Reasonable expectations for accommodation & salary?

[LotusVale]

Hi everyone,

I have been planning to move back to Hong Kong permanently for quite some time, but I still have many questions unanswered. I am hoping expats with experience in Hong Kong can shed some light on their experience.

1) What should be my salary expectations for a junior position in a financial or real estate firm? (Given 1-2 years in asset management) If I leave my current position in Canada, how long would it take me to secure a position in HK on average?

2) I can basically live at a relatives place for a few weeks before I secure a position, but at the end of the day, I'll still have to move out and live alone or share a flat with a friend. What are the expected rental costs in general? (Obviously it depends on the location, but since I do not fully know the expected salary) Maybe a percentage of salary I should aim for?

3) I read a post on this forum about living on $18K/month. How low can your salary go before it is not feasible to "live" in HK? As well, how much is transportation costs?

4) What time is best to land a job in HK? (I have conceded that I will not be able to secure a position while I m physically still in Canada. The best case scenario is that, but I realize that is quite difficult to accomplish)

Some additional information about myself. I have a HKID with good English and Cantonese skills (Reading & speaking). The only thing I would lack is conversational mandarin and writing chinese, which seems to be important in the financial industry. I would also like to point out that when I say financial firm, it does not mean strictly I-banking.

Thanks in advance. Please be honest, as I want to make this decision as realistic as possible.

[bookblogger]

I can only answer question 3. It is HK$182.50.

[Proplus]

If you scrimp on things, catch mini-buses, make your own meals, etc. just like some locals do, you can live off HK$12000 per month. You're not going to have a great life, but its doable. My cousin (a local) gets that amount working as an office admin. She lives in a shared flat with 2 others.

Unless the financial sector in HK has picked up somewhat in the last month or two, HK finance companies are cutting back on their staff.

[RobRoy]

After recruiting a junior person in banking to my team and reading about 150 CV:s it's quite obvious that salaries varies wildly in HK. You don't say if you have a Bsc or a Msc degree. Given that you have a Msc I would say anything between HK$15-30k/month is in your range. With the most likely salary in the range of HK$ 23-25k. You should apply to a "western" company that will value your english skills and cultural ways from living in Canada.

I think it's quite hard to find a junior position right now at a good company. We got about 100 applicant per day for the position we put out an ad for.

[MsPoppins]

There was an article in The Standard today about how banking should be picking up slightly in the near future. But it also said hk banks were not interested in fresh graduates and preferred hiring those with work experience instead and given that a few thousand people in the banking sector lost their jobs in the past few months there should be quite a bit of competition.
Yes you can live on 12k a month but it's not much fun.

[LotusVale]

Thanks for all the replies so far.

I am generally a frugal type of person who can budget well, spend where I "need" it and hold off when I "want" it. I understand the competition is fierce in the financial sector anywhere, so I m not holding my breath for anything spectacular at first.

Rob: When you say "Western" companies, I assume you mean MNCs?

[mary2008]

hi i am asking f s there a 200,000 hkd salary?s there such thing? lol..just askin

[RobRoy]

Yes, something like that. Non Chinese companies and you should be fine

[RobRoy]

hi i am asking f s there a 200,000 hkd salary?s there such thing? lol..just askin

For a junior person, no. For anyone in banking - hell yes.

[LotusVale]

O ok. Thank you Rob for all the information. I have another question now.

Is there an optimal time to move to HK for job hunting?? I was thinking sometime in the fall (September or so?). Is that a good time?

Thanks again.