Aussie Looking to emigrate to HK ASAP

[TheBrit]

. Most businesses are hybrids, (Mac/Unix+PC, etc).

Most small businesses use PCs exclusively.

[MovingIn07]

Most small businesses use PCs exclusively.

I disagree. The fact that the mac needs much less fixing than a PC makes it ideal for small business. We use a mix of both. Indeed, the very first company I was with used both - mac for desktop publishing and pc for analysis. I don't think it's that much of a stretch to say companies may use both. If I needed an IT guy (which I don't, sorry) it would be a bonus to find someone who did both.

[DoFoT9]

DoFo, there's nothing wrong with being optimistic but people who have lived here for a while are saying you probably won't get a job in IT with your experience... you should take it on board.

I think you're underestimating how low starting salaries are in this industry, what is required to make you irreplaceable by a local, and how important it probably is to speak Chinese (assuming you don't?).

Unless you have a really special skill, for example a co. is using a new piece of complex software integral to their processes and you happen to be an expert in it (much more specific than mac or admin skills) it will be hard for you to get a job especially since you need to be sponsored for a visa.

If moving to HK is the priority then, as I said, teaching might be your best bet.

Edit: but assuming you can get a working holiday visa, just do that for a while. Chances are after few months you'll be longing to go back home anyway!

HK is good for an experience but unless there are decent financial incentives, the majority of people* end up going back home. I don't think IT is the industry which will offer you these financial incentives.

*not everyone, before the 2 guys who hate their home countries and love HK start arguing

Oh, you should've said that earlier haha. In that case ignore my above post. What a waste of time!

What was your undergraduate degree?

Ok you already said... IT. Well, I guess you should back it up with a one month TEFL qualification, and then I expect you can get a teaching job in a language centre or kindergarten, which will pay a lot more than an entry level IT job.

The 'skill' you have which, in HK, is more important than any IT skills is fluency in English.

TEFL? What is that? A month seems easy enough

Bachelor of IT was my major. I would like to move into Information Assurance in the near future, for now I need the basic understandings (thus why I am looking at IT Support and Administration, because my plans are to go far beyond that in the technical sense, to the very core of computing) of IT to
A) get my funds to get more training (post-grad in University) and;
B) get me the experience that I require

And additionally - I am 100% english (Australian), my english is very fluent in that case, as bad as my accent may be

Most small businesses use PCs exclusively.

Thus why 90% of my formal training is in Windows

I disagree. The fact that the mac needs much less fixing than a PC makes it ideal for small business. We use a mix of both. Indeed, the very first company I was with used both - mac for desktop publishing and pc for analysis. I don't think it's that much of a stretch to say companies may use both. If I needed an IT guy (which I don't, sorry) it would be a bonus to find someone who did both.

That is unfortunate that you do not need an IT guy I think I can possess a quality of troubleshooting (for fixing issues quickly for the end users) and technical understandings (for the back-end server admin side of things) that is a little more in depth then others. For example, my uni final essay was looking at the stability of Active Directory replications between Windows domain machines. You know - that sort of stuff, it SOMETIMES helps

Know anybody that needs a desperate IT guy?

Thanks for your replies guys, I really appreciate all of the input - I have taken it all onboard.

[TheBrit]

Re: Min07 - You can disagree but the fact remains you are wrong.

[DoFoT9]

@TheBrit - it doesn't matter in this isntance. I can do both

[hullexile]

@TheBrit - it doesn't matter in this isntance. I can do both

Don't worry DoFo, if Moving said water was wet the Brit would disagree. It is like a Pavlovian response for him.

[TheBrit]

Sure I would also caution that most companies value experience over certificates/book learning. Realistically you are competing with local graduates with at least similar skill sets to you, plus significant language advantages. It is hard to think how you would persuade an employer to sponser you over a local who speaks the same language as 90% of employers here.. Sorry to be so blunt but as someone who has worked in IT teams here in Hong Kong thats how I see it..

[TheBrit]

Don't worry DoFo, if Moving said water was wet the Brit would disagree. It is like a Pavlovian response for him.

Moving is extrapolating her extremely limited experience to draw inane conclusions not supported by any of the facts. Can other the installed user base of PCs and then have a look at the same for Macs.

[DoFoT9]

Don't worry DoFo, if Moving said water was wet the Brit would disagree. It is like a Pavlovian response for him.

That is slightly more reassuring, but Brit is right, PCs do rule the (end user) market. From a server admin side, its not *as* dominant

Sure I would also caution that most companies value experience over certificates/book learning. Realistically you are competing with local graduates with at least similar skill sets to you, plus significant language advantages. It is hard to think how you would persuade an employer to sponser you over a local who speaks the same language as 90% of employers here.. Sorry to be so blunt but as someone who has worked in IT teams here in Hong Kong thats how I see it..

No, don't be sorry. I value your input very much. I know there is a very big amount of competition, and it is only my first year out of university. I have a lot of belief in myself, knowing that what I have to offer can be of great assistance to an organisation of any size. I'm not saying that my chances are great, and that I am guaranteed to get a job my first time around. But all I want is the information to get me the BEST possible chance. I can hopefully do the rest from there.

Make sense?

Moving is extrapolating her extremely limited experience to draw inane conclusions not supported by any of the facts. Can other the installed user base of PCs and then have a look at the same for Macs.

I won't heavily get into this argument, but Mac's are encroaching on the 15-20% market range. In USA directly, it is much higher (20% +).

This isn't a debate about which wins, for home use I own a number of Macs, because I have used them all my life and enjoy them. At work our company uses a hybrid of Macs AND PCs. Best of both worlds, if you ask me.

[TheBrit]

No, don't be sorry. I value your input very much. I know there is a very big amount of competition, and it is only my first year out of university. I have a lot of belief in myself, knowing that what I have to offer can be of great assistance to an organisation of any size. I'm not saying that my chances are great, and that I am guaranteed to get a job my first time around. But all I want is the information to get me the BEST possible chance. I can hopefully do the rest from there.

Why do you want to move to Hong Kong by the way? Salary and quality of life are both much higher in Australia than here. Plus, you actually have a chance of working in Australia.

I am not sure which segment of the market you are aiming at? You indicate you are a jack of all trades, and that is ideally suited to smaller companies who don't have specialists for desktop, database admins or server support etc. However, the vast majority of smaller companies here would be Cantonese speaking, with very few opportunities for English only staff.

If you are pitching at a larger company, then they tend to employ a SQL Server DBA, or a desktop guy, or a UNIX sysadmin, or a Java programmer. However, most employers look for experience for these roles, and again are in plentiful supply locally.

If you like us know more about where you want to go (and why Hong Kong) then you might get more useful answers.