Breaking into IB in Hong Kong from HKUSPACE ?Is it possible?
Hi everyone,
I am an aspiring financial analyst who would like to work in BB in HK , I have some questions and would be highly appreciated if replied.
1.How hard will it be to break into BB in HK with BBA-Acc &Fin degree from HKU SPACE +some finance work experiences in HK+ CFA? Will it be consider as equivalent to HK local universities (say from HKU or HKUST) or help me in any way?
2.I had already applied to HKU,HKUST,CityU but haven't received the offer twice so already lost 2 years .Should I wait for next year to reapply all 8 local universities in HK or just start BBA now from HKUSPACE and start ASAP and work accordingly as point no.1 given that I am non local student and now 26.
3.Will HKU SPACE BBA Computer Science or Fintech by any chance leads near to my goal compared to BBA-Acc & Finance?Or any institutions you recommend for BBA?
Thank you for your time and consideration.
One major factor: do you speak fluent Mandarin
No.However, I have passed level 1 Mandarin at this moment and able to do simple conversations.I am planning to be business fluent by the end of BBA.
Would you mind sharing whether HKUSPACE degree is credible or not in HK?
And in HKU SPACE website at the end there is disclaimer;"It is a matter of discretion for individual employers to recognize any qualification to which this course may lead", which really increase my doubtfulness.
1) No - unfortunately it is not considered as HKU because HKU itself offers BBA Accounting and Finance with a separate entry requirement which is higher than the HKUSPACE one. For what its worth, HKUSPACE and other similar colleges are considered a stepping stone into the 8 HK unis if you dont get in. It is half way between a school and uni. Although HKU Space is part of HKU they are fundamentally different things where HKU has its own proper undergraduate degree and SPACE is more like a place for continuing education (as suggested in its name). CFA is useless for IB although it is never bad to have it, just dont expect it to make a huge difference to careers.
To break into BB IB in HK from local uni, you realistically can only go to HKU, CityU and HKUST because there are so many people who 1) went to target US/UK uni 2) mainland target uni that also want to work in HK. They are very qualified on paper(there is some sort of preference for people with oversea unis especially if they are target unis) and probably speak fluent mandarin in IB (which is a requirement in many cases as a fair amount of work has to do with translation).
2) Haven't been to local unis so not sure how that works but can you do HKUSPACE then do a proper undergrad at one of the 3 unis you mentioned? Otherwise I strongly recommend you to look at other career opportunities and start there. Boutique IB shops are harder to find in HK so maybe something like Big4 M&A would be a good place to start (worse case start in audit then go to M&A). But even for those big4 positions im not sure if HKUSPACE will get you there but is a route to IB.
3) No - its all about the name and reputation of the institution and not the course (of course the course matters but if the uni is completely non-target it won't matter too much). Stick to A&F if you were to go for HKUSPACE.
Honestly I think you have to think about what is a backup plan because your changes are very low without a proper undergraduate degree from the Big 3 uni in Hong Kong to even stand a chance against overseas HK applicants. Network with small boutique shops now and see if you can get some experience there because you need something to give you an edge above the other applicants and some relevant IB work experience will be very helpful.
Thank you for your time and providing suggestions.
Are PolyU and Open university of HK target unis?
I have been offered place should I take it ? If yes,how should I prepare from the start to land job in BB.
Open U no Poly U maybe your best bet is to look on linkedin to see if anyone from Poly works at a BB then your next goal is to get internships at BBs
.
Almost impossible straight from college, or ever. HK BB is increasingly hiring more mainland Chinese from top 2 Chinese University & Ivy league, hard to convince them to take a bet on you. I would suggest 3 options:
1) Aim for Big 4 advisory roles and hope to lateral into BB with tenure discount
2) Get Master's from top US/UK schools to pass resume screen
3) Give up on BB. Plenty of chance in high finance opportunities in HK without BB background (MM funds, family office etc.)
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