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Telecom Jobs in HK or China?

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  1. #1

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    Telecom Jobs in HK or China?

    Hey everyone. This one has got me stumped, so I decided to post here.

    Here's my work background and situation. I'm an electronics engineer in wireless/mobile telecoms (cellphone) on the technical side, with over eight years of experience. My background includes experience as a switch/core network engineer for deployment/commissioning, Network Optimization and also work in location-based services (GSM) using GPS satellites. I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Elec. Engineering Technology with 3.5 GPS (Cum Laude).

    I am a USA citizen. I am well-traveled and have been to most asian countries except Korea and Vietnam. To increase my contacts, I have been going to the usual networking meetings, such as Chambers of Commerce, Oriented etc. My last job was usa-based and ended in October 2009 (laid off, due to lack of work). I have been in Hong Kong since late March 2010, although this is my third time to Hong Kong and I have some friends here.

    Since February 2010, I have done the following in an effort to find a telecom job, but with no luck at all.

    1. Registered with the usual three employment agencies in Hong Kong. They have been zero help.
    2. List my resume with local HK telecom companies NTT, CSL, PCCW.
    3. List myself with Huawei.
    4. List myself on all the big asian websites (51job.com, jobsdb, recruitonline etc)
    5. List myself with six japanese agencies.
    6. List with the one big Taiwan website
    7. List myself with about ten other websites.
    8. Have gone to seven networking HK events in the last three months and networked as much as possible with the connections that they knew that were technical or IT related etc.

    Other than a single job interview in Singapore in March, I have had absolutely NO luck and NO calls or emails at all since March. NO further interviews of any kind.

    Does ANYONE have any idea on why I'm not getting ANY responses? Or maybe I am doing as much as I can do, but it's just the job market in Asia right now? I mean, I know that Hong Kong is more of a financial market and that I will realistically end up working in China or Taiwan or Singapore with my background. But I'm not getting any hits at all from any asian website/employer/recruiter. Does anyone have any suggestions? Is there something that I'm doing wrong?

    The only new things I'm considering are these:
    1. I'm taking Mandarin classes, since it's a good idea for business and if I were to remain in Asia.
    2. I'm considering adding/getting the Cisco CCNA network certification in order to boost my existing skillset.
    3. I'm considering going back to school for a Masters/MBA etc..however, this is unlikely, due to the fact that I really don't want to take on additional debt.

    My preference is of course Hong Kong or China, but I'll go to wherever the job is. (Maybe I should change my career to finance? Hahaha)

    Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated! You can send me a private message as well if you don't want to post publicly.

    Thanks, guys.


  2. #2

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    I don't know much about this career, but could it be due to the fact you don't speak Chinese? Do you know if the work is done in English? Some careers just aren't an option if you don't speak the local language. DOes it have to be HK, or would you consider somewhere like Australia or NZ?


  3. #3

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    I take it you don't speak Cantonese, that could be a hindrance. Think of it from the company's point of view - why hire a foreigner that doesn't speak the local language when you can easily find a local to fill the position?
    I don't think you will have more luck in Taiwan, unless you want to teach English there.


  4. #4

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    Getting an Employment Visa is probably an issue - in most countries that requires the potential employer to demonstrate that you have some skills that they can't find in a local employee. Moreover in local companies operational and technical roles will probably expect Cantonese.

    There are many other telecoms operators based, or with an engineering presence, in Hong Kong - Smartone, Hutchison, China Mobile, Wharf, New World, Pacnet, Worldcom, etc. (By the way, NTT is a Japanese company not a "local HK" one). But not many operators here have swicth/core deployment projects - the networks are quite well-developed (and particularly if your skillset is in tradition TDM networks then you need to get updated to the IP world).

    Most of the equipment manufacturers also have offices here and in Singapore: Nokia, Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent, etc. and they will serve the regional market where there are still plenty of major network deployments and growth projects going on, and English is the lingua franca ( ) of the business.

