Carline Ki, public relations consultant Age: The busier I am the younger I stay. CAREER PATH: I was born and educated in Hong Kong. I got married at 18 and moved to Melbourne, Australia, with my husband. I did a five-year diploma in commerce at the Melbourne Technical College. During my last year at college, I got a job with Radio Australia ABC Radio in the Melbourne Overseas Service. I came back to Hong Kong in 1974 and joined an advertising agency as a media accounts administrator. I became director of a photographic studio in 1977 and in May 1979 I joined C. Cheney and Associates as an advertising executive. After that, I beame group advertising manager for Elegance magazine and then general manager for Panasia Publications Ltd, which publishes Domina magazine. In 1987, I set up my own business, Carline Ki and Associates Advertising, Public Relations and Promotions Consultants. I am now so busy that I sometimes have to turn business away. I have a 22-year-old son. Carline's day: I work 18-hour days, sometimes seven days a week. I work from home and have two full-time assistants. Most mornings I am in my office at about 8.30 am, which is often when clients start phoning. In the mornings I concentrate on telephone calls, correspondence, administration, scheduling of appointments and I have a lot of organising to do. I go usually go out for lunch with a client and then have five or more appointments in the afternoons. Fortunately most of my clients are in Central; it wouldn't make sense for me to take on clients who are based in Sha Tin or miles away. I have many clients in the fashion and beauty industries, gyms and restaurants as well as some Urban Council film and art festivals. Some companies pay me retainers; others employ me on a project basis. I do everything from organising opening ceremonies to press conferences, press releases, launching and promoting new products. Nearly all my clients are Western, which means I get a break at both Christmas and Lunar New Year. I try to take Sundays off, but it all depends what work I have on. I like what I do, it's exciting. And I love being kitted out in cosmetics, perfume and other goodies by my clients. I love cooking so on free evenings I make dinner for my son and I. I watch two television sets at the same time while I am doing things in the evenings. Once a year I go to Bangkok for a week to relax. Salary: A lot, but I work hard for it. Ambition: To be a home-body one day and give cookery lessons. To write more books (my first, Golden Package For Ladies, was published recently). Amy Chow, public relations manager, SPCA Age: 27. Career path: I was born and raised in Hong Kong and did a public and social administration degree at the City University. In 1992, I worked as an executive officer for the Meeting Point (a non-profit political organisation) which later merged with what is now the Democratic Party. It gave me a lot of experience in dealing with the public. I joined the SPCA in 1994 as public relations manager. I took the job because it was a non-profit organisation and something I felt strongly about; I love animals. The salary was actually lower than my previous job, but this job gives me satisfaction that money never could. I felt it would be very meaningful, and it has been. Amy's day: As a non-profit organisation, the SPCA has limited resources and this means we all work very hard. My official hours are 8.45 am to 5.15 pm and a half day on Saturday, but my assistant and I work much longer hours; we often work public holidays and weekends because this is the best time to target the public for displays and educational exhibitions. My job is to promote the message of kindness and respect to animals and to prevent animals' suffering. For example, in the summer we held an exhibition on how to look after your pet and the consequences of failing to take proper care of an animal. I also deal with the media - which is vital in helping the SPCA to get its message across - and handle queries from the public. I believe that people in Hong Kong really love their animals and treat them like members of the family, but there are still those who buy pets on impulse and then get rid of them when they become a nuisance. We encourage people to think about the long-term commitment involved in looking after a pet. Probably the biggest problem we have had in Hong Kong was when dogs were banned from certain housing estates last year. We were given a lot of animals and it was a very hard to find homes for them. Last year, we were lucky enough to have a sponsor who paid for newspaper advertising and we found homes for 2,400 animals, as opposed to only 1,800 the year before. Even so, there was still a big gap between the number we found homes for and the number which were abandoned. Salary: The starting salary is $15,000 a month, but there is an annual increment. Ambition: That no more animals are dumped. This is a big dream, but it would be wonderful if all people would love and respect animals. I keep trying to achieve this.