He began his working life as a farmer in a village in Ardahan, continuing in this role until 1987; however, as he was assisting his family, this work did not provide social security coverage.
In 1987, he moved to Istanbul for work. He secured a job with social security benefits at a textile company, performing machine maintenance (earning a wage of 100 TL). He left that position in 1989 to pursue a different line of work.
In 1989, he began working in electronics assembly and repair. He left the job in late 1995, finding the salary insufficient.
In 1996, he started working in kitchenware manufacturing as a foreman, a role he held for approximately one year.
Towards the end of 1996, he began working at a generator company. He remained there until his retirement in 2014 (upon retiring, he initially received 1,500 TL, whereas by 2026 the figure had risen to around 37,000 TL).
Şahbender currently works independently in his trade as a generator repairman.