigration status and the current GOV.UK rules before making employment or immigration decisions.
Proving Your Right to Work
Most non-British and non-Irish citizens can prove their right to work through a share code or eligible immigration documents. The check also tells an employer what work you are permitted to do and for how long.
GOV.UK Right to Work →Graduate Visa
For eligible non-doctoral graduates, the visa lasts 2 years if the application is made on or before 31 December 2026 and 18 months for applications from 1 January 2027. Doctoral graduates continue to receive 3 years.
Official Graduate Visa Rules →Skilled Worker Route
The role must be eligible, the employer must be an approved sponsor and salary requirements must be met. The usual standard threshold is currently £41,700 or the occupation's going rate, whichever is higher, although different or lower thresholds apply in specified circumstances.
Check Skilled Worker Rules →Sponsor Licence ≠ Sponsorable Vacancy
Being listed on the Home Office sponsor register means an organisation holds a relevant sponsor licence. It does not mean every vacancy at that organisation can or will be sponsored.
Search Licensed Sponsors →Where ATAS Can Help
ATAS complements — rather than replaces — university careers services, professional regulators, employers and regulated advisers.
ATAS Can Help You
Our role is to make the system easier to navigate, create connections and share relevant experience within the community.
What ATAS Does Not Do
Clear boundaries protect both our members and volunteers and ensure specialist matters are handled by the appropriate organisation.
Trusted External Resources
Career and immigration information changes. Where a decision depends on current rules, use the official source rather than relying on an old article or social-media post.
Help us keep the Knowledge Base useful
This resource is maintained by ATAS as general career information and signposting for our community. If you identify an outdated link, changed rule or useful resource that should be included, please let us know.