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Career paths

Career paths

Find the right career path, and learn more about applying for jobs, working environments, work life balance, career development and choosing the right job industry.

Four-time Olympic gold medallist Wang Meng featured in Sisters Who Make Waves 2026, a talent competition centered on the comeback of female celebrities over the age of 30. Photo: Weibo

Reality bites for ‘immature’ Sun, ‘masculine’ Wang in life after Olympic glory

Gold medallists learn harsh lesson about life out of sporting spotlight after appearing on Chinese television shows.

15 May 2026 - 2:07PM

Worried your career is stagnating by working from home? Tips to stand out

7 Oct 2025 - 4:15AM

Hong Kong: a global hub for talent

Hong Kong robustness continues to strengthen its status as an international talent hub

In partnership with:

Hong Kong Talent Engage

Why ‘micro-retirement’ career breaks are so attractive for Gen Zers

A rising workplace trend involves employees taking months-long career breaks while they are still young and active.

29 Mar 2025 - 4:15PM

Instead of having retirement at the end of their continuous working life, more employees are choosing to deliberately insert interruptions.
Photo: Shutterstock

Redefining Hong Kong's workforce

Redefining Hong Kong’s workforce for the future

Mercer’s ‘Global Talent Trends 2024’ survey uncovers four trends shaping a people strategy that can help companies gain a competitive advantage.

In partnership with:

Mercer

China’s youngest millennials deemed too old for jobs, and elder Gen Z are next

With many companies still struggling to survive in China’s post-pandemic climate, even 27-year-olds are being seen as risky hires, and 30 has essentially become the new cut-off for certain industries.

7 Mar 2023 - 1:51AMvideocam

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China technology

Opinion | China’s smartest students are ditching finance for tech

China’s top students are reconsidering their career choices by opting for the tech industry over finance, but in a worrying trend for the country, also now prefer the stability of state jobs over entrepreneurship.

11 Jan 2022 - 12:31AM

The entrance to Tsinghua University in Beijing, Nov. 18, 2021. Photo: SCMP/Simon Song

Is China’s version of the ‘Great Resignation’ creating an army of freelancers?

Gen Z and younger millennials embrace flexible employment and freelancing, saying their ideal jobs provide more freedom while allowing them to pursue their passions.

22 Oct 2021 - 2:44PMvideocam

Why are China’s fresh grads now saying no to high-paying ‘996’ jobs?

Skyrocketing living costs and mounting uncertainties in China’s job market make the situation unbearable for those who desire security and reasonable working hours that the private sector may not offer.

30 Jul 2021 - 10:46AMvideocam

China’s working mothers find careers and children often do not go hand in hand

China has done away with its decades-long restrictive child policies, but women are finding limitations still exist in the form of workplace challenges and career impediments.

29 Jul 2021 - 8:53AMvideocam

Structural and social barriers in Chinese society continue to challenge mothers in their quest to level the corporate playing field. Photo: AFP

Coronavirus pandemic

Covid-19 class disruptions affect Hong Kong students’ performance, well-being

Pupils lament lack of scope to interact with teachers, while prolonged screen exposure and absence of regular daily schedule are affecting their health.

20 Mar 2021 - 4:02PM

Children attend online classes at home in Tsuen Wan amid the coronavirus pandemic. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

Hong Kong youth

Hong Kong faces brain drain threat as quarter of under-35s plan to leave

Poll of university-educated Hongkongers also finds more than 15 per cent of those questioned don’t plan on returning, with most citing work-life balance and political stability.

15 Mar 2021 - 8:43AMvideocam

Coronavirus pandemic

Covid-19 jobs squeeze forces some Hongkongers to explore new careers

Desperate job-seekers lower expectations, while others sign up for training courses.

8 Mar 2021 - 11:42AM

Working for Marvel Comics is a dream come true for two artists

Drawing Star Wars characters and superheroes like Thor, the X-Men and Venom for Marvel Comics is the realisation of a childhood dream for Ario Anindito and Alti Firmansyah. They talk about how they followed their passion.

18 Dec 2020 - 5:51AM

Wolverines by Ario Anindito. Photo: courtesy Ario Anindito

The women who are bringing equality to the space race

Women have played crucial roles throughout the history of space flight, but they have largely taken second place to men. Commercial space flight could change that by democratising space.