    But having said that, nearly all of these companies are shrinking. You've already tried Huawei - one of the few that isn't. You might also want to try ZTE.

    And network like mad - get to trade shows / conferences and hang around in the lobbies and so on as well as the other obvious stuff. Good luck.

    igia likes this.

  5. #5

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    As per PDLM, Try Nokia as they usually have big projects going on. They're in the process of updating 3's Network so they might be hiring right now.
    Posted via Mobile Device


  6. #6

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    Fluent Mando, Canto, an updated CCIE qualification, willing to travel for HK$10-20k/mo is probably what these companies are looking for.


  7. #7

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    Thanks, everyone. I may have to give up here and move on then. I was hoping to avoid going back to the states, but unless something changes in the next couple of months, it looks like that's what I'll be doing. In the meantime, A cisco ccna cert. shouldn't hurt and I may benefit from that possibly..even down the road as well.

    Sure, I can do English private tutor here in HK or china, but I wouldn't want to just give up eight years of a decent career to teach English and take the easy way out. Plus, you have the neverending work visa issue and it is hard to save any kind of decent money as a teacher. I will keep looking, of course and keep networking.

    I was thinking about changing careers entirely to something in finance, as I know people that do derivates, portfolios, day traders etc...but I realize that I'm in my mid-thirties and I would have to go back to school for 1-2 years. And even then, it is unlikely anyone would hire such a late starter. Sure, people have done it, but the chances of starting in a new career so late would be difficult at best.


  8. #8

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    Jul 2009
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    Think of many western operators, who are still using high-cost supplier base. Some of them can not afford an office in Asia.
    Many asian suppliers then look for business in western countries. How about consulting between these ends - could you find a position as a "sales consultant" for one of the chinese telecom device manufacturers?

    Just brainstorming. But trading would be one way of finding a "position" of your own.


  9. #9

    Telecoms is a sunset industry

    Haven't you got the message yet?
    Telecoms as a career is over (especially in HK) - get out while you can.

    There is no future in telecoms - just look at the share price of PCCW or any other operator or telecom equipment vendor. Nortel went bust - one of many. LBS with GPS only happened cos the FCC mandated the dumbass idea and any number of firms peddling BS jumped on the bandwagon.

    Possibly the IT aspect of telecoms might save you from permanent redundancy. (I think) It has a (fleeting) future as everything is going IP sooner or later - but there are armies of under-paid guys from China who will know a shit load more about it than you do that you will have to compete with.

    Sorry, but the outlook is bleak, unless you are some lucky senior guy.

    Or maybe you can write an iPhone app for finding jobs and make millions.

    igia likes this.

  10. #10

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    Ouch. Rough crowd and rough responses! However, I perfectly understand where most of you are coming from. I have been thinking about switching careers actually for awhile now. Sure, I could take the stupid and expensive ($3000.00) wimax (4G) classes/courses since it's up and coming, but even then, there's no guarantee of a job (anywhere!). It's the old catch22 (I would have the training but not the actual work experience). The cisco angle (ccna,ccie) is a possible angle, of course, so will think about that, with regards to IP.

    At this point, teaching English at low wages in Asia is starting to look pretty good!! Hahaha. (sigh)

    I will re-think a new career and maybe go back to a school such as a 1-year or 2-year stint (masters or other). I really wanted to stay out of the states (for various reasons). I like Asia and I think it's going to be very important to the world for the next 20 years (esp. China)...but I'm just not sure what area to break into. I'm excellent with research, analytical and good with math/calculus..those were the reasons that I was thinking about going into finance, trading, derivatives, heck I don't know!

    And yes, knowing the language is practically a must.

    Will brainstorm on this for awhile. Thanks again, everyone, for your honesty; I had a feeling this was the case, but wanted a proper critique from others. Feel free to comment further, if there is anything that hasn't already been covered in the above responses.