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Getting a finance job in HK

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  1. #11

    I'm in my late 30s, almost 40.


  2. #12

    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    2,267

    Also, beware that this place tends to turn the bad into people. After a few years, you will stop being polite and be nasty to everyone and assume people are trying to take advantage of you haha...
    It's also not getting better, the fun time was like 15-20 years ago. Now even finance doesn't pay as well, and if it does expect a lot of abuse and no protection at work.

    shri, jimbo, Global Expat and 1 others like this.

  3. #13

    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Posts
    14,414
    Quote Originally Posted by Global Expat:
    I'm in my late 30s, almost 40.
    I’m ex industry and to be honest without industry experience and or very high profile contacts within the industry I’d say it’s too late to get into it now.

    You’ll be competing with locals barely half your age who will work for peanuts and do the long hrs.
    Global Expat and chuckster007 like this.

  4. #14

    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Posts
    1,693

    The salary is very poor for entry level jobs. It increases quickly though, but entry level pays much better in Europe/US.


  5. #15

    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Posts
    829

    What are your skills?

    If you have valuable, transferable skills in a specialist area in high demand, there might be a chance. E.g:
    -experienced large data scientist (talking hard science PhD and post doc quality large data work here)
    - outstanding programming skills in certain languages
    - strong quantitative skills - again, at your age you'd need to be hard science PhD, senior researcher or academic, in a field that can be applied to finance
    -legal experience transferable to legal/compliance financial jobs
    - ESG-related analytical skills
    - senior policy background
    - top consultant in related sectors (McKinsey is much beloved)
    - PR/Marketing, especially with track record in digital media

    Oh, and the high paid parts of finance will extract their pound of flesh. You're expected to be available whenever needed, whether it's a midnight conference call or a 5 am meeting. If you travel for work, it's assumed flights are scheduled outside of the normal work day, i.e. your evenings/weekends/dawns. As a rough rule of thumb, assume you need to generate at least 4-5X your salary in net revenue for your firm. So if you're attracted by the idea of a USD300 000 salary, you'll need to produce 4-5X that much for the firm in profit. Typically more.

    Unstable profession with relatively low compensation security. The idea of a bonus sounds really good.... until you realize it's the firm's way of slashing your compensation at any time with zero administrative burden.

    If you haven't made it to the very top by the time you're in your late forties, you'll be eased out. Some exceptions, like successful portfolio managers, as clients value experience. But generally, for the mid-to-higher paid roles, you're not expected to still be around by the time you're 50, if you're not in the C Suite equivalent.

    I'm sure there will be tons of people responding that they work short hours, get time off in lieu when work travel eats into personal time, and have supportive bosses who are kind warm and friendly. In which case ask them which sectors/roles/types of firms they're in and target those types of jobs!

    Last edited by z754103; 13-10-2018 at 12:27 AM.
    Global Expat likes this.

  6. #16

    Amount of time at work depends on roles and companies.

    Original Post Deleted

  7. #17

    I prefer to deal with Hong Kong brokers as expats come and go.


  8. #18

    If you have a transferable skill from another industry where there is a skills shortage in Hong Kong and you are in a fairly senior position, then yes, you can find a role in Finance relatively easily, but otherwise it will be difficult for the reasons already stated.


  9. #19

    Thanks everyone. I've made my decision. I don't think that it is worth it to switch to a career in Finance while in Hong Kong.


  10. #20

    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Posts
    829

    Thanks for taking the time to let us know. Best of luck in your career development, let us know how we can help in the future!