I had a rather hectic start when I joined VELUX in April last year. Initially I was planning to move from Turkey to Poland to work for VELUX there. I had my work permit, but my visa application was rejected twice. I had just quit my job, moved out from my apartment and in 15 days I was planning to move to Poland. I called my manager in Denmark to tell him about the situation and not long after he asked me if I could move to Denmark instead and come work from the office in Hørsholm. I said yes, and that was how my journey in VELUX and living in Denmark began.
For me, it was not really important where I ended up. I wanted to do it for the experience of living abroad and for the job as a DevOps Engineer. DevOps is an abbreviation for Development and Operations. As a DevOps Engineer I work with IT solutions where I improve and develop the IT infrastructure and platforms VELUX uses.
IT problem solver at work and guitar player at home
I really enjoy solving issues and solving whatever problem my “customers” have. I think my interest in technology and IT goes back to when I was a boy. I don’t know how many times I broke my computer. My dad stopped buying me one because it happened so many times. But that meant that I had to learn to fix it. I enjoyed finding out how it worked and was put together.
When I’m not working I like to play my electric guitar. I typically play rock and funk music and my favourite band is Red Hot Chili Peppers. I’m planning to find a band to play with here in Copenhagen where I live. During my military service, I was a part of the military band. Before we joined the military, which is mandatory in Turkey, we had to fill out a form asking different questions, for example whether we played any instruments and that was how I became a part of the military orchestra where we played during ceremonies and marches.
Moving abroad took some courage
It has been both exciting and challenging to move abroad. Many things are different – the food, the weather, behaviours, humour. One thing I remember in the beginning was that nobody really understood my jokes. I had to explain them, but then they were not really jokes anymore. So I’ve started to filter them a little bit.
I didn’t know anyone when I got here, so I created a user on the platform called Meetup – an online platform where you can reach out to people in the same situation or with the same interests as you. I joined some expat groups where I could learn about the Danish culture, how to set up a bank account and in the meantime make new friends. Now, we are a group of expats who meet up regularly just to hang out, drink a beer or watch a movie. We are a mixed group of people from Romania, Kenya, China, Australia, France and Turkey.
It definitely took some courage for me in the beginning to build up friendships from scratch. During that time, I was lucky to have some very supporting colleagues. Especially my manager Lasse Bruntse, who made sure I could move to Denmark and still live out my dream of living abroad and doing the job I do.