Brain Drain in the Digital Age: A Qualitative Analysis of Turkish IT and AI Professionals’ Migration Decisions

This study investigates the motivations of Turkish professionals to emigrate to the fields of artificial intelligence (AI) and information technology (IT), addressing a growing concern about brain drain within Türkiye’s rapidly developing tech sector. Employing a qualitative methodology grounded in semi-structured interviews with nine emigrant professionals, the research explores how individual aspirations, economic uncertainty, institutional trust, and professional constraints collectively shape migration decisions. The findings demonstrate that the 2021 currency shock was a critical turning point, transforming latent discontent into concrete emigration plans. Participants cited political disillusionment, perceived nepotism, and constrained career progression as primary push factors. At the same time, institutional predictability, merit-based advancement, and better quality of life abroad emerged as key pull factors. The analysis is informed by four theoretical frameworks—Push-Pull Migration Theory, Human Capital Theory, Expectancy-Value Theory, and Institutional Theory—offering a multidimensional understanding of high-skill migration. In contrast to existing macro-level statistics, this study provides granular, narrative-based insights into the lived experiences of Türkiye’s tech diaspora. It further identifies sector-specific frictions that exacerbate professional dissatisfaction, such as the lack of senior mentorship and cloud-service restrictions. The study concludes that reversing this outflow requires economic stabilization and substantial reforms in institutional transparency, meritocracy, and research ecosystems. These findings hold critical implications for policymakers seeking to retain high-skilled labor and foster sustainable innovation capacity in Türkiye’s digital economy.