MBA in Hong Kong: Employment Reports

While Hong Kong has long been something of an international business hub, its proximity and ties to mainland China have made it an even more attractive destination for MBA study.

In the latest edition of the QS TopMBA.com Applicant Survey, studying an MBA in Hong Kong appealed to almost as many applicants in Europe as it did to those in Asia-Pacific, with around 10% of applicants in both regions expressing an interest. One of the reasons for this is the way in which an MBA in Hong Kong can position graduates for a career either in Asia-Pacific or working closely with companies in the region.

Those who wish to stay on and work in Hong Kong directly after graduation can get an idea on the type of MBA salary levels they might look forward to from the QS TopMBA.com Jobs & Salary Trends Report 2015/16. Responding employers based in Hong Kong said they paid an average of US$77,000 to their new hires across 2014/15.

However, if you’re serious about pursuing an MBA in Hong Kong, then you’ll probably want a bit more detail on the job outcomes for recent program graduates of specific business schools. The following information is taken from the latest publicly available employment reports for MBA graduates of the University of Hong Kong (HKU), HKUST Business School and CUHK Business School – the three locally based institutions listed in the QS’s guide to the most reputable MBA programs in the world.

In which countries do Hong Kong graduates find MBA jobs?

The vast majority of those who study an MBA in Hong Kong stay on in Asia after completing the degree. In CUHK Business School’s class of 2015, 87% of the class took MBA jobs somewhere in Asia, compared to 80% of the class of 2014 at HKUST Business School and 84% of HKU MBA graduates (University of Hong Kong), where the latest employment information merges the classes of 2014 and 2015.

Hong Kong is naturally the single most popular destination within Asia among the latest accounts from these three institutions – around half of recent students at both HKU and CUHK Business School accepted positions to remain in the city, while the equivalent figure was 36% at HKUST.

Again, as one might presume, there are also strong links to opportunities in mainland China. A quarter of MBA graduates at CUHK Business School and HKUST took MBA jobs in China, although the 13% proportion seen at HKU is some distance off this mark. Indeed, for the last two HKU MBA classes, Singapore has proven to be almost as popular a destination as China, taking 11% of all graduates. Meanwhile, India as well as countries in Europe each attracted 9% of those completing their studies in 2014 or 2015.  Smaller proportions of 5 and 2% took MBA jobs in the Middle East and North America, respectively.

Students who departed Asia after their CUHK MBA are divided between Europe and the Americas in roughly equal measures, taking MBA jobs in countries such as France, Chile and the US. For HKUST’s class of 2014, Europe was the most popular source of employment outside Asia, taking 11% of graduates, with North America accounting for 5%. 

While the international makeup of an individual class might well explain a number of these post-MBA destinations, 57% of CUHK and 68% of HKU MBA graduates changed their full-time employment locations pre to post-MBA, indicating a good level of mobility.

Finance and consulting industries hire the most Hong Kong MBA graduates 

The most common industry destinations Hong Kong’s MBA graduates are not dissimilar to those graduating from leading MBA providers in the West. Finance, consulting and – to a lesser extent - technology all feature as popular areas of hiring. 

Finance is the most popular industry destination for recent graduates of an MBA in Hong Kong from CUHK Business School and HKUST. 38% of HKUST’s class of 2014 took MBA jobs in finance (including banking) and 41% of the latest CUHK MBA cohort have chosen the industry, with a further 3% accepting positions in the related area of private equity and venture capital.

Finance was not quite so popular with the last two HKU MBA cohorts, taking 22% of graduates. Here, consulting has been the most popular destination in taking 29% of recent graduates. In comparison, 13% of the class of 2015 at CUHK Business School are now working in consulting – the very same proportion seen at HKUST a year prior.

Much has been made of the expanding opportunities in Asia’s technology sector, so it’s no surprise to see healthy hiring levels to this area at each of these three business schools. While 8% of recent graduates at HKU took MBA jobs in technology, the proportion was 10% at HKUST in 2014 and 12% at CUHK in 2015.

Changing industries through MBA study is just as common as changing location, if not more so. In total, 65% of those graduating from HKUST in 2014 switched industries after the MBA, while 76% of the CUHK MBA class of 2015 changed either their industry or function.

Sources: Reporting by CUHK Business School, HKUST Business School, HKU