Success Story of Ali Mengütay

Back in Turkey he studied mechanical engineering and worked for a big company in Istanbul.

Junior Software Engineer at Pix4D, Alumnus Powercoders

September 2021

Ali who constantly thinks in variations

Ali Mengütay is a Kurdish from a refugee background who graduated from the Powercoders program in 2019 in Lausanne. Back in Turkey, he studied mechanical engineering and worked for a big company in Istanbul. However, because of his association with a politically active student association, he always had a feeling that he might be forced to flee the country at some point. It’s very typical for him that he got prepared, talking to embassies abroad, including the one in Switzerland. So when the day came, at the end of 2011, he fled to Greece and made it to Switzerland in 2012. Here, he spent a lot of time filling in paperwork and waiting. Once he had his permit, he learned French and started his studies, but all that effort didn’t lead to a job, unfortunately.

Ali gives away the impression of being electrified, since he always thinks two or more steps ahead – in seemingly all directions! He describes life in Switzerland as super slow, compared to the fast-moving ways in Middle Eastern countries. “That’s because everything is well organized and there’s no need to fight for your rights as much here”, he says. So the cultural transition was quite hard for him. He had to get used to “not using the full capacity of his brain all the time”. Quite the challenge for such a high-energy person!

After many twists and turns, Ali is now a Junior Software Engineer at Pix4D, the company that he had one of his speed dates with at the Powercoders Career Day. He started off with an internship that was extended until they hired him as permanent staff beginning in 2021. He describes Pix4D as a perfect fit for him for mainly two reasons: for one, its product range is connected to (mechanical) engineering with the hard- and software solutions for 3D imaging and drone technology; for another, the former new technologies render the work environment a very fast-paced one, something that suits Ali’s very anticipating character. All he needs now is a bit more patience with himself for not having 20 years of experience in this business.

The main thing is that he and his family no longer live off social welfare, and they can take it from there. Congratulations Ali for making it this far and good luck with your further path.