[Sino Defender]

hi all, i am a native hong kong born chinese who recieved education in the us from high school all the way to college (finance major).

i am currently working for a hedge fund in boston.

will go to graduate school and obtain a ma degree in economics soon.

i plan to go back to hong kong after i am done with grad school.

i am fluent in english, cantonese, mandarin, and shanghainese.

since i have never worked in hong kong, i am not so familiar with the job market in hk.

so my questions are:

would it be easy for me to find a job at a large i bank in hong kong?

if so, how much should i expect to get paid?

if i am a permanent hk resident, what are the chances of my employer offering housing compensation ( my parents have two luxury apartments currently rented to i-bank executives for a lot of money.) and, they don't currently live in hk. so it would be good if i could live alone in a company sponsored apartment. (gotta be located in mid-levels of hk island or southern district near repulse bay)

or am i being too silly to ask for so much?

[KnowItAll]

>> would it be easy for me to find a job at a large i bank in hong kong?

A few months ago the bankers were partying like it was 1997. I suspect they job market is still hot ... not spoken to anyone lately who is complaining that things are tight.

[Patou]

Hi Sino Defender,

Your resume should impress more than a handful of recruiters..
However, I was wondering if you would not be better off going for a MBA if you wanna get into IB.
Anyhow, as far as salary is concerned, packages are competitive and their size mostly depend on your actual position I believe.

; )

[RBinHK]

Would it be possible for you to find a job in an i-bank? with your qualifications, I would have thought so.

What will you be paid? That will depend on what you are doing. If transacting / executing then potentially a lot. But it depends what your experience is and how much the bank wants you.

Will you get a company sponsored apartment? My guess is that you won't. The apartments are (generally) given to folks who are being asked to relocate to HK as part of an incentive package to move. You on the other hand are somone who doesn't need to be incentivised to move back - you want to move to HK.

If you want the full package, your best bet is to get a job where you are and then try and persuade the firm that they need to move you to HK.

[Sino Defender]

Originally Posted by Patou

Hi Sino Defender,

Your resume should impress more than a handful of recruiters..
However, I was wondering if you would not be better off going for a MBA if you wanna get into IB.
Anyhow, as far as salary is concerned, packages are competitive and their size mostly depend on your actual position I believe.

; )

frankly, i do not need the ma degree to make money. but the one i love and whom i plan on marrying is getting a ma degree. so i might as well get it and finish it off in one year. it doesn't harm after all. and i dun want to spend 2/3 yrs just to get the mba degree, which won't change much i suspect.

[Sino Defender]

Originally Posted by RBinHK

Would it be possible for you to find a job in an i-bank? with your qualifications, I would have thought so.

What will you be paid? That will depend on what you are doing. If transacting / executing then potentially a lot. But it depends what your experience is and how much the bank wants you.

Will you get a company sponsored apartment? My guess is that you won't. The apartments are (generally) given to folks who are being asked to relocate to HK as part of an incentive package to move. You on the other hand are somone who doesn't need to be incentivised to move back - you want to move to HK.

If you want the full package, your best bet is to get a job where you are and then try and persuade the firm that they need to move you to HK.

that's exactly what i am doing for the hedge fund.

well, i have thought about having my company reallocate me to hk. but then, i will leave the company and go to grad school after all the bucks they spent on training me. they don't know about it yet. so chances are i will have to apply for a new job again if i do not plan on rejoining my current company after i graduate from grad school.

currently, i am paid 35 usd/hr, entitled to ot compensation.
if i tell that to potential employers in hk, is that going to freak them out and lower their desire for hiring me?

should i tell them i made less to make them want to hire me because of cost?

[freeier]

in 1.5 years time things change and market move. so why ask about it now. if u are in sales job now then the package depends on how many clients u have in your grasp. if u are in trading job then as long as u show good track record u can get a good deal.

depends on the company. those with very niche and small team might pay for your housing. but the larger IBs have more or less figured out how to pay people on a lump sum pay and let u go work your sums on housing and others

[Sino Defender]

Originally Posted by freeier

in 1.5 years time things change and market move. so why ask about it now. if u are in sales job now then the package depends on how many clients u have in your grasp. if u are in trading job then as long as u show good track record u can get a good deal.

depends on the company. those with very niche and small team might pay for your housing. but the larger IBs have more or less figured out how to pay people on a lump sum pay and let u go work your sums on housing and others

i prefer them to compensate me (giving me extra money) for housing, which i can keep if i live in my parents' apartment. haha

[RBinHK]

I agree with Freeier in that you may as well negotiation when you have done your masters.

When you tell a firm you are paid by the hour, they will freak out and assume you are admin staff!

Also, you originally said you wanted to live in a company sponsored apartment and have followed that by saying you want the cash so you can live in your parents apartment. Perhaps you should give this some more thought and focus on what you want to do. Note: some firms will provide accommodation by signing a lease with an approved landlord so you may not be able to "take the cash" and live at home.

You will get an opportunity to reflect on what you really want while doing your masters and studying with people that have similar aspirations to you.

[Sino Defender]

Originally Posted by RBinHK

I agree with Freeier in that you may as well negotiation when you have done your masters.

When you tell a firm you are paid by the hour, they will freak out and assume you are admin staff!

Also, you originally said you wanted to live in a company sponsored apartment and have followed that by saying you want the cash so you can live in your parents apartment. Perhaps you should give this some more thought and focus on what you want to do. Note: some firms will provide accommodation by signing a lease with an approved landlord so you may not be able to "take the cash" and live at home.

You will get an opportunity to reflect on what you really want while doing your masters and studying with people that have similar aspirations to you.

i am not paid by the hour, but that's one way to tell your income level in the us as the annual income can vary depending on the actual hours (including ot).

it would be nice to live at a company sponsored apartment, but what i want to do actually depends on how much i recieve. if the company is providing me with more than what with my parents get with the apartment rented, then i would take the money and stay at my own place and vice versa.

but, the thing is i am pretty picky with things like living and driving. if what they are giving me can't allow me to afford a very descend place, i might as well live at home.

sorry for the confusion.