Hi,

My name is Peter. My wife and I have lived in HK for 13 years.
There are jobs in IT, but I think your wife might find the job situation difficult (though not impossible.

Check the Hong Kong government webpages for details on visas. You can come in as tourists and stay for several weeks--perhaps a couple of months. Then you can take a day trip across the border to China, and come back in on a new tourist visa and get a few more weeks.
This will give you time to look for a job, but be aware that the HK immigration dept won't let you do this indefinitely. You will need a work visa to work legally in HK
I suggest you go to the South China Morning Post online edition scmp.com and check out the classifieds. The Post is the dominant English paper in HK, and any jobs you'd be suitable for would be adverstised there, especially in IT.
The job climate is not good right now---unemployment about 7%, which is a record high.
But it can be done. Your wife will find that many jobs require Chinese language ability. But some multinationals might be keen to have someone with her experience.
Come on over on a holiday and check it out. The weather is brutal in the summer, but the rest of the year is great.

Good luck

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Hi Abiliski,

I am from Edmonton, residing in HK.

Peter was right in regards to IT jobs in Hk, since after the crash in 1998. I don’t see much difficulty for both of you in landing a good job in HK. There are an 'abundance' of IT jobs in HK's local classified ads. IT jobs is one of the most 'recyclable' jobs in HK, so be discriminate. The culture in HK in very different bcoz no such words "inreplaceble" or "indispensible" exist, so to speak. Pay has been down significantly. This sounds a bit negative but that's the fact. Housing is another issue that may astound you, check out all the facts (internet info e.g. midland realty, SHK, Century 21, Centraline, Ricacorp etc) but no harm for a look around trip and get acquainted with the lifestyle in HK. A vacation is well worth it, even if you are just travelling as tourists. Visa permit in HK is 3 months and renewable. A trip up to mainland China is HK$100 visa fee (per trip), applied at the border at Lowu town in Shenzhen, instead of paying HK160 with travel agency. Make sure you find out your geographical limit on your visa (for Guangzhou and Shenzhen if I am not wrong). Pay HK$160, about 4 days’ Visa wait, at any China Travel Agency in HK, and you can travel most anywhere you like. Or pay HK850 for 6 months, multi-pass, if you like.

There are a number of internet classified sources, including SCMP's. I suggest you browse through the requirement, job prospect, pay, gratuities, medi benefits etc. Once you get all the info, you will save a lot of time, applying for jobs, and still have time for other relaxing activities. Tax in HK is only 15%-16% which is much lower’s than BC’s 53% (? >Cdn$50k) or Alberta’s federal tax at 38%. Here are some of the sites.

http://www.careertimes.com.hk/
http://www.pandaplanet.com/index_eng.cfm
http://www.classifiedpost.com/jshome.php
http://www.jobsdb.com/HK/EN/default.htm
http://www.hkjobs.com/
http://www.myjob.com.hk/browsejob.shtml?fid=16
http://www.monster.com.hk/
http://www.jobasia.com/home.shtm

rgds,
lawrence

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Thank you for the great information!

We have bought our air tickets for this November and are looking forward to experiencing Asia (we're also visiting Tokyo)!

Thanks for site references too. They have provided some good bits...

Regards,

Alex

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I second most of what has been said - I would recommend caution and careful scrutiny of any contract you sign. Times are difficult at the moment, even in the IT arena - I have one friend in IT who has had to take a 50% pay cut in order to keep his job. Your wife may be interested in contacting the Hong Kong Business and Professional Women's Association, WebGrrls Hong Kong or the Soroptimists of Hong Kong to get some information on potential career opportunities. I include contact details below:

Hong Kong Association of Business and Professional Women - http://www.hkabpw.org/

Hong Kong Soroptimists Association - E-mail Susie at hongkong@siswp.org

Hong Kong Webgrrls - e-mail Liz at liz@hongkong,Webgrrls site at - http://www.webgrrls.com/

Hope this is useful.

Gillian

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