6 Oct 2020 - 5:54AM

Soviet astronaut and researcher Svetlana Savitskaya was the first woman to walk in space in 1984. Photo: Bettman Archive

30 is not the new 20: why your twenties is a defining decade

If you use your twenties to sit back, enjoy life and have fun, you are missing the point, says psychologist and TEDx speaker Dr Meg Jay – it’s really a crucial time to set important goals and put your life in motion.

17 Sep 2020 - 9:53AM

China’s TikTok says it created 36 million jobs as content creation explodes

A new report by Douyin says about 20.97 million live-streamers in China generated income via gifts from fans, advertisement contracts and product sales, among other income sources, in the past year.

11 Sep 2020 - 10:49AMvideocam

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Bodybuilding contest in Indonesia has a deeper mission

Jatiwangi, in Indonesia, has for many years been known for its clay roof tiles. But with the industry in decline, a bodybuilding competition for tile makers is now held every year to promote the fading trade to young people.

7 Sep 2020 - 5:24AM

Bodybuilding contestants wait their turn to show their moves. Photo: Agoes Rudianto

Food and Drinks

The best jobs in Hong Kong? Try gelato maker or beer taster

Money isn’t everything when it comes to work. We propose an alternative list of the six best jobs to have – not necessarily for a short working week but for the satisfaction they bring.

2 Sep 2020 - 7:49AM

Coronavirus pandemic

Can flexible jobs solve China’s post-virus jobless crisis?

With the domestic economy still struggling to recover after pandemic lockdowns and a broad decline in consumption, many struggling workers have turned to part-time jobs such as street vending and construction.

20 Aug 2020 - 7:48PMvideocam

Travel news and advice

Digital nomads: we have sunny beaches, cheap living for you

Boasting low infection rates but suffering over lost tourism, Barbados, Estonia, Bermuda and Georgia have launched visas aimed at wooing adventurous digital nomads to bolster their economies.

8 Aug 2020 - 8:30PM

Dream of working from the beach? Several nations have launched visa regimes aimed at wooing digital nomads to bolster their economies. Photo: Shutterstock

‘It’s like getting over grief’: How to deal with being laid off

Why you should reach out to a career coach or counsellor if you have recently lost your job – they can help you bring your emotions under control and consider your next steps.

24 Jun 2020 - 9:35AM

Covid-19 has caused widespread job losses. Counsellors explain what they do to help people who have been made redundant, and why for some it is an opportunity to change careers. Photo: Getty Images/Westend61

Architecture and design

Interior design is more than cool ideas on a Pinterest mood board

Interior design lacks respect in Hong Kong, says Horace Pan. To put that right he advocates better education, agreed standards, and continuing professional development.

18 Jun 2020 - 10:44AM

Food and Drinks

‘Whisky changed my life’: Asian women joining drinks industry

A head bartender creating cocktails in Bangkok, a gin distiller in Hong Kong, Malaysia’s only female whisky bottler – women in Asia are making their mark in a man’s world.

15 Jun 2020 - 8:24PM

From IT to Irish dancer: how radical career changes pay off

A late career change may see you stepping off the corporate ladder and giving up a regular salary, but the rewards can outweigh any initial fears. We talk to four people who flourished after taking the plunge.

18 May 2020 - 7:58AM

Takayuki Hayashi quit his IT job in Japan after watching the Riverdance stage show, and moved to Dublin in Ireland to learn to be an Irish dancer. He now runs the Irish Dance Academy in Tokyo with his wife.

Women and gender

A comfortable retirement? Not if you’re a Japanese woman

Factors including an ageing population and falling birth rates are damaging the retirement prospects of women in Japan, with one study suggesting that Japanese women will, as a whole, run out of money 20 years before they die.

16 Jan 2020 - 7:30AM

3.5 million women have entered the workforce since 2012, but two-thirds are working only part time. Photo: AFP via Getty Images

How South Korea’s job applicants are learning to trick AI hiring bots

Facial recognition is being used in hiring by major South Korean conglomerates such as SK Innovation and Hyundai.

16 Feb 2020 - 6:48PMvideocam

Hong Kong vocational students reap rewards of WorldSkills Competition

Childhood passion for cars leads Youth College student to world prize and a job.

11 Jan 2020 - 11:00AMvideocam

